Region II Area Director - Area A Candidate

Robert T. Dunnington, CSP

BIOGRAPHY

Robert T. Dunnington, CSP, has worked for the University of New Mexico’s Safety Department for the last 17 years. Currently he is the Program Operations Director for the University of New Mexico’s Safety and Risk Services Department. Prior to New Mexico, he was supervisor of safety and environmental with Cooper Oil Tool Division in Houston, Texas. He is a CSP and has over 32 years of experience in the safety field. He has experience in environmental affairs, safety and risk management in heavy and light manufacturing facilities. In these positions he has developed and implemented safety programs and provided oversight for his company’s safety, worker’s compensation, medical and environmental programs. He has a B.S. degree in Physics from Angelo State University.

He has been a member of ASSE for over twenty years (nineteen as a Professional Member). Currently he is a member in good standing with the New Mexico Chapter of the ASSE and was named the Chapter Safety Professional of the Year in 2002. He has held the position of vice president - membership services for the Gulf Coast Chapter of ASSE as well as the positions of treasurer, vice-president, president-elect, delegate and president for the New Mexico Chapter.

He served as treasurer of the New Mexico Safety Association. He is a member of the Boy Scouts of America and currently serves as a National volunteer on the Health and Safety Taskforce and is a Council volunteer for the Great Southwest Council.

PLATFORM STATEMENT

As we enter this new era of business operations, the safety profession can only be effective through efficient and cooperative efforts. Significant changes have occurred within the safety profession and the Society in the past 5 years, and more are in store for the future. We need a concerted effort to assure our membership that the Society is dedicated to helping them achieve personal and organizational goals.

Through professional development, certification, networking, education and training, our chapters can assist their members in reaching their personal goals while enhancing their abilities to accomplish organizational goals. Efficient chapter administration is our goal and officers will be urged to push their chapter to new heights of interaction with the Society, the local community and the regulatory issues at hand. As a professional society, we need to actively let businesses, legislators and the public know that safety is a "true profession" and not simply a matter of common sense. Safety professionals cover a broad range of ever-growing responsibilities, from safety to environmental issues and from industrial hygiene concerns to risk management. In light of this, our chapters must maintain contact with other professional societies that share similar interests, such as AIHA, SSS, RIMS and others.

As the Area Director for Region II, I hope to work closely with the chapter officers to provide leadership, assistance, information and consultation. Region II has a number of active and highly successful chapters. Through communication and networking I hope that experience can be shared with other chapters in our region. I will work to be the voice, to the Society, for the chapters that I would represent in the Region.