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Michael D. Chason Director of Public Relations ABAC 30, 2802 Moore Hwy |
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For
IMMEDIATE Release September
21, 2009
USG Chancellor Erroll B. Davis (right) presents
the Gold Outstanding Customer Service Annual Leadership Award to ABAC President
David Bridges
Bridges
Receives Outstanding Customer Service Leadership Award
TIFTON—Dr.
David C. Bridges, president of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, has been
selected as the winner of the Gold Outstanding Customer Service Annual Leadership
Award by Chancellor Erroll B. Davis of the University System of Georgia (USG).
The
award recognizes a leader in the USG who, through his or her leadership in
customer service, has made a significant, positive impact on customer service
for the citizens and customers of the state of Georgia over the last year. A nominee's actions must reflect all five of
the customer service attributes: Courteous and Honest, Forward-looking,
Inspiring, Responsive, and Awareness.
“I
am honored to win the award, but I could not have done it without the help of
Diane Kilgore, ABAC Customer Service Champion; Dr. Chrystle Ross, Rapid Process
Improvement Leader, all the RPI participants, and the customer service team,”
Bridges said.
Kilgore
is the director of the ABAC Public Service and Business Outreach Center, and
Ross is the Chief Information Officer for the College.
After graduating from high school in 1976, Bridges attended ABAC and earned an Associate of Science Degree in Agriculture in 1978. He then earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Agronomy and Soils and a Master’s Degree in Weed Science from Auburn University. He then served as a graduate teaching and research fellow at Texas A&M University, where he earned his Ph.D. in Weed Science.
Bridges joined the University of Georgia
faculty as an assistant professor in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences
in 1987.
He
advanced through the ranks to become the Assistant Dean of the Tifton Campus of
the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences in 2001.
Bridges began serving as ABAC’s 10th president
on July 1, 2006. The Parrott native is
the first ABAC alumnus ever to serve as president.
Kilgore and Ross nominated Bridges for the
award due to “his commitment to and support of faster, friendlier, easier and
quality service at ABAC.” Under his
leadership, ABAC has provided customer service training to all administrators,
faculty, staff, and student workers.
That training was followed with “secret shopper” surveys to measure its
success. Two ABAC employees were awarded
Governor’s commendations for quality customer service this year, Kilgore and
Dr. Eddie Seagle.
The University System of Georgia gave all
institutions the opportunity to apply for special initiative funding to focus
on financial aid enhancements.
Ross said that because of Bridges’ “leadership,
vision, and commitment to customer service,” the USG Office of Customer Service
and the USG Strategic Planning Office in partnership with the Governor’s Office
of Customer Service chose ABAC as the only USG institution to participate in
its LEAN Rapid Process Improvement Initiative to improve student financial aid
services.
As a result, ABAC developed a new model for
student services to serve students from their initial contact with a recruiter
until they graduate and includes financial, enrollment, and registration
services. As the result of the RPI
process, ABAC has reduced the average financial aid application cycle time by
65 per cent - reducing the verification time from 20 minutes to seven
minutes.
“Without
a doubt, Dr. David Bridges ‘gets it’ as far as customer service,” Kilgore
said. “Because he does, ABAC is a better
place. His leadership and commitment to
quality service at all levels is the driving force in ABAC’s endeavor to become
‘Georgia’s State College of Choice.’”
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