The U.S. Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology has named Meridith Wentz of University of Wisconsin-Stout to the Board of Examiners for the 2019 Malcolm S. Baldrige National Quality Award.
The Baldrige is the nation’s highest honor for organizational innovation and performance excellence.
Wentz, of Menomonie, is an assistant chancellor and the director of Planning, Assessment, Research and Quality at UW-Stout.
This is her eighth year as a Baldrige examiner and her first year as a master examiner on the board. Master examiners must have seven years of experience, must have served as a team leader for consensus and on-site reviews and serve as coaches for other team leaders.
In 2001 UW-Stout became the first and still is the only four-year educational institution to win the award.
Baldrige examiners must take part in a nationally ranked leadership development course based on the Baldrige Excellence Framework and the scoring/evaluation processes for the award. They also must complete an independent review of a Baldrige Award application or other comparable examiner task.
The board is composed of more than 325 leading experts competitively selected from industry, professional, trade, education, health care, nonprofit and government organizations across the country.
Wentz is one of eight examiners from Wisconsin and the only one from the University of Wisconsin System.
In the PARQ office, Wentz oversees strategic planning and accountability; institutional research and assessment; university accreditation; quality initiatives; university policies; and the Applied Research Center, which specializes in providing research and evaluation services to other educational institutions.
She also serves as a peer reviewer for the Higher Learning Commission, a regional agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education to accredit degree-granting colleges and universities.
Wentz has a doctorate from the University of Minnesota in educational policy and administration. She has been involved extensively with Baldrige efforts at UW-Stout, presenting on strategic planning, leadership and performance measurement.
Earlier this year, faculty members Andrei Ghenciu and Kevin Wilkinson were named to the Board of Examiners for the Wisconsin Forward Award, which is the Baldrige award program for Wisconsin.
Baldrige background
Named after Malcolm Baldrige, the 26th secretary of Commerce, the award was established by Congress in 1987.
Awards may be given annually to organizations in each of six categories: manufacturing, service, small business, education, health care and nonprofit. The award promotes innovation and excellence in organizational performance, recognizes the achievements and results of U.S. organizations and publicizes successful performance strategies.
NIST manages the Baldrige Award in close conjunction with the private sector.
###
Photos
Meridith Wentz
Assistant Chancellor Meridith Wentz, a master examiner for the Baldrige National Quality Award, speaks at a recent UW-Stout event.
UW-Stout's 2001 Baldrige Award
