The policy, issued Nov. 27 by President Hunter Rawlings after approval by the Policy Advisory Group and its Executive Policy Review Committee, affects just about everyone at the university. It is the product of more than a year's work by Andy Garcia-Rivera, director of environmental health and safety, and his staff; the University Health and Safety Board; and the policy advisory group, which is chaired by Yoke-San Reynolds, associate vice president and university controller. The new policy outlines safety responsibilities and training requirements to ensure individual and institutional compliance with relevant laws, regulations, policies and guidelines and mandates the establishment of safety committees in larger departments as well as the creation of a network of unit safety representatives "to work with the Department of Environmental Health and Safety staff to communicate and address safety issues and needs."
"On one level, this policy formalizes a set of rules and procedures established over the years in response to government mandates and prudent judgment," said Garcia-Rivera, "but on another level, we hope its promulgation does much more. We intend to use it as part of a campaign to increase awareness and establish lines of responsibility for health and safety across the campus."
Rawlings noted in a cover letter to executive officers, deans, directors and department heads that in addition to restating "established practices that have long been part of normal operations in many of Cornell's labs, offices, classrooms and living areas," the 21-page document emphasizes some new areas "with regard to safety training and individual responsibility."
"Of particular note is the emphasis on individual responsibility for safety," the president wrote. "Every member of the Cornell community has a role, but that role and attendant responsibility are particularly important for supervisors, whether they are supervisors of faculty, students or staff."
The new policy outlines safety responsibilities and training requirements to ensure individual and institutional compliance with relevant laws, regulations, policies and guidelines and mandates the establishment of safety committees in larger departments as well as the creation of a network of unit safety representatives "to work with the Department of Environmental Health and Safety staff to communicate and address safety issues and needs."
In addition to being sent to deans, directors and department heads, copies of the new policy also are being distributed to unit and building safety representatives. Copies of the policy are available at: the deans' offices for the schools and colleges of the university; the offices of the University Counsel and Senior Vice President; the reference sections of the Olin, Mann, physical Sciences and law libraries; the University Audit and Controller's offices; and the Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva.
The policy is accessible as well on the Cornell Web page by clicking on University Policies and Procedures or directly at http://www.univco.cornell.edu/policy/HS.html.