Why is Dave Finster the Chemical Hygiene Officer at Wittenberg?
In the summer of 1996 I was appointed to be the Chemical Hygiene Officer (CHO) for Wittenberg. This is a bureaucratic position required the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA). One of my goals will be to try very hard to minimize bureaucracy, but not at the expense of safety or at the expense of skirting the law. I will also try to minimize jargon that accumulates in federal regulations or otherwise explain the jargon to which we must become accustomed. The CHO position at some small colleges constitutes between 0.25 and 0.75 FTE. I get no release time for this appointment. This is not a position I sought, but accepted in the spirit of community service with the recognition that I was logical choice based on my training in chemistry and my vocational and avocational interests in health and safety issues. Administratively, I report to the Provost.
