For Immediate Release: Contact: Michael E. Newman (NIST)

For Immediate Release: Contact: Michael E. Newman (NIST) August, 2014 (301) 975-3025 [email protected]

Dr. Appu Kuttan, Chairman National Education Foundation 703-823-9999

AASA Life Member Art Stellar Named to Board of Examiners for 2014 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award

GAITHERSBURG, Md.—The Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has named Art Stellar, Vice-President at National Education Foundation in McLean, Virginia, to the Board of Examiners for the 2014 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. Art Stellar is a life member of AASA. The Baldrige Award is the nation’s highest honor for organizational innovation and performance excellence.

Appointed by the NIST Director, examiners are responsible for reviewing and evaluating applications submitted for the Baldrige Award, as well as other assessment-related tasks. The examiner board is composed of more than 400 leading experts competitively selected from industry, professional, trade, education, health care and nonprofit (including government) organizations from across the United States.

Those selected 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 members of the board must take part in a nationally ranked leadership development course based on the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence and the scoring/evaluation processes for the Baldrige Award.

The National Education Foundation (NEF) located in McLean, Virginia named Dr. Stellar as Vice-President based upon his knowledge of school operations and his drive. This Foundation assists school districts in many ways including the acquisition of Federal QZAB funding. He is also Vice- President of CyberLearning, a subsidiary of NEF.

Dr. Arthur Stellar served as superintendent of the Burke County Public Schools in North Carolina, which has been named one of the five “most productive” districts in the state by the Center for American Progress. Burke County Public Schools was also identified by Augenblick, Palaich and Associates as one of the fourteen “highest achieving” and “lowest spending” districts in North Carolina. He led a financial turnaround going from a $3.5 million deficit to an $8.5 million+ positive balance in less than two years!

He has often been recruited to overcome challenges, thereby, previously serving as superintendent in Taunton, Massachusetts; Kingston, New York; (acting superintendent & deputy) Boston, Massachusetts; Cobb County, Georgia; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; and Mercer County, West Virginia. Dr. Stellar has also been affiliated with school systems in Shaker Heights, Ohio; Montgomery County, Maryland; Beverly, Massachusetts; and in Ohio – Athens, Southwestern City Schools and Belpre. He also served as chief education officer vice-president for Renaissance Learning, Inc. and president/CEO of High/Scope Educational Research Foundation. Dr. Stellar is a three time graduate of Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. He earned his doctorate in 1973. He has received many awards and honors including the American Association of School Administrators’ “Leadership for Learning” award and the Dr. Effie Jones Humanitarian Award.

Named after Malcolm Baldrige, the 26th 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 U.S. organizations, and publicizes successful performance strategies. Since 1988, 95 organizations have received Baldrige Awards, including the 2013 winners: Pewaukee School District , Pewaukee, Wisconsin. (Education) and Sutter Davis Hospital , Davis, Calif. (health care).

NIST manages the Baldrige Award in close conjunction with the private sector.

For information on the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program and the Baldrige Award application process, call (301) 975-2036, send an e-mail to [email protected], or visit http://www.nist.gov/baldrige. ###