About the Delaware Quality Award

The Delaware Quality Award is based on the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Criteria, the national and international model for performance excellence. The purpose of the Delaware Quality Award is to support the development of and recognize the achievement of organizational excellence in Delaware.

In 1992, a public-private initiative created an award program to promote performance excellence throughout the state, the Delaware Quality Award in honor of W. L. (Bill) Gore. In January 2005, the DQA began a new partnership with the University of Delaware's Division of Professional and Continuing Studies in order to expand its training and consulting services.

The University of Delaware is honored to administer an award that bears the name of Bill Gore. It is fitting that an award that celebrates the administration of total quality be named for a man who dedicated his professional life to the same goals.

Bill Gore advocated and practiced a unique management style, which lives on at Gore, stressing freedom, fairness, commitment and sound decision-making in an open and creative work environment. He believed that each person within an organization is responsible for the level of quality in the products and services it offers its customers and stakeholders. This belief coupled with a management style that supports a productive work environment has guided W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. to become a leading competitor in today’s business world.

In addition to his many talents and expertise as a scientist and business leader, Bill Gore also shared his perspective to integrate quality concepts and systems in his immediate community as well as internationally. He shared his perspective on achieving quality in a variety of ways outside the organization. These efforts include his role as a founding member of the Delaware section of the American Society for Quality and as a member of the United Nations Technical Assistance Administration team that assisted India in adopting concepts and techniques for effective quality control.