Loyola faculty appointed to 2021 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Board of Examiners
Maggie Ozan Rafferty joins an elite board that evaluates nominees for the nation’s highest honor in organizational innovation and performance excellence
September 2, 2021
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) appointed Maggie Ozan Rafferty, DHA, MBA, RN, assistant professor and undergraduate program director of Healthcare Administration at Loyola University Chicago’s Parkinson School of Health Sciences and Public Health, to the Board of Examiners for the 2021 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. The Baldrige Award is the nation’s highest honor for organizational innovation and performance excellence.
“The Baldrige criteria is an internationally-recognized quality standard for organizational improvement,” says Elaine H. Morrato, DrPH, MPH, CPH, founding dean, Parkinson School. “Dr. Ozan-Rafferty continues the tradition of Loyola University Chicago’s participation in the Baldrige program. As an examiner, she has the unique opportunity to support organizations in their quest for high performance and continuous process improvement. We are honored that she will be bringing best practices to our new school of health sciences and public health.”
Appointed by the NIST Director, examiners review and evaluate applications in addition to completing other assessment-related tasks. The board of examiners consists of leading experts competitively selected from industry, professional, trade, education, health care, and nonprofit (including government) organizations from across the country.
Examiners meet the highest standards of qualification and peer recognition, demonstrating competencies related to customer focus, communication, ethics, action orientation, team building, and analytical skills. All board members must participate in a nationally ranked leadership development course based on the Baldrige Excellence Framework and the scoring/evaluation processes for the Baldrige Award. They must also complete an independent review of a Baldrige Award application or other comparable examiner task.
Ozan Rafferty joined the Parkinson School in January. Prior to Loyola, she was Chief Experience Officer at the Blessing Health System in Quincy, Illinois, and has over 20 years of expertise in executive leadership, operations, consulting, research, and education. Along with her Board of Examiners appointment, Ozan Rafferty is a Baldrige Executive Fellow and has been a senior examiner for the Illinois Manufacturing Excellence Center (IMEC) Recognition Program, the state-level Baldrige Program, for four years.
“It is an honor to represent Loyola in all three of these Baldrige forums,” says Ozan Rafferty. Being an examiner is an intense role with a significant time commitment but it’s an amazing, unique, professional development and learning experience.”
Named after Malcolm Baldrige, the 26th U.S. Secretary of Commerce, the Baldrige 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 American organizations, and promotes performance strategies. Since its inauguration in 1988, 134 awards have been presented to 124 organizations (Including eight, two-time award recipients and one, three-time recipient).
NIST manages the Baldrige Award in close conjunction with the private sector.
The Baldrige Performance Excellence Program hosts the 2021–2022 Baldrige Excellence Framework: Proven Leadership and Management Practices for High Performance, Baldrige Excellence Builder, nationally ranked leadership training, and other assessment tools.