2010 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award

Patricia Merkle, New York Chiropractic College’s Quality Engineer, was named a Senior Baldrige Examiner by the Baldrige National Quality Program. The Program, part of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), is overseen by the U.S. Department of Commerce. Merkle will be qualified to lead a team for the Baldrige process. As an examiner, she will be responsible for reviewing and evaluating applications submitted for the Award. The board is composed of approximately 500 leading experts selected from industry, professional and trade organizations, education and healthcare organizations, and nonprofits – including government. All members of the board must take part in a preparation course based on the Criteria for Performance Excellence and the scoring and evaluation processes for the Baldrige Award. The award may be given annually in each of six categories: manufacturing, service, small business, education, healthcare, and nonprofit. In addition, the American Society for Quality has accepted Merkle’s presentation titled “Using the Baldrige Framework as a System for Change and Assessment in Education” for presentation at the annual National Quality Education Conference, to be held in Chicago this November.