Environmental Health, Safety and Emergency Management

Appalachian State University is committed to maintaining a safe campus community.

The Office of Environmental Health, Safety and Emergency Management (EHS&EM) at Appalachian State University works in coordination with other university departments to support App State's commitment to campus safety. The office’s primary responsibility is environmental health, safety and emergency management functions across App State’s Boone and Hickory campuses. EHS&EM also coordinates App State's on-campus emergency medical service (EMS) program, Mountaineer Medics, which provides emergency medical care and support to the App State community.

Our professional staff provides training, area assessments, inspections, and reports that support all university departments while reducing institutional liability and risk.

To help carry out these functions, EHS&EM believes in a people and environment first model. While the University must comply with the expectations of numerous governing and regulatory agencies, the people and environment first model allows us to look at the root cause of risk and establish appropriate controls rather than simply seeking to reach code compliance. Code compliance is often the result of thinking more and managing or reducing risk. This same basic model also extends to our emergency preparedness and management programs.

Together, as a university, we can think more to risk less.

Vision Statement

The vision of EHS&EM is to increase resiliency and preserve the Appalachian mission as a recognized campus leader and resource for environmental health, safety, and emergency management.

Mission Statement

Our offices's primary mission is to promote healthy, safe, and resilient campus operations, to protect students, faculty, staff and visitors, and to protect the environment.

EHS&EM Values

EHS&EM is committed to the following values:

• Accountability
• Leadership
• Collaboration
• Stewardship and Compliance
• Open Communication

EHS&EM Team

The Office of Environmental Health, Safety and Emergency Management is comprised of a team of dedicated safety and emergency management professionals. Learn more about our team.