The University of Michigan Center for Occupational Health and Safety Engineering (COHSE) provides comprehensive professional and research training in Industrial Hygiene (IH), Occupational Health Nursing (OHN), Occupational Safety Engineering and Ergonomics (OSE), Hazardous Substances Academic Training (HSAT), Occupational Epidemiology (OE), and Pilot Project Research Training (PPRT). We also have a highly respected Continuing Education program that provides short courses to OHS professionals, and extensive Outreach activities. We have functioned as an ERC since 1982, and have reached a stage of maturity characterized by: 1) outstanding academic productivity and efficiency, 2) a stable, mostly tenured acuity, 3) extensive curricula in all core disciplines, 4) outstanding research productivity and funding in a broad spectrum of OHS areas, 5) excellent institutional support from the University of Michigan, and 6) a large number of alumni who are leaders in their fields. Highlights of the past 3-year grant period (2005-2007) include: hiring of 9 new Center faculty including a new Chair of Environmental Health Sciences, initiation of an external search for a new OHN Director, introduction of 10 new courses including an OHS Management course across all Center programs and a project-oriented course carried out by interdisciplinary teams of students from all Center programs, complete updating of the curriculum of the On Job/On Campus nonresidential Masters program to use combined distance learning and face-to-face modalities;launching of a new Nora Pre-Doctoral Scholarship, and conduct of a formal needs assessment among Center alumni. During the 2005-2007 period, the academic programs within the Center enrolled 126 students and graduate 77 Masters and 16 Doctoral students. There were 3010 Continuing Education students in 56 different programs. Nine pilot research (PPRT) projects were funded. Goals for the next 5-year period include: 1) maintaining excellence in all academic programs, 2) development of new sources of financial support for trainees, 3) continuing curriculum refinement and improvement, 4) growth in our On Job/On Campus programs in IH and OHN, 6) maintaining the excellence and size of our CE programs through new courses and improved linkages with professional organizations and, 7) establishment of two new Targeted Research Training programs: Pre-Doctoral Research and Research to Practice.
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