The Illinois State University student section of the Central Illinois Chapter of the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) has received the 2016–2017 Outstanding Student Section Award (OSSA).
The 2017 OSSA Evaluation Committee indicated that Illinois State’s student section was strong in all three critical areas: professional development, research, and campus and community involvement. The quality of research conducted by the members was outstanding, and they presented the research findings at a professional conference. The student section also impressed the committee in both the number and the variety of the meetings that were held.
As this year’s winner, a student representative will accept the award at the annual Professional Development Conference (PDC) SAFETY 2017 in Denver. A $6,000 award is presented to the student section for scholarships, PDC travel, and research initiatives. The monetary honorarium and plaque will be presented during the House of Delegates meeting.
The student section will be recognized again at the 2017 Future Safety Leaders Conference, to be held November 7–8 at the Westin Lombard Yorktown Center in Lombard.
The Illinois State University student section was chartered in 1974 and is one of the oldest student sections in the United States. OSSA began in 2007. Student sections can voluntarily apply for this award each year. If the minimal requirements are met, the student sections receive $500 toward their operating budget. The Illinois State University student section has applied each year the award has existed.
Founded in 1911, the Park Ridge-based ASSE is the oldest professional safety society and represents more than 37,000 safety, health, and environmental practitioners committed to protecting people, property, and the environment and are at the forefront of safety engineering, design, standards development, management and education in virtually every industry, governmental agency, labor, and in institutions of higher education.
