Baldrige Accomplishment at SPC

ST. PHILIP’S COLLEGE STUDENTS, FACULTY AND MULTIMILLION-DOLLAR TRAINING AID STAR IN COMMERCE DEPARTMENT NEWS ON ALAMO COLLEGES DISTRICT 2018 MALCOLM BALDRIGE NATIONAL QUALITY AWARD---A PRESIDENTIAL LEVEL HONOR

St. Philip’s College is a 2018 recipient of the Texas Governor’s Award for Performance Excellence and co-recipient of the 2018 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. The 120-year-old medium sized multicampus college with 13,000 students and global operations shares in the 2018 Baldrige honor as an Alamo Colleges District member institution, and was a contributor to the following achievements announced by U.S. Department of Commerce today: 

The Alamo Colleges District (ACD)

ACD is the largest institution of higher learning in South Texas, serving over 100,000 students enrolled in for-credit, continuing education and workforce courses every year. Students can earn associate degrees and can also transfer to four-year universities. ACD holds a rare AAA bond rating, based on the strength of its financial policies for managing debt and evolving sources of revenue. Simultaneously, ACD students’ four-year graduation rate has increased 150 percent since 2009, and students have given the institution’s advisor program a 94 percent effectiveness rating.

When the Department of Commerce announced that the 2018 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipients consist of five businesses, the one image they chose as representative of all five recipients included a faculty member, local students and a training aid at a St. Philip's College business unit. A presidential-level honor, the award recognizes exemplary U.S. organizations and businesses that demonstrate an unceasing drive for radical innovation, thoughtful leadership, and administrative improvement.

The photo subjects---students Helen Diaz (kneeling) and standing left to right, students Karina Chavarrio, Robin Rodriguez, Alex Vargas, Jose Pena, Xavier Coronda and Manuel Lozano with faculty member Richard Jewell teaching a turbine engine class at the college’s 800 Quintana Road location, and the training aid that was donated in 2017 by innovative aviation technology degree program alumnus Francisco Armstrong at Southwest Airlines for the ground training of students is a multimillion-dollar CFM56 engine---one of the largest donations the Alamo Colleges District has received.

“Each honoree strengthens our economy through its organizational excellence and positive impacts for its customers, students, patients and employees. They exemplify the American spirit in action and are role models for success in business and commerce," said Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Director Walter G. Copan. 

The 2018 Baldrige Awards will be ceremonially presented during the Baldrige Program’s Quest for Excellence conference April 7 in National Harbor, Maryland. Read the announcement and view the image of St. Philip's College students, faculty and training aids at the U.S. Department of Commerce web story Five Role-Model Organizations Win 2018 Baldrige National Quality Award.