August 19, 2012 | SharkAdmin [image 2]At this year’s Summer Institute for the 2012 Continuous Quality Improvement Network, NVC president Jackie Claunch was recognized as the inaugural recipient for the CQIN Legacy Award. The surprise announcement was made by CQIN president Lee Rasch of Western Technical College. The award honors an individual that has contributed to CQIN and to continuous quality efforts. “This award is intended to be special and unique, recognizing the long-term impact in our higher education community,” he said. [image 1] Rasch added that under Jackie’s leadership, NVC has grown from a handful of students taking classes off campus in portable classrooms to a vibrant 21st century suburban college. He said NVC was recognized, under Jackie’s leadership, by the MetLife Foundation as a “Best Practice Community College” and received the “Master Naturalist Award for Preservation.” Last year, NVC was also selected as the only education organization in the country to receive a site visit from the Baldrige Performance Excellence program. Perhaps the most treasured prize, Rasch said, is the deep love and affection that comes from Jackie’s entire faculty and staff and others she has worked with over the years. A few of Jackie’s colleagues from Richland College/Dallas Community College District provided these comments about her prior to receiving the award: “She is one powerhouse of an educational leader who has given a multitude of contributions to education,” said Lee Paez, Ph.D, faculty at Richland. “She has the amazing ability to get a diverse group of people to work together cooperatively to come to a decision. She is more than CQIN. She is a jewel. She is a diamond,” said Luke Barber, also a Richland faculty member. For the first time during the Summer Institute held in Atlanta, NVC served as a learning partner. The theme for the week was, “Achieving Results Through Greater Accountability and Alignment to Achieve High Performance.” Other learning partners were Kimberly-Clark Health Care, Lockheed Martin and Partners in Leadership. CQIN was formed in 1991 with the purpose to have an honest and open sharing of information – the “pluses and minuses” among community college presidents who have committed to implementation of Total Quality Management principles, practices, and tools as a way of continuously improving their institutions. To see the video of the award presentation, click here.
