Contact:
Colin Schaller
414-298-8789 Ext 7617
cschaller@asq.org

For Immediate Release

ASQ Receives Award for Education and Training System

LERN Selects ASQ From More Than 140 Nominations in Four Countries

Milwaukee, Wis., December 1, 2008 – The American Society for Quality (ASQ) has been recognized by the Learning Resources Network (LERN) for work on its new education and training system. The winning entry was included in a showcase of internationally exemplary programs at the LERN Annual Convention in San Francisco, Calif., November 16–18.

Honored for excellence in the Management Practice category, the entry highlighted the education and training system’s revolutionary design. Deputy regional director Neal Kuhn and ASQ past-president Jerry Mairani accepted the award on behalf of ASQ at a luncheon at the Hyatt Regency in San Francisco on November 17.

"This award is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the project teams involved with creating this extraordinary new system," said Roberto Saco, ASQ president. "With this system we will change the way quality professionals and practitioners seek their education needs."

Julie Coates, vice president of information services for LERN, said that this year’s award nominees were among the highest quality ever submitted. The primary criterion judges used was the quality of being at the leading edge of the field of lifelong learning, as evidenced by their nomination. In addition, judges also applied the following criteria: originality, innovation, appropriateness as a model for other programs, replicability and measurable outcomes. The awards selection process is very competitive, Coates said, and it is truly an honor to be selected.

 
The American Society for Quality, www.asq.org, has been the world’s leading authority on quality for more than 60 years. With more than 90,000 individual and organizational members, the professional association advances learning, quality improvement and knowledge exchange to improve business results and to create better workplaces and communities worldwide. As a champion of the quality movement, ASQ offers technologies, concepts, tools and training to quality professionals, quality practitioners and everyday consumers, encouraging all to Make Good Great™. ASQ has been the sole administrator of the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award since 1991. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wis., ASQ is a founding partner of the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), a prominent quarterly economic indicator, and also produces the Quarterly Quality Report.