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Greetings!
November is a month in which we honor our veterans and military service members; it is also the month in which we give thanks. On that note we would like to dedicate this edition to our many students and alumni who are serving and who have served our country - the freedom they fight for is one of the many things we have to be thankful for. Be sure to read COL Darlene McCurdy's article, she's an alumna who served overseas and is still using the skills and knowledge she obtained from NGS/U ten years after graduation! |
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NGS/U Attends Toyota Opportunity Exchange Event
The National Graduate School was recently invited to attend Toyota's Opportunity Exchange, a tradeshow dedicated solely for Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs) to network with Toyota's direct suppliers. NGS/U took this as an opportunity to form lasting relationships with its suppliers and minority business owners.
The first day included several seminars lead by key leaders in the industry. Topics included the Toyota Way and the Toyota Production System and how these remain the guiding principles for their approach in the automotive industry today.
The second day kicked off with a networking breakfast for all attendees with an introduction from Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Jr. who is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Magic Johnson Enterprises. MJE has provided several initiatives that have created new businesses and jobs in underserved, diverse communities.
Since its inception Toyota's Opportunity Exchange has grown from 100 guests to nearly 2,000 participants and has resulted in over $150 million worth of new contracts for minority-owned businesses.
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Meet Your Professor: 
Prof. Daksha Chokshi
Daksha Chokshi is described as a mentor, teacher, professor, Pratt and Whitney Technical Fellow and an American Society for Quality Fellow. But beneath the accolades and honors, Daksha is and will always remain a lifetime student. Daksha is a Technical Fellow in the discipline of Statistical Methods & Quality Technologies for United Technologies (UTC) Pratt & Whitney Division in West Palm Beach, Florida. She has chaired and provided technical leadership to United Technologies Corporation's Process Certification (ProCert) Council, comparable to the industry's Six Sigma Program for over 10+ years. She is an ambassador, driving force, and key contributor to launch and diffuse ProCert throughout UTC. She is recognized for her outstanding contributions and leadership in Statistical Methods and Quality Technologies discipline; for excellence in research, mentoring, and education in sound, qualitative as well as quantitative data driven methodologies; and for developing innovative techniques for non-traditional applications for aligning customer needs to business requirements and technical capabilities. Read More | |
NGS/U Acquires Green Campus
The National Graduate School (NGS/U) of Quality Management is pleased to announce its acquisition of a property on Oyster Pond in Woods Hole, MA, formerly owned by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, to be used as the NGS/U Center & Institute for Sustainability. The property will be renovated as model "green campus" and designed to meet LEED certifications. The Center & Institute for Sustainability will be used for knowledge exchange events with leaders in the environmental fields, for curriculum development for the school's new Environmental Policy & Quality Management degrees as well as a community demonstration site to educate the public on how to "go green" and the benefits of doing so. This aligns with the NGS/U Institutional Commitment to:
- Turn knowledge about environmental quality policy, management, innovation and excellence into action and applied research.
- Share advances in the body of knowledge and best practices with all members of the NGS/U community and with all others through open sourcing.
- "Practice what we teach" by demonstrating measurable improvements in environmentally friendly practices in all our institutional practices.
- Demonstrate the practical benefits of environmental quality and sustainable practices through "success you can measure."
Read More or visit the Green Campus website | |
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Military Alumna
Spotlight:
COL Darlene McCurdy
Army National Guard
Colonel Darlene A. McCurdy is an October 2002 graduate from the National Graduate School. She attended the Ft. Myer class as a junior Medical Service Corps Officer in the Army National Guard after realizing that she needed to further her education with a master's degree in order to achieve success in her Army career. She chose NGS/U because of the class schedules and the curriculum and the fact that she was able to attend and work around her family and job. Of the NGS/U learning format she said, "I enjoyed the hands-on approach. I especially liked working on real problems that the class could discuss openly and grow not only from our readings, but also from the expertise of our classmates and the assistance and guidance of the instructor."
Read more |
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If you have news or information
that you would like to include in The Benchmark,
please contact Sara Fleck at sfleck@ngs.edu or 800-838-2580 ext.125 Issue: 1 | |
