10/13/95
Roy Summerford (summero@mail.auburn.edu)
AU TO HOST CONFERENCE ON CONTINUOUS QUALITY IMPROVEMENT
AUBURN -- Educators and business leaders from across the United States will meet at Auburn University on Oct. 22-25 to seek ways for colleges and universities to improve quality while cutting costs.
The National Conference on Continuous Quality Improvement is a breakthrough for Auburn because it brings to campus people who are shaping the direction of higher education, says Bettye Burkhalter, assistant provost for assessment and quality improvement and interim vice president for student affairs at Auburn.
"Colleges and universities have to find ways to continually improve quality and prove their worth to society while holding the line on cost," said Burkhalter. "We are bringing together people who have a proven track record in an area of vital interest to taxpayers and parents as well as to faculty and students. This conference will influence higher education nationally, and we expect Auburn to gain as these leaders share knowledge and ideas with participating faculty, administrators and students."
Continuous quality improvement, also frequently called Total Quality Management or TQM, emerged in the business sector during the 1980s as a process for improving quality and perceived value through reducing defects and improving customer satisfaction. Companies such as Ford Motor Co. and Texas Instruments have significantly improved their corporate image and profits through application of a CQI philosophy.
Inspired by the success of CQI in the business sector, many colleges and universities are seeking ways to implement it in their institutions, Burkhalter said.
A goal of the conference is to develop guidelines for CQI in education consistent with criteria for the Malcolm Baldrige Award. The award is presented each year by the U.S. Department of Commerce to industries and institutions which document exceptional levels of quality attainment.
The conference is sponsored by the AU colleges of Engineering and Business.
Keynote speaker will be Robert Cornesky, editor of The Chronicle of CQI, a newsletter for continuous quality improvement in education. He will discuss "The Importance of Continuous Improvement in Higher Education."
Gov. Fob James will give the welcome address.
Other speakers include AU President William V. Muse; Samford University President Thomas Corts; Mike Cooney, vice president and manager, Group Quality Assurance, Texas Instruments; University of Southern Colorado President Robert Shirley; Linda James, systems management consultant for the University of Tennessee, Martin; Edwin Coate, vice chancellor of business and administrative services at the University of California, Santa Cruz; James Harrington, international quality advisor, Ernst & Young LLP; Horst Schulze, president and chief operating officer, Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co.; Curt Reimann, director of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and director of quality programs at the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
For registration information, contact the Engineering Extension Service, 217 Ramsay Hall, Auburn University, AL 36849-5331, or call 334/844-5715.
oct95:AU-cqiconf
CONTACT: Burkhalter, 334/844-2000, or Amit Mitra, 334/844- 4030.