KSC Dedication Honors Safety Center Corporate Partners

KEENE, N.H. 4/5/02 Keene State College will celebrate the opening of its new PSNH Safety Simulation Center and Liberty Mutual Construction Safety Center on Thursday, April 11, at 4:15 p.m., officially naming the new facilities for Public Service of New Hampshire and Liberty Mutual. Contributions from Northeast Utilities, the parent organization of PSNH, and from the Liberty Mutual Group have enabled the renovation and conversion of unused laboratory space in Keene States Butterfield Hall into the two new centers.

The PSNH Safety Simulation Center houses two driving simulators, adjustable ergonomic workstations, an eight-station computer lab, a conference room, and a variety of exhaust systems for ventilation assessment. The Liberty Mutual Construction Safety Center will house a fall protection simulator and scaffolding, a confined space training gallery, a respiratory fit test station, a telescopic vision search device, and a classroom.

Keene State offers New Englands only year-round program awarding a bachelors degree in safety studies. Alumni now work as safety professionals in safety- related jobs in every state in the nation and several countries abroad.

We’re proud that our safety degree program is helping protect workers and save lives, said KSC President Stanley J. Yarosewick. PSNH and Liberty Mutuals contributions will make it possible for students to use the most current innovations in the field in a state-of-the-art learning environment.

For many years, PSNH has been focused on educating our employees about workforce safety; however, safety issues should not be limited to the confines of our company, said Gary A. Long, president and chief operating officer of PSNH. Our support of the Safety Simulation Center is a natural extension of our companys commitment to develop professional leadership within the safety management studies program and to reach out to our communities to better educate the public about safety.

As the only college in New England to offer a program of this type, Keene State College is the perfect partner for Boston-based Liberty Mutual, said Roger L. Jean, executive vice president of Liberty Mutual Group. We are pleased to work with Keene State to enhance and expand the safety training they provide an appropriate collaboration which underscores Liberty Mutuals mission to help people live safer, more secure lives.

The dedication will also recognize other corporate partners who made contributions to the Centers:

PSNH Safety Simulation Center
Keller Foundation Ltd. of Neenah, Wis., whose gift was used to purchase computers and resource materials;

Markem Corporation of Keene, whose gift enabled the construction and furnishing of a conference room;

National Grange Mutual Charitable Foundation of Keene, whose gift was used to purchase the driving simulators.

Liberty Mutual Construction Safety Center
AngioLaz Inc. of Bellows Falls, Vt., which provided the center with a telescopic vision device for use in simulated confined space entries and retrievals;

Engelberth Construction Inc. of Colchester, Vt., whose gift will enable the center to add a respiratory fit test station;

J.A. Wright & Co. of Keene, whose contribution will provide scaffolding for construction site simulations;

MacMillin Company of Keene, whose contribution will provide equipment for fall protection training;

National Grange Mutual Charitable Foundation, whose gift provided a classroom in the center.

Keene State is one of the few institutions of higher education in the country which offers a comprehensive safety management program. Courses within the program address legal aspects of safety and environmental protection, Office of Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards, traffic safety, fire protection, home safety, disaster planning, ergonomics, industrial hygiene and occupational safety and health management. About 200 Keene State students are enrolled in the safety degree program, and about 2,000 additional students take safety courses each year. Keene State also offers classes at a satellite facility in Manchester in association with OSHA.

For more information about the dedication, contact Judy Kalich, director of advancement, at 603-358-2371.