Safety Professionals Organization Strengthens Students’ Futures With New UIC Chapter

In a move designed to benefit both the students of the University of Illinois at Chicago and Chicago area professionals, the national organization of the American Society of Safety Engineers approved the formation of a UIC student chapter.

ASSE is a highly respected organization, according to Steven Lacey, assistant professor of environmental and occupational health sciences at the UIC School of Public Health. The successful creation of a student chapter will marry the university’s young, creative forces with those of the dedicated, experienced men and women working across Chicago on safety issues.

Maribeth Anderson, corporate safety manager of operations for Sears Holdings Corporation, is a past president of the Chicago area ASSE and is soon to be the regional vice president. She said she has been anticipating a union with students.

“It has been a personal goal of mine to see the Greater Chicago chapter connect with a university that is committed to providing an outstanding education to students within the environmental, health and safety fields,” Anderson said. “The work to implement a student chapter over the last year is a testament of our desire to unite with the students of UIC to provide mentoring opportunities to transition the students from an educational setting to become contributing professionals….and ultimately serve in executive committee position within ASSE.” Lacey, who will also be the group’s advisor, said formalizing the relationship with the local chapter offers students greater opportunities for educational growth and career advancement.

“ASSE is the premiere organization for safety professionals in the U.S.,” he said. “This means we have improved access to employment and business networking, improved access to area education opportunities through the professional chapter and improved national recognition of our program.”

“The professional chapter meets at least monthly. They always kept an open door policy for our students,” Lacey added. “But the formation of the student chapter will prompt more interaction between students and practicing professionals. The most notable opportunity is connecting our occupational safety graduate students to the Chicago-area professional safety community. The local professional community will now have a clearly defined pool of new safety professionals to recruit and hire into area positions.”

Lacey said he expects to gain more members across public health and the university.

“We hope to attract other SPH disciplines, as occupational and community safety problems need all of these disciplines - community health, epidemiology, policy,” he said. “I also hope that we are able to recruit members from the College of Engineering, and from other physical and social sciences.”

The new chapter’s members have already begun discussing project ideas. They plan to participate in community service, bring in local experts to speak, and organize outreach activities to educate undergraduate scientists and engineers about career options within occupational safety.

The chapter’s first president, Anders Abelman, a doctoral student in the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Division at the UIC SPH, said ASSE will benefit all students.

“We have yet to decide on a definite agenda, but suggested activities include organizing a division-wide CPR training session, helping the ASSE Greater Chicago Chapter with outreach to high schools and other colleges, and volunteering at various events on and off campus,” Abelman said.

Lacey is also director of the new training program in Occupational Safety, housed within the EOHS division of the UIC SPH, in partnership with UIC’s Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering.

The training program, funded by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, provides scientific, engineering and public health training to prepare students for protecting the safety of workers and the general public. Lacey said the formation of the student chapter and connection to the Chicago chapter will bolster this program as well, by allowing students to interact more closely and actively with practicing professionals.

For the Greater Chicago Chapter, the fresh ideas and enthusiastic student involvement has already been embraced, according to President of the ASSE Greater Chicago Chapter, Al Borzych, who brought news of the chapter’s acceptance to students and faculty.

“Where can I begin my thoughts about the students? They are the future of our profession, whether it be safety, health or environmental,” Borzych said. “Young men and women who will bring new ideas, concepts and business acumen to our profession. I see them having the perseverance and tenacity to learn new ways to keep us safe in a greening society. As we, the members of ASSE, age, and our ideas die, the students will step up to preserve tomorrow.”

-- Nichola Moretti and Tina Daniel