Jim Crandall

James Crandall named Director of Environmental Health and Safety

Thursday, November 8, 2018

James Crandall, former director of environmental health and safety at Cornell University’s Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City, has been named to the same position at Penn State University following a national search. He began his new role Oct. 22.

Prior to joining Penn State, Crandall worked at Weill Cornell Medicine for 16 years. He served in several roles, including environmental specialist, assistant director, and since 2016, director of environmental health and safety. As director, Crandall led a team of 34 staff members and provided strategic planning, financial oversight and organizational development of EHS services to the Weill Cornell Medicine community. He also oversaw EHS consulting services to external groups.

“We are excited to have Jim join us here at Penn State and take over leadership of Environmental Health and Safety,” said Bill Sitzabee, associate vice president and chief facilities officer. “His background, experience and leadership will be felt in the areas of environmental protection, laboratory and research safety, workplace safety, radiation protection and hazardous materials. Jim is a great addition to the team with more than 20 years of experience in the field.”

During his tenure at Weill Cornell Medicine, Crandall led strategic planning efforts to identify major initiatives for the department, served as the primary liaison for regulatory agency inspections and worked with WCM senior leadership to administer the Weill Cornell Medicine Emergency Management Committee. He was recognized as the co-inventor of an EHS management system that provided integrated safety information and services across all EHS disciplines,  and coordinated critical information exchanges with the Institutional Biosafety Committee, Radiation Safety Committee and WCM learning management systems. This enabled a broader, holistic evaluation of organizational risk and targeted approaches to safety program implementation.

Crandall was also instrumental in the creation of Weill Cornell Medicine’s Safety Advisor Program, which re-imagined how EHS programs and services were provided to the WCM community. The Safety Advisor Program assigned EHS staff to work within specific departments and communities throughout WCM,  and served as a primary point of contact to aide in the implementation of EHS programs and services. EHS Safety Advisors would then engage the other members of the EHS team to help the departments and researchers address specialized questions and concerns.

“My family and I are honored to be here at Penn State University and be members of the wonderful State College community,” said Crandall. “I look forward to engaging with Penn State leadership, our students, faculty and staff as we continue to enhance our safety programs, promote ‘Safety as a Service’ and ‘Safety as an Applied Science,’ and help support the Penn State community we serve here at University Park and our Commonwealth Campuses.”

Before joining Weill Cornell Medicine, Crandall worked for the New York City Transit Authority Office of System Safety, Laidlaw Environmental Services and Olin Chemical Corporation.

Crandall serves on the Board of Trustees for the Campus Safety Health and Environmental Management Association — a national organization focused on serving EHS professionals in higher education. He graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology with a bachelor’s of science in environmental management and technology, and holds a master’s of science in management and systems from New York University.

Crandall is joined in State College by his wife, Phyllis, and their two children.