The Office of the Vice President for Research at Colorado State University has appointed Anthony Appleton as the university’s Research Safety Culture Coordinator effective Jan. 14. In this role, he will develop and implement research safety activities and provide technical guidance to promote the safe and ethical conduct of research.
“We are embarking on new efforts and are committed to building a strong safety culture at CSU. This is vitally important to the health and well-being of our students, faculty and staff,” said Alan Rudolph, vice president for research. “Anthony’s arrival is a great new addition to this effort.”
Appleton will serve as a liaison between researchers and the various safety and compliance units on campus to help identify and manage biological, chemical and radiological hazards, thereby reducing the risk of harm to the campus community and the environment. He will also work to facilitate research excellence through ensuring safe research settings, promoting green practices, and enhancing the culture of Responsible, Aware, Mindful (RAM) safety.
In this position, Appleton will call on the expertise of existing campus units such as Environmental Health Services, the Research Integrity and Compliance Review Office, and the offices of Training and Development and Risk Management and Insurance, and create partnerships with researchers, unit safety contacts and the campus community.
Safe use of materials
The OVPR supports the safe use of biological, chemical, radiological and other potentially hazardous materials on campus, and has created Appleton’s position to enhance the campus community’s understanding of, and compliance with required regulations as well as developing researchers’ skills and awareness of safety in a range of research environments.
“A commitment to a strong, positive safety culture is critical to maintaining research excellence at CSU,” said Ellen Fisher, assistant vice president for research and strategic initiatives. “Anthony’s experience as a member of the Stanford Task Force on Advancing the Culture of Laboratory Safety gives him a unique perspective on creating culture change in academic research environments. I am truly excited to add Anthony to the OVPR team, as I am confident he will actively engage researchers across campus to inspire a value for safety and help make CSU a model for other institutions.”
Appleton graduated with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and marine science from the University of Miami and received a Ph.D. in chemistry from Georgia Institute of Technology. He continued his studies as a Camille and Henry Dreyfus Postdoctoral Fellow in Environmental Science at Stanford within the Chemical Engineering Department. Appleton joins CSU with five years of experience as a chemistry faculty member.
