Live from Safety 2008: ERAU Prof Wins Outstanding Safety Educator Award
Acknowledging his contributions to safety education and research in preventing on-the-job injuries, ASSE today announced Jim Ramsay, Ph.D., MA, CSP, of Daytona Beach, Fla., as this year’s recipient of the Dr. William E. Tarrants ASSE Outstanding Safety Educator award. He received the honor this morning during the society’s annual Professional Development Conference and Exposition—Safety 2008—in Las Vegas.
Ramsay currently serves as professor and program coordinator of Homeland Security at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Until 2005, he was a professor of Health Promotion and Health Protection at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, and in 2005 went on to serve as associate professor of Safety Sciences at Indiana University of Pennsylvania in Indiana, Pa. He received a joint Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering and Preventative Medicine within the Health Service Research discipline from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has researched, written, published, and presented in several journals and national conferences.
”Dr. Jim Ramsay epitomizes the work ethic, the professionalism, and the spirit of contribution and cooperation necessary for educators to play in the field of safety,” said ERAU’s Applied Aviation Sciences chair Mark A. Friend, Ed.D., CSP, who nominated Ramsay. “His ideas and enthusiasm will continue to shape and mold our safety future.”
An ASSE professional member for almost 10 years, Ramsay helped found the Academic Practice Specialty. He also co-developed and currently serves as editor-in-chief of the online Journal of Safety, Health and Environmental Research, which consists of peer-reviewed SH&E research articles. He also chairs the ASSE Educational Standards Committee and has served as a primary evaluator for ABET accreditation of safety programs in institutions of higher learning and is now an ASAC commissioner. Ramsay worked on the ASSE/BCSP “Career Guide to the Safety Profession,” reviewed articles for the society’s Professional Safety journal, served as ASSE representative to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and has been a scientific reviewer for CDC and NIOSH. In addition, he has served on several ASSE task forces, including Global Harmonization of he Hazardous Communication Standard and Integrating Wellness and Safety in the Workplace.
The award was established in 2002 in honor of Dr. William E. Tarrants, P.E., CSP, of Crownsville, Md. A past ASSE president and safety educator, Tarrants helped establish the Academic Accreditation Council and the Board of Certified Safety Professionals. Recipients of the award are nominated by their peers in recognition for their work with education in the OSH&E field, ASSE, and the safety profession.