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Foods and nutrition professor’s research gets down to the basics
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Webb to coordinate undergraduate minority recruitment
Faculty honored for teaching, influence on students
Newsmakers
Administrative Changes
The big chill
An ounce of prevention
ESD works to provide safer environment for university’s researchers, students
By Suzanne Scoggins
As director of the University Environmental Safety Division, Ken Scott has spent the past year
focusing on the much-publicized investigation and clean-up of hazardous materials buried on university-owned property. However, assisting with cleanup issues is only part of the ESD mission. Scott spoke with Columns about the role of ESD and its vision for the future.
Columns: What do you want the public to know about the Environmental Safety Division?
Scott: I want to reach out to faculty, staff, and students in order to promote safety at the university. Universities are now on the Environmental Protection Agency’s list of places that need to be focused upon, so we’re diligently working to meet those expectations.
Columns: How do you see your job at ESD?
Scott: I guess you would say my job description is working with the big picture. My responsibility is to President Adams and the university community to do everything I possibly can to inform them about what the risks at this university are. I try to convey what is needed to strengthen environmental literacy, and to promote a safer environment at the university.
Columns: What is ESD doing on the proactive side?
Scott: The image most people have of our department is that we clean up mistakes, but we’re also working to prevent mistakes from occurring. We want to engage people at the administrative level in a cooperative effort. Our goal is to inform the university of our services so that they feel comfortable in picking up the phone to ask for assistance with a potential problem.
Columns: What new programs are being enacted?
Scott: Based on an increasing dialogue with the Radiation Safety Committee, the Chemical and Laboratory Safety Committee, and the university’s biosafety officer, we’ve expanded our laboratory and radiation safety programs, our hazardous materials program, and our interaction with university and Athens--Clarke County emergency preparedness organizations.
Columns: How is ESD handling safety training?
Scott: We’re working on safety training so that staff and students across campus, including the Physical Plant, Housing, Georgia Center, undergraduates, and laboratory teaching assistants are more knowledgeable and can keep themselves safer.
Columns: How should individuals and departments interact with the Environmental Safety Division?
Scott: We want people to be aware of safety-related issues in their own environment. We want them to feel comfortable calling us about any health and safety issue.
Columns: What do you see in the future of ESD?
Scott: As you know, University of Georgia is one of the top research universities in the nation. With this in mind, we have developed a 10-year strategic plan to also be one of the safest. My job is to direct this staff and assess our capabilities and needs to achieve this lofty goal.
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