Dr. Susan G. Williams, professor of management in Belmont University’s Jack C. Massey Graduate School of Business, was named today the 2009 Ned R. McWherter Leadership Award Winner by the Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence (TNCPE).
The Ned R. McWherter Leadership Award annually recognizes an individual who exemplifies outstanding leadership in the pursuit of performance excellence. Winners are dedicated to the principles of the Criteria for Performance Excellence, have furthered performance improvement beyond the boundaries of their organizations and are committed to the core values of the Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence program.
Dr. Williams was instrumental in the creation of the Center for Quality at Belmont University, which extended the adoption of the Criteria for Performance Excellence into the Nashville community through classes and consulting.
She has brought her expertise to the TNCPE as a volunteer examiner, judge, conference presenter and program advocate for many years. She has also served as an examiner and judge for the Baldrige National Quality Program, and encourages participation in Baldrige-related programs at every opportunity.
“Susan has been an incredible resource to TNCPE, but even more significant is the impact she has had on Belmont University and companies throughout the state of Tennessee,” said TNCPE President Katie Rawls. “Through her efforts, countless organizations have learned to apply principles that improve processes and results. She is a talented educator who can deliver high-level information in a user-friendly manner, and her passion for continuous improvement is contagious.”
Dr. Williams’ teaching interests include negotiation, decision making, continuous improvement and strategic thinking. She began teaching at Belmont in 1989, quickly becoming a popular member of the faculty. Multiple Massey Graduate School of Business classes have voted her “Most Inspirational Instructor.”
“Early in the 1990s, I learned about the Criteria for Performance Excellence and felt for the first time that I had a ‘scaffold’ for improvement,” Williams said. “TNCPE has helped promote the use of the Criteria to our community and our state, helping us learn, engage each other and pursue distinction. I will always be grateful for the organization and its leadership.”
Dr. Joe Alexander, associate dean and senior professor of performance excellence for Belmont’s Massey Graduate School of Business, said, “Dr. Williams has built a distinguished national reputation for support of the discipline of performance excellence. Her record of service locally and regionally through the Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence, as well as her past appointments to the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award panel of judges, make her a wonderful role model for our students and alumni to emulate as they work to improve the performance of their own organizations.”
Williams will officially receive her award at the 2009 Excellence in Tennessee Awards Banquet, held in conjunction with the Excellence in Tennessee Conference, Feb. 17-19 in Franklin, Tennessee. For more information about the Excellence in Tennessee Conference and Banquet, please visit www.tncpe.org/conference.
Nominations for the Ned R. McWherter Leadership Award are solicited from TNCPE member organizations. The award recipient is selected by the executive committee and confirmed by the full board of directors.
