It won’t be long before there’s a new flag joining the others at the entrance to Oakwood University. Only this flag will be unlike any that will fly at any other university in the state.
Or any other Historically Black College or University anywhere. 
To those in the local business community, though, it will be familiar. You see, the Seventh-day Adventist school has received ISO 9001 certification.
“This kind of makes us a pioneer,” said Tim Allston, Oakwood’s director of public relations.
Indeed it does.
In spite of all the government contracts won by the likes of UAH, Alabama A&M, Auburn and Alabama, Oakwood University is the first college or university in the state ISO registered.
So, what exactly is ISO 9001?
It is an internationally recognized standard for the quality management of businesses. “It makes us eligible to become a prime contractor for grants, not a sub,” said Marcia Burnette, Oakwood’s assistant vice president for development . “We can actually go and bid ourselves.”
She said it also provides an enhanced corporate imaging and marketing, assures better documentation and is a proven program for corrective and preventive actions.
