Dr. A. Blanton Godfrey
Dr. A. Blanton Godfrey (Blan) is Dean and Joseph D. Moore Professor of Textile & Apparel Technology & Management, College of Textiles, North Carolina State University. It was under Blan’s direction that the Lean Six Sigma Program at NC State University was created in 2000. He continues to lead Executive Overviews for the Lean Six Sigma Program and teaches a graduate level Lean Six Sigma course.
Prior to joining NC State, Blan was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Juran Institute, Inc., the leading international management consulting, research, and training organization focused on quality management and business excellence, a position he held for thirteen years. Prior to joining the Juran Institute, Blan was Head of the Quality Theory and Technology Department of AT&T Bell Laboratories. The department focused on applied research in the areas of quality management and technology, reliability and productivity. Blan joined Bell Labs in 1973 after receiving an MS and PhD in Statistics from Florida State University and a BS in Physics from Virginia Tech.
For nineteen years, Blan was also an adjunct professor in Columbia University's School of Engineering and Applied Science where he taught graduate courses in quality management and control. For four years he was a guest lecturer in clinical quality management at Harvard University.