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NIU Office of Public Affairs


News Release

Contact: Joe King, Office of Public Affairs
(815) 753-4299

February 8, 2005

NIU to host safety conference

DeKALB, IL -- The Northern Illinois University College of Engineering and Engineering Technology student chapter of the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) will hold its fifth annual Region V Conference in DeKalb, Saturday, Feb. 12.

The event will draw safety, technology and engineering students from universities across the Midwest to learn about careers in safety-related fields and to network with safety professionals representing the insurance, environmental consulting, construction and manufacturing industries.

This year’s conference will include sessions on:

  • Opportunities for women in safety-related fields. A special women-only roundtable discussion on this topic will also be offered.
  • Overcoming adversity, presented by Cliff Meidl, an NIU graduate student and spokesperson for the Construction Safety Council, who survived a horrific electrocution and then went on to become an Olympic kayaker.
  • Emergency preparedness, presented by Chuck Carroll, an NIU Technology Department alumnus who is a vice president with Hilb, Rogal and Hobbs, one of the nation’s largest insurance brokers. Carroll, who was in the World Trade Center when the buildings were struck by hijacked jetliners, will use examples drawn from that experience to help illustrate what steps businesses can take to lessen the impact of such catastrophic events.

“We have a lineup of outstanding speakers who can provide students with excellent career advice,” said NIU Technology Professor Earl Hansen, who created the conference five years ago. “There just seemed a tremendous need for this type of event, and we must have been right, because it has proven to be very popular, drawing 125 participants last year alone,” he says.

 

Presentations will be made in the auditorium on the ground floor of the NIU College of Engineering and Engineering Technology. Students are invited to attend any or all of these sessions free of charge, others will be asked to donate $20 to help defer conference costs.

 

Hosting the event in conjunction with the Northern Illinois University student chapter of the American Society of Safety Engineers are, the Northeastern Illinois ASSE Chapter, the NIU Department of Technology, the College of Engineering & Engineering Technology, the Three Rivers ASSE Chapter, Kenny Construction Company, Aon Risk Services, and NIU.

 

For more information, contact Earl Hansen at (815) 753-0579.

           

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