Tempe mayor meets with Environmental Health and Safety community

Tempe Mayor Mark Mitchell delivered the keynote address during the quarterly Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) compliance officer meeting at ASU on Oct. 14.

Compliance officers are university employees who voluntarily take EH&S training classes, act as EH&S liaisons and notify EH&S of any unresolved compliance issues involving potential safety hazards, exposures, injuries or other issues.

Mitchell, who has deep ties to the area and a political science degree from ASU, noted the close and historical relationship between the city and ASU. He thanked the ASU community for its contributions to help make Tempe a thriving city.

Mitchell spoke of the city’s recent achievements, including having the highest Class A-office occupancy rate in the Valley. Tempe’s access to five Valley freeways — more than any other city in the Phoenix metro area — helped establish Tempe as an ideal hub for tech innovation and startup companies, he said.

In addition to Mitchell’s address, several EH&S team members received awards. Leon Igras, EH&S director, paid tribute to John Riley, associate vice president of University Business Services, who administers EH&S and retires from ASU this fall.

“John has provided tremendous support and encouragement to EH&S throughout his ASU tenure and has been a strong supporter of the compliance officer program,” Igras said. “He has empowered ASU’s commitment to maintaining safety at all university levels and will be greatly missed by the entire EH&S family.”

EH&S also bestowed its Award of Excellence to Betty Lombardo, University Sustainability Practices program manager, and Stan Klonowski, laboratory manager, for their lasting contributions to safety and sustainability.

Laboratory and EH&S updates

Following individual recognitions, the winning laboratories of this fall’s Icebox Detox Challenge were announced. The initiative was designed to help reduce a laboratory’s carbon footprint by maximizing energy efficiency. EH&S co-sponsored the initiative with University Sustainability Practices, ASU Procurement and the Office of Knowledge Enterprise Development. The grand-prize winning laboratory, headed by Kevin Redding, earned a $5,000 research grant. Additional laboratory leaders who were recognized included Janet Neisewander, Aura Ontiveros and Chris Diehnelt.

Compliance officers also learned of EH&S’s passing inspection by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and highlights from the Campus Safety, Health and Environmental Management Association annual conference held in July. 

The next compliance officer meeting is scheduled for early spring 2016.