Occupational Safety & Health

New ASSE Student Officers Elected

osh — Fri, 24 May 2013 15:31:17 +0000

(Left to Right)
President Tyler Self
Vice-President Kyle Wisener
Secretary Cristen Vandenburg
Treasurer Marie Wiest

April 2013

osh — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 18:54:12 +0000

Masters Class in Industrial Hygiene Completes Weekend Lab

The weekend of April 20-21 saw 17 Master of Science in Occupational Safety students gathering on the Durant campus for a weekend of intense labs in Industrial Hygiene. The on-site weekend lab is required for all student in the masters IH class. The students were led by Dr. Hal Poovey and Dr. Chris Bradshaw.

ASSE Student Chapter Meeting

Speakers: Stan Harris and Greg Roberts
Halliburton Corporation
Attendance: 40+

Southeastern Occupational Safety Students Score Big in National Scholarships

osh — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 13:21:41 +0000

Southeastern Oklahoma State University’s Department of Occupational Safety & Health would like to announce the following student scholarships from the Foundation of the American Society of Safety Engineers. The largest Occupational Safety organization in the world with over 34,000 members, the ASSE Foundation awarded 103 scholarships and grants totaling $194,000 which included 84 scholarships to students representing 37 universities nationwide. According to Dr. Wayne D. Jones, department chair, this is the largest number of scholarships ever awarded at one time to Southeastern’s occupational safety department from the Foundation. Said Dr. Jones, “This announcement by the ASSE Foundation, combined with our other scholarships awarded this year, brings our total to over 20 for 2012-2013. Again, our best year ever!”

2013 recipients from Southeastern are:

Edwin P. Locke HSE Scholarship (sponsored by the Texas Safety Foundation)

Recipient: William Mitchell of Denison, TX
Amount: $2,000

FabEnCo-LaCook Investment For Excellence in Occupational Safety & Health Scholarship

Recipient: Walter Smith of McAlester, OK
Amount: $4,000

ISNetworld Scholarship

Recipient: Steven Wilson of Calera, OK
Amount: $1,000

Permian Basin Chapter Endowment

Recipient: Wesley Johnston of Durant, OK
Amount: $1,000

Southwest Chapter Roy Kinslow Scholarship

Recipient: Brenda Lawrence of Calera, OK
Amount: $1,000

UPS Diversity Scholarship

Recipient: Brant Plyler of Durant, OK
Amount: $5,250

Southeastern Occupational Safety Department marks 1,500 Graduates

cwood — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 16:29:59 +0000

A milestone will be reached with the conclusion of the 2013 Spring semester as the Department of Occupational Safety & Health at Southeastern exceeded 1,500 graduates The program began as a traffic and general safety department in the 1960’s and 1970’s but was converted to its present focus of worker safety in the industrial, manufacturing, transportation, insurance and construction industries in 1989.

Since that time the program has seen steady growth and now averages over 300 students majoring in OSH, almost 80 graduates each year at the bachelors and masters levels, and over 500 students enrolled in occupational safety courses each semester. In addition, the American Society of Safety Engineers student chapter consistently places among the nation’s best and accumulates thousands of dollars in scholarships each year for Southeastern occupational safety students. Southeastern Occupational Safety students have earned over $175,000 in national scholarships and grants in the past five years alone.

In 2007 the program experienced two major milestones with the creation of the masters program and an OSH building renovation which doubled the academic spaces and added significant lab spaces. Additional grants by various companies, including the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Granite Construction Company, Raytheon, and SKC added much needed lab equipment and training exercises bringing the program to a competitive level with any occupational safety program in the country. The Master of Science program is a primarily online program which allows students to participate from as far away as oil platforms off the coast of Africa, Middle Eastern countries, and from states all over the country. The program has grown to over 80 students. Over 25 students have graduated from the program.

The program is up-to-date with the latest technology, industrial hygiene, construction and noise and vibration labs, and confined space training. The program offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees in occupational safety & health, and satisfies the needs of the profession in numerous ways. Dozens of companies recruit from the department every year and several companies come back year after year for Southeastern Occupational Safety graduates. Our graduates fill the ranks of many Fortune 500 companies and governmental agencies around the world. A small sampling of the worldwide companies with Southeastern occupational safety graduates include Alcoa, Conoco-Phillips, Exxon-Mobil, BP, Texas Instruments, Alcon Labs, NASA, Tyson, The Hartford, Kiewit, Granite Construction Company, Anheuser-Busch, OSHA, Burlington-Northern, Pratt & Whitney, Peterbilt, Chevron, Baylor Medical Center, BNSF Railway, Raytheon, the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations. The department has graduates in almost every state and numerous countries overseas. We have graduates working in all areas of industry, government, and education.

The Southeastern name is everywhere in occupational safety. With more emphasis on occupational safety than ever before, the legal and moral imperative that companies employ safety professionals and the lack of universities with occupational safety as a degree choice, the program is poised to grow larger with each passing year.

Dr. Jones, student and alumni attend ASSE SW Chapter Monthly Meeting

cwood — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 17:18:28 +0000

March 11th Dr. Wayne Jones accompanies three Southeastern Occupational Safety alumni to the American Society of Safety Engineers Southwest Chapter meeting in Dallas, Texas. The meeting, held at the Boy Scouts of American National Headquarters in Irving, was a gathering of occupational safety professional from all over the DFW Metroplex. The speaker for the meeting was Jeremy George of Devon Energy who spoke on Risk-Based Process Safety Management. Dr. Jones shared with participants the new OSH expansion plans to the Van Alstyne campus of Grayson College and the need for additional qualified faculty to staff both the expansion as well as the OSH program on the Durant campus. Also in attendance were (L to R in the attached picture): Southeastern OSH alumni Carlos Owens and David Burt and OSH alumnus and current OSH graduate student Charles Gaither.

ASSE Student Chapter Meets

cwood — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 17:23:10 +0000

The ASSE Student chapter met on Tuesday, February 12th with guess speaker Bill Smith, Regional Safety Coordinator for the Pinnacle Corporation bringing the presentation. The attendance was excellent with 43 students making it to the 2:00 meeting.

Students Attend Professional Development Conference of the American Society of Safety Engineers

cwood — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 17:29:40 +0000

February 4th, Nine occupational safety students attended the 40th Anniversary Professional Development Conference of the American Society of Safety Engineers in Dallas, TX where they heard presentations on topics such as the legalities of recycling, spill prevention and countermeasures, and active shooter scenarios. Dr. Wayne Jones presented a seminar on “Legal Aspects of Recruiting and Hiring College Students and Graduates for Internships and Entry-Level Safety Positions” describing potential problems for companies hiring students without proper knowledge of the legalities involved and therefor unknowingly violating federal and/or state laws with regard to discrimination and hiring practices. The conference was held at the T. Boone Pickens Conference Center in the Dallas Scottish-Rite Hospital.

Students attending the conference were (L to R): Gary Russell, Shayla Olsen, Cam Williams, Jeff Allen, Bradley McMillian. Not pictured are Kelly Jeffress,
Michael Foreman, Jonathan Huggins, Randal Rowland.

ASSE Students Chapter Meeting-January 29, 2013

cwood — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 17:31:49 +0000

Guest Speaker: Heather Knowles
AEROJET, Camden, AR
Attendance: 45