Media Contacts:
Dr. Blanton Godfrey, 203/761-1701
Sara Frisch, News Services, 919/515-3470 or sara_frisch@ncsu.edu


April 28, 2000

NC State University Chooses New Dean for College of Textiles

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Dr. A. Blanton Godfrey, chairman and CEO of Juran Institute Inc., has been chosen as the next dean of North Carolina State University’s College of Textiles, pending approval by the University of North Carolina’s Board of Governors. NC State Chancellor Marye Anne Fox and Provost Kermit Hall announced their recommendation of Godfrey to the post, and the university’s Board of Trustees approved the appointment today (April 28).

Since August 1987, Godfrey has led Juran Institute, a quality management research, education and consulting firm in Wilton, Conn., that has provided training and consulting support to leading companies in more than 55 countries. He also has been an adjunct professor in the College of Textiles at NC State since 1995. Godfrey’s distinguished career includes more than 12 years leading Juran, 14 years in quality assessment and management at AT&T Bell Laboratories, and teaching positions at some of the nation’s top universities.

Godfrey will succeed Dr. David Buchanan, who became interim dean of the college on Jan. 1 following Dr. Robert Barnhardt’s resignation at the end of 1999. Buchanan and Barnhardt will continue on the faculty at the college. Godfrey’s appointment as dean of the college and as the Joseph D. Moore Professor of Textile and Apparel Management Technology will become effective July 1.

Fox said, "NC State has offered top-notch textiles education for more than a century, and we look forward to having Blanton Godfrey continue that rich tradition. With experience in academia and the corporate world, he will lead the charge to educate the next generation of business leaders and scientists for the textile industry."

As dean of NC State’s College of Textiles, Godfrey will lead the largest university-based textile school in the United States. The college has more than 850 graduate and undergraduate students housed in a state-of-the-art education and research building on the university’s Centennial Campus. It annually awards about half of the country’s bachelor’s degrees and 75 percent of the country’s advanced degrees in textiles. Research at the college is strong in areas such as supercritical dyeing, nonwoven materials, thermal protection and comfort, medical fibers and high-performance fabrics.

Hall said, "Blanton Godfrey will be a superb addition not only to the College of Textiles as dean, but as a citizen of the university. He is world-leading expert in quality management and a visionary in the use of technology as it can be applied to not only the business of textiles but to all phases of learning. As well, he understands the profound changes that are shaping the textiles business of the future, and that makes him an ideal person to lead the college -- and the textiles business -- into the new and highly competitive world economy."

Godfrey earned a bachelor’s degree from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 1963, and master’s and doctoral degrees in statistics, in 1970 and 1974 respectively, from Florida State University. He began working for Bell Labs in 1973, and rose to head of the quality theory and technology department before joining Juran Institute.

From 1993 to 1997, Godfrey gave guest lectures at Harvard University’s School of Public Health, and from 1991 to 1995, he presented satellite continuing education courses at George Washington University. He is an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s School of Engineering and Applied Science, where he has taught a graduate-level course in quality management and control since 1982. In his role as an adjunct professor at NC State, Godfrey has delivered guest lectures to graduate students and workshops for senior executives in the textile industry.

He is a fellow of the American Statistical Association, the American Society for Quality (ASQ) and the World Academy of Productivity Sciences. In 1992, the ASQ presented Godfrey with the Edwards Medal for outstanding contributions to the science and practice of quality management. Godfrey contributed to the creation of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and served as a judge for the first three years of the award. He has co-authored or co-edited three books and written more than 150 articles and book chapters.

Dr. Nino Masnari, dean of NC State’s College of Engineering and chair of the dean search committee, praised Godfrey’s wealth of industry and academic experience. "He brings a true interdisciplinary perspective to the table," Masnari said. Godfrey’s expertise are relevant to many disciplines, including statistics, industrial engineering and management, and his leadership of the textiles college will strengthen collaborations between all of the colleges at NC State, said Masnari.

Representatives of the N.C. Textile Foundation (NCTF), which supports the college’s programs, point out that the textile industry is moving toward globalization and product diversification. They are confident that Godfrey will help the college keep pace with these changes in the industry.

Derick Close, vice president of international sales and marketing for Springs Industries and a member of the search committee, said collaborations between textiles and other disciplines can produce more versatile students, who will be needed by many industries. "Blanton will ensure that this integrated approach will allow the textile school graduates to have the broad industry exposure that makes them extremely marketable in today’s competitive work environment," Close said.

Darrell Steagall, president of Cumulus Fibres Inc. and president of the NCTF, said the foundation looks forward to working with Godfrey to support the college’s scholarship, faculty, recruiting, academic, research and extension programs. "We feel that Dr. Godfrey has the qualifications and experience to lead the development of academic programs that will prepare our graduates to meet international opportunities while maintaining the excellence that traditionally has provided the industry with outstanding management," he said.

--frisch--

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