With Andy Garcia-Rivera, left, director of the Department of Environmental Health and Safety, at the Humphries Service Building are section managers, from left, James Grieger of occupational health and safety; Thomas McGiff of laboratory and radiation safety; and Ted Murray of fire protection and emergency services. Adriana Rovers/University Photography
Cornell's Department of Environmental Health and Safety is one of five programs at U.S. colleges and universities to win an Award of Merit in an annual competition sponsored by the Campus Safety, Health and Environmental Management Division of the National Safety Council.
The department won for the "Complete Safety Program" category, according to Andy Garcia-Rivera, director of Environmental Health and Safety, by meeting stringent criteria set forth for colleges' and universities' environmental, health and safety programs.
The components of the "Complete Safety Program," Garcia-Rivera explained, include formal, written health and safety policies; documented hazard communication; accident and injury prevention information; safety education; and core services, such as radiation prevention.
"Of the four levels of awards given, we are very close to receiving the highest award, but we didn't get it because Cornell does not formally track student injuries on campus. We are currently working on collecting and analyzing that data," Garcia-Rivera added.
Each submission is reviewed by peer colleges and universities, as well as professionals in the environmental health and safety industry.
"This is a tremendous achievement for the Department of Environmental Health and Safety. It is quite prestigious, because few universities even get into the competition, and the requirements are quite significant," Garcia-Rivera said.
"In my four years in this office, our staff of 54 has been able to centralize, become more efficient, restructure services and become more customer-service oriented. I am very proud of the staff's hard work and grateful for the support we have received from the administration," he said.
The award winners will be honored with a plaque at the 44th International Conference on Campus Safety next month in Salt Lake City.