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Southwest Executive Appointed as National Judge for the Robert W. Carey Performance Excellence Award

Donald C. Fisher, Ph.D., executive director/CEO of the Mid-South Quality/Productivity Center (MSQPC), a partnership between Southwest Tennessee Community College and the Greater Memphis Chamber, has been appointed to serve as one of six National Judges for the Secretary of Veteran's Affairs Robert W. Carey Performance Excellence Award in Washington, D.C. The Award recognizes "Best Practice" for the Veteran's Affairs (VA) hospitals and other VA organizations nationally.

The award is based on the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Criteria of which Fisher has authored 10 books on Baldrige Assessments. In addition, Fisher served for eight years as a Judge for the President's Quality Award, during the Clinton Administration; served as a judge for two years for the Secretary of the Air Force Quality Award; as a judge for the Mauritius Quality Award for the Republic of Mauritius; and as a judge for the Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence (TNCPE) for 15 years; among others. In addition, he was invited during 2010 and 2011 by the Royal Thai Government to work with their Baldrige-based Thailand Quality Award (TQA) and to develop a third award level of their national award applicants.

The Secretary of Veterans Affairs' Robert W. Carey Performance Excellence Award is an annual award sponsored by the secretary. The award is named in memory of Robert W. Carey, a publicly recognized VA quality leader and a champion for excellence in the federal government. It recognizes organizations within the department that have implemented management approaches that result in sustained high levels of performance and service to the veterans we serve.

The foundation for the award is the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence. These criteria are designed to help organizations use an integrated approach to organizational performance management that results in:

  1. Delivery of ever-improving value to customers and stakeholders, contributing to organizational stability;
  2. Improvement of overall effectiveness and capabilities; and
  3. Organizational and personal learning.

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Photo caption: Dr. Donald C. Fisher