Southeastern safety expert honored by Greater Baton Rouge Industry Alliance
Wednesday, September 28, 2016 
by: Rene Abadie
SAFETY AWARD PRESENTED – Lu Yuan, left, head of the Department of Computer Science and Industrial Technology at Southeastern Louisiana University, accepts the Greater Baton Rouge Industry Alliance (GBRIA) Craft Workforce Development Champion Award from John Pacillo, operations director of Mexichem Fluor and a member of the GBRIA board of directors. The award recognizes the contributions Southeastern’s Occupational Safety, Health and Environment program has made toward workforce development for industry in the region.
HAMMOND – A Southeastern Louisiana University specialist in workplace safety was recognized
recently by the Greater Baton Rouge Industry Alliance (GBRIA) for academic leadership
in the field.
Lu Yuan, a certified safety professional and interim head of Southeastern’s Department
of Computer Science and Industrial Technology, received the Craft Workforce Development
Champion Award from GBRIA at its 9th Annual Craft Workforce Development Excellence
Awards banquet held recently in Baton Rouge.
GBRIA is a non-profit trade association with membership from 60 industrial plant
facilities located in eight parishes in the Baton Rouge area. The organization was
formed in 1970 to seek solutions to common issues with a focus on safety performance
and workforce development.
Yuan was nominated for the award by Chris Newton, coordinator of workforce development
at Cajun Industries, a nationally recognized leader in the construction industry.
“Dr. Yuan and the faculty in Southeastern’s Occupational Safety, Health and Environment
program are a step above others in providing training for careers in the demanding
field of safety,” said Newton. They routinely produce quality students through the
usage of accredited curriculum and industry experience. They use a real-world learning
model, where teams of students visit companies to shadow safety professionals and
review safety programs.”
“This award is for our entire OSH&E faculty,” said Yuan, who last year was honored
by the American Society of Safety Engineers with its Outstanding Safety Educator Award.
“It recognizes the great contributions the program has made toward workforce development
for industry in the region.”
Yuan said that as the state continues to expand its focus on development of industry,
the need for professionals in the field will only increase.
Southeastern’s OSH&E program is one of only 26 such programs nationally that
award graduates with the Graduate Safety Practitioner Designation from the Board of
Certified Safety Professionals. The program is accredited by the Applied Science Accreditation
Commission of ABET.
