On Sept. 30, 1971, a memo arrived in the mailbox of Jack Faust, director of environmental health at Princeton University. Written by then-President Robert F. Goheen, it announced the creation of a new entity, the Office of Occupational Health and Safety, with Faust as director.

For Faust, who first came to Princeton as a radiation safety officer in July 1963, it was a long time coming. 

For several years, Faust had been advocating for the disciplines of health physics, industrial hygiene and workplace safety to be consolidated under one roof. "Princeton University needs a comprehensive safety program and the most effective and efficient program would be a totally integrated operation," he wrote in a confidential memo to physics professor and Graduate School dean Aaron Lemonick in May of 1971.  

A part-time safety engineer position had been instituted in 1962. After a string of lab accidents in the mid to late '60s, an ad hoc committee on industrial hygiene and toxicology was formed, leading to the naming of Faust as the University's first full-time, permanent industrial hygienist in 1969. 

But Faust knew the University needed more. "The inconsistency in providing a disproportionate effort for radiation safety while toxicological and general safety are essentially ignored has been painfully evident to me for some time," he wrote. An integrated program, he argued, would create economies of scale, promote a unified approach to safety problems and give needed attention to neglected areas of risk, in addition to addressing growing liability concerns.

The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 created national workplace safety standards which the University was obliged to follow, Faust added. "The University can, in effect, do no less for its employees (and students) than does General Motors or any other profit-oriented corporation."  

Faust's memo had the kind of influence most middle managers can only dream of. In announcing the new office four months later, Goheen would echo the argument that an integrated health and safety program was both a moral imperative and an obligation under the new federal law.

Goheen called on all departments to appoint a health and safety representative to a committee overseen by Lemonick. The appointee would serve as a "channel of information and liaison between the activities in your department giving rise to possible hazards and the Office of Occupational Health and Safety."

The legacy of Faust's foresight and Goheen's leadership are evident today. From a single individual, Princeton now employs a staff of 20 dedicated to health and safety education, training, compliance, consultation and oversight. The University is a much safer place to work and study now than it was in 1971, and we have these and other early advocates to thank.