A. Blanton Godfrey

A. Blanton Godfrey, of Wake County, North Carolina, received his bachelor’s degree in physics from Virginia Tech in 1963. Immediately upon graduation from Virginia Tech, he accepted a commission in the U.S. Army, serving in artillery and ordnance in Germany and the United States before leading a special projects team in Vietnam. Following his service, Godfrey earned a master’s degree and doctorate, both in statistics from Florida State University.

Godfrey is the Joseph D. Moore Distinguished University Professor of Textiles and Apparel Technology and Management at North Carolina State University. From 2000 to 2014, he served as dean of the College of Textiles, the leading institution of its type in the world, producing more than half the doctorates in its field in the United States. Prior to joining North Carolina State, Godfrey was chairman and chief executive of Juran Institute Inc., an international management consulting, research, and training organization focused on management and business excellence. He began his career at AT&T Bell Laboratories where he led the Quality Theory and Technology Department. He also held academic appointments at Columbia University and Harvard University while working for both organizations.

In 1987, Godfrey co-founded with Donald M. Berwick, the National Demonstration Project on Quality Improvement in Health Care, bringing together top American manufacturing companies and leading healthcare organizations to explore the use of industrial quality methods in healthcare. This project evolved into the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, a business incubator focused on improving healthcare worldwide. While still teaching at North Carolina State, Godfrey remains active in healthcare, serving on a number of boards and working closely with colleagues in the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health and the United Nations’ World Health Organization, with a focus on reducing maternal and child mortality.

Among his many achievements, Godfrey is a Fellow of the American Statistical Association, the American Society for Quality, the World Academy of Productivity Sciences, and the Royal Society for the encouragement of Art, Manufacturers, and Commerce. He is an elected member of Sigma Xi, the New York Academy of Science, The Fiber Society, and an Academician of the International Academy for Quality. He also has published more than 200 articles and book chapters and co-authored or co-edited seven books. An enthusiastic Hokie, Godfrey served on the 50th Reunion Committee for the Class of 1963 and also has served on the Department of Physics Advisory Board.