UCA’s Divison of Outreach and Community Engagement and CDI have been awarded the Governor’s Quality Challenge Award! Left to right: Diane Tatum, CDI Advisory Board Member; Shannon Cantrell, CDI Graduate Assistant, Kelly Hunt Lyon, CDI Director, Kristy Carter, Outreach Executive Director, Kimberly Klotz, Marketing Department Graphic Designer

Outreach and CDI Central Receive Governor Quality Awards

Two departments within the University of Central Arkansas have been recognized by the Arkansas Institute for Performance Excellence and awarded the Governor Quality Challenge Award.  The Division of Outreach and Community Engagement and the Community Development Institute-Central, were presented the award by Governor Beebe at the 2012 Governor’s Quality Awards Celebration on Monday, September. 24.

This award, which honors groups in the state striving for performance excellence, are two of only 17 presented statewide the year. “Excellence is one of Outreach’s core values and we are committed to being the best we can be, and we’re happy to be recognized at this level,” said Kristy Carter, Director of Outreach and Community Engagement.

The Governor Quality Challenge Award is the starting point for any organization interested I adopting and applying quality principles to attain performance excellence. “Even though we’re just at the beginning of the process, we’ve benefitted greatly from the experience.  UCA is a steward of a valuable state and regional resource and this will help us safeguard its future.” Said Ms. Lyon of the award, “Bill Craddock, a leader in the state and national quality process as well as an instructor for CDI, suggested this is a way to help CDI grow to the next level.”

The Governor’s Quality Award program is operated by the Arkansas Institute for Performance Excellence, Inc.  Developed by a team of volunteers, the program is designed to provide opportunities for all organizations in the state to measure their progress in the journey of performance excellence.

UCA is committed to the intellectual, social, and personal development of its students; the advancement of knowledge through excellence in teaching and research; and service to the community. UCA ranks 23rd in the category of “Top Public Schools” among regional universities in the South in the 2012 U.S. News & World Report’s annual rankings of universities and colleges. For more information on UCA please visit www.uca.edu/.