The Association of Occupational Safety and Health Educators was formed as a response to a need in the field for a unified voice from educators on issues confronting the profession. During an ABET accreditation visit, a question was brought up about techniques used to teach the laboratory portion of a fire class. The visitor had been impressed with what he saw during the site visit and wanted to know more. Paul Specht, coordinator of the Millersville program, readily shared information and then suggested that educators need a forum where they can discuss what they do well and share their ideas with others in profession. The organizers were Specht, Mark Friend and Jim Kohn of East Carolina University (ECU) and Kathy Miezio of Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP). The initial goal, as envisioned by the organizers was to bring together educators in occupational safety to share what they did well in their respective institutions.
The first meeting was held in March, 1997 at the Monte Carlo Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. Approximately forty people representing over twenty different educational institutions attended. Information was presented on internship programs, international study opportunities, and other areas of interest to educators. Some discussions centered on issues dealing with accreditation and the impact that safety educators had and should have on the profession. Attendees were interested in how they could better influence safety programs where they already put their mark on many of the new professionals entering the field. Representatives were on hand from the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE), the Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP), the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), and other safety organizations. A representative from Occupational Hazards covered the event for the media. EPA and two book publishers also sent delegates.
During that meeting, it was determined that the group needed to have more input on accreditation issues and that it could help to determine the future of accreditation. In response, Tom Bresnahan, director of professional affairs for ASSE asked for a delegate from the group to sit on the Professional and Educational Standards Committee of ASSE. This committee represents the profession to ABET for accreditation purposes. Much of the new, recently proposed criteria at masters', bachelors', and associates' degree levels has been a response to concerns of that were expressed in Las Vegas. In fact, all of the educators represented on the committee have been in attendance at the educators' meetings.
In order to more effectively plan for the second meeting, a smaller group met in Chicago during the National Safety Congress to discuss and agenda for a second major meeting to be held in Las egas in March, 1998.
