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The Academy of Industrial Hygiene – Integrated into the Fabric of AIHA and the Profession
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By John Mulhausen, CIH, PhD
Since before its integration into AIHA in 1999, people have wondered what the Academy of Industrial Hygiene is and the role it plays in the industrial hygiene profession. Simply stated, the academy is made up of AIHA members who are certified industrial hygienists. But the AIH is more than a list of people who have passed a certification exam. It is a group of people dedicated to personal excellence in industrial hygiene and committed to leadership in the profession.
Regular academy duties include a variety of activities (Table 1). These activities range from professional ethics, to continuing education focused on the experienced professional practitioner, to the accreditation of degree programs that ensure a continuous influx of well trained young talent into the profession. academy influence, however, spreads far beyond that list. In fact, when you stop to think about it, you soon realize that AIH members are among the heart and soul of AIHA and the industrial hygiene profession.
While 53 percent of AIHA members are certified, all members of the current AIHA board are academy members (Table 2). All members of the current AIHA Board of Directors are academy members. Since 1960, the year that industrial hygienists began receiving the Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) designation, 36 of 46 AIHA presidents have been AIH members. Of the 137 current AIHA local section presidents, 91 are academy members.
This leadership influence spreads to the technical arms of the profession as well. Of the 158 AIHA Fellows, 138 are CIHs and 24 of the 33 current chairs of AIHA technical committees are academy members.
Why are the top leadership ranks of the profession so loaded with AIH members? I believe that the same commitment to excellence, leadership, and stewardship that propel individuals to become involved in the profession propel them to obtain the CIH. It is the mark of distinction for industrial hygienists practicing their profession. It is tangible evidence of an industrial hygienist’s foundational understanding of the scientific principles underpinning our profession. It reveals a commitment to continuous learning, mentoring, and discovery. It demonstrates an individual’s dedication to the industrial hygiene profession and the people whose health all members of the profession work to protect.
Table 1 - Academy of Industrial Hygiene Activities
|
Ethics |
The academy is the secretariat of the Joint Industrial Hygiene Ethics Education Committee, which includes representatives from AIH, AIHA, ABIH and ACGIH. It has a leadership role in the current efforts to move the profession to a more enforceable set of coordinated ethics codes and principles. |
|
Accreditation |
The AIH is home to the Academic Accreditation Committee responsible for professional evaluation of industrial hygiene graduate and undergraduate degree programs for ABET accreditation |
|
Continuing Education |
The academy is responsible for leading planning and implementation efforts for the Professional Conference of Industrial Hygiene (PCIH). PCIH is designed as a venue for focused discussion on leading edge topics with enough time for discourse, networking and reflection on complex issues important to the professional IH practitioner. |
|
Mentoring |
The academy recognizes the potential for professional growth and development presented by strong mentoring partnerships and continues efforts to facilitate mentoring opportunities via local AIHA sections and interested partner groups |
|
Strategic Alignment |
The academy recognizes that the AIH and the industrial hygiene profession is best served through strong partnerships and coordinated activities between AIH, AIHA, and ABIH, and remains committed to strengthening partnerships with those key organizations. Areas of current emphasis include coordinated strategic plans, joint efforts designed to focus ethics education and improvement activities, the VOP initiative, and discussions regarding potential HSE professional certification. |
Table 2 - Academy Leadership Roles in the Industrial Hygiene Profession
|
|
Number of People |
Number of People Who Are CIHs |
Percent of People Who Are CIHs |
|
Present and Past AIHA Presidents*
*Since 1960 when CIH Designation Began |
46 |
36 |
78% |
|
Members of the Current AIHA Board of Directors |
16 |
16 |
100% |
|
Current Chairs of AIHA Technical Committees |
33 |
24 |
73% |
|
Current AIHA Local Section Presidents
(Excluding Student Sections) |
137 |
91 |
66% |
|
AIHA Fellows |
158 |
138 |
87% |
Mulhausen is with 3M’s corporate industrial hygiene division, St. Paul, Minn. He can be reached at jrmulhausen2@mmm.com.