Dear Colleagues,
I’m excited to be getting underway as the interim dean for the college. I am looking forward to regularly communicating with you and keeping you apprised throughout this year as we move forward with the transition to a new dean.
In that spirit, I wanted to give you a quick update on a safety incident that occurred last week. Last Tuesday, WSU experienced a power outage that led to a fume hood shutting off in one of our laboratories in ETRL and affecting an experiment. With concern for laboratory and personnel safety, one of our researchers decided to evacuate the premises and contact emergency personnel. Working with emergency services to evaluate the situation, WSU’s Office of Risk Management soon after decided to post an emergency alert notification to WSU faculty, staff, and students.
We are pleased to report that the entire situation was handled well and resulted in no damage or injury. The researcher acted proactively and promptly, providing needed information to everyone involved, and following appropriate safety procedures.
The safety of our students, faculty, and staff is always our top priority. It was a terrific reminder of the need for all of us to be alert to hazards and to have a good plan when a problem does occur. With that in mind, I would like to suggest the following:
- If you haven’t, please sign up for WSU’s emergency alert system, which provides communications via text, phone, and e-mail when an emergency occurs.
- Please take a moment to review WSU’s safety policies. Each of your departments should also have an emergency plan in place.
- If an emergency occurs, call 911. As soon as possible after that, please notify your supervisor.
If you have any further questions about our college’s emergency procedures, please feel free to follow up with your representative on Voiland College’s Safety Committee.
Voiland College Safety Committee
| Unit | Representative | Phone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bremerton | Philip Dodge | (360) 475-7246 | pdodge@wsu.edu |
| CEE | Natalia Kaiser | (509) 335-3351 | natalia.kaiser@wsu.edu |
| CMEC | Joshah Jennings | (509) 335-6266 | joshah_jennings@wsu.edu |
| Dean's Office | Tina Hilding | (509) 335-5095 | thilding@wsu.edu |
| Dean's Office | Dar Neunherz | (509) 335-3783 | drussell@wsu.edu |
| EECS | Scott Hanson | (509) 335-4959 | scott@eecs.wsu.edu |
| Engineering Shops | Miles Pepper | (509) 335-8550 | mpepper@wsu.edu |
| Everett | Derek Strong | (509) 335-8654 | derek.strong@wsu.edu |
| IMR | Marc Weber | (509) 335-1131 | m_weber@wsu.edu |
| MME | Bob Richards | (509) 335-8157 | heatran@wsu.edu |
| SDC | David Drake | (509) 335-2335 | mrdrake@wsu.edu |
| Vancouver | Sam Judd | (360) 546-9201 | sam.judd@wsu.edu |
| VSCEB and Committee Chair | Billy Schmuck | (509) 335-4776 | bschmuck@wsu.edu |
I look forward to working with you all in the next year.
Sincerely,
Don Bender
Weyerhaeuser Professor and Interim Dean