News release Public Information Office  SLU 10880   Hammond, LA 70402   phone: 985-549-2341   fax: 985-549-2061 publicinfo@selu.edu Spring 2004 news releases Public Information home News archive Contact: Rene Abadie Date: 10/19/04   SOUTHEASTERN TO OFFER BACHELOR’S DEGREE IN OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY       HAMMOND – Southeastern Louisiana University has received approval to offer an undergraduate degree program in occupational safety, health and environment.       The new degree, to be offered through the industrial technology department, is the only one of its kind in the state and is an extension of an associate degree program that Southeastern began offering in 1994. Southeastern will begin enrolling its first students in the bachelor of science program in the spring 2005 semester.      “This program is designed to meet the needs of industries in the region for trained and educated professionals who can work with the increasingly complex practice of safety and health in the industrial setting,” said President Randy Moffett. “The practice of industrial safety and health in plants and various businesses is highly regulated by state and national agencies and requires educated professionals to protect the health and safety of the many workers in Louisiana who are employed by these industries.”      Moffett said the new degree program represents Southeastern’s ongoing efforts to meet the needs of area employers. “This program was developed with considerable input from managers at area plants that employ health and safety professionals,” he said.      James Owens, head of the department of industrial technology, said Southeastern’s current associate’s degree and the new bachelor’s degree were both supported by representatives of the Greater Baton Rouge Industrial Managers Association. The organization is made up of managers from more than 50 of the largest plants located within the Mississippi River industrial corridor between Baton Rouge and New Orleans.      Graduates will be qualified to fill a variety of positions available at area industries, including roles of safety supervisor and safety engineer, Owens said. The new degree, he said, should qualify graduates for higher entry-level job placement and starting salaries.      Owens said the new program eventually will require the addition of faculty members and several new higher level courses which are being developed by the department. The degree is designed to meet criteria established by the Accreditation Board for Engineering Technology (ABET), Applied Sciences Accreditation Commission, and the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE). The department will seek national accreditation as soon as it is eligible.      Southeastern students enrolled in the program will be qualified for a wide variety of internships, scholarships, and grants designated specifically for students in four-year programs, Owens said.      Faculty member Lawrence Mauerman, who has more than 30 years of experience in safety and health management, developed the new program over the past five years by gathering input from industry representatives. He noted the significant student interest in the bachelor’s program.      “The students now in our associate’s degree program want to continue toward the four-year degree,” said Mauerman, who serves as faculty advisor to the Southeastern chapter of the American Society of Safety Engineers, an organization sponsored by the professional chapter in Baton Rouge. “Many have already taken the technology and other courses they need to complete the program and are just waiting on the new safety courses to be added. So, we will be generating graduates pretty quickly after the courses are in place.”