Michael Blayney was recently appointed the new director of the College's Environmental Health and Safety Office and will be able to ride his bicycle to work starting Aug. 21.
"He comes highly recommended from the search committee ... and he is clearly the most qualified person for the job," Vice President and Treasurer of the College Lyn Hutton said.
The Office organizes the College's programs in occupational health and safety, biosafety and chemical and radioactive waste management.
It also ensures the College's compliance with local, state and federal regulations.
Blayney comes to the College from the National Institutes of Health where he served as the safety training officer and was responsible for safety and training programs serving nearly 20,000 NIH employees.
After working for the government, where employee relationships are weak, Blayney said he is looking forward to joining the Dartmouth community.
At Dartmouth he said he will be able to ride a bicycle to work and add more miles to his running shoes instead of driving his car an hour to his office.
"I look forward to the challenges and opportunities before us at Dartmouth, today and tomorrow," Blayney said in a College press release.
"Many existing paradigms in environmental health and safety are no longer tenable and need to be redefined for the benefit of those they are intended to serve," he said.
"In the years to come, our success will be measured by the contributions we make in improving the quality of life for the Dartmouth community."
Blayney graduated from Hampshire College in 1986 and earned a master's degree from Syracuse University in 1987. He also earned adoctorate from the University of Maryland in 1994.
Blayney worked for five years as a bench scientist, working as a technical specialist in molecular biology in both academia and in
private industry.
