JANET ASHE APPOINTED EXAMINER FOR BALDRIGE NATIONAL QUALITY AWARD

   COLUMBUS -- Janet G. Ashe, vice president for business and finance at The Ohio State University, has been appointed by the director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to the 1999 Board of Examiners for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

   The Baldrige award, created by public law in 1987, is the highest level of national recognition for performance excellence that a U.S. organization can receive.

   As an examiner, Ashe, a resident of POWELL, is responsible for receiving and evaluating applications submitted for the award. The board is comprised of about 400 leading experts selected from industry, professional and trade organizations, education and health care organizations, and government.

   Those selected meet the highest standards of qualifications and peer recognition. All members of the board must take part in a preparation course based on the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence and the scoring and evaluation processes for the Baldrige award.

   Awards may be given in each of five categories: manufacturing, service, small business, education and health care. The education and health care categories are new in 1999. Awards have been presented to 34 companies, including 1998 award recipients Boeing Airlift and Tanker Programs, Solar Turbines Inc. and Texas Nameplate Co. Inc.

   Information about the award program and the application process is available from the Baldrige National Quality Program, A635 Administration Building, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Md.; 20899-0001, telephone: (301) 975- 3716. Information also is available on the Baldrige National Quality Program's Web site at http://www.quality.nist.gov.

   The award program is managed by NIST in close cooperation with the private sector. The American Society for Quality (ASQ) in Milwaukee, Wis., administers the program.

Contacts:
Jan Kosko, Public and Business Affairs Office -- National Institute of Standards, (310) 975-2767
Janet Ashe, vice president for business and finance, (614) 292-7970