Ithaca College

Susan West Engelkemeyer, dean of the School of Business, has accepted an invitation from Secretary of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez to serve a three-year term as an overseer for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

Malcolm Baldrige was secretary of commerce from 1981 until his death in July 1987, and was a proponent of quality management as a key to this country's prosperity and long-term strength. He took a personal interest in the Quality Improvement Act, and in recognition of his contributions, Congress named the Baldrige Award in his honor.

The Baldrige Award is given annually by the president of the United States to businesses and to education, health care, and nonprofit organizations that apply and are judged to be outstanding in seven areas: leadership; strategic planning; customer and market focus; measurement, analysis, and knowledge management; human resource focus; process management; and results.

The board of overseers advises the secretary of commerce and the director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology on the conduct of the Baldrige Awards program and on how well it is serving the national interest.