RADFORD – Dr. Dennie Templeton, director of distance education and emergency preparedness at Radford University, received the Governor’s Award for Workplace Safety and Health on Wednesday at a special ceremony in Richmond at the Capitol.

The Governor’s Awards, bestowed during Virginia Public Service Week May 4-10, salutes employee achievement in seven categories that highlight the talent and commitment to service the state workforce provides the citizens of Virginia. RU President Penelope W. Kyle and Provost Wil Stanton joined Templeton as Gov. Tim Kaine made the award.

“Dennie is a valued member of our Radford University community and I am thrilled that his professionalism that we witness each and every day is being recognized at the state level,” Kyle said.

The Workplace Safety and Health award goes to a state employee who “leads the way in promoting a safe and healthy work environment, suggests workplace improvements, and promotes and supports the importance of a safe and healthy work environment,” according to the state Department of Human Resource Management that coordinates the awards program.

(IN THE PHOTO: Gov. Kaine, right, presents Dennie Templeton with the Governor's Award Wednesday.)

Templeton’s nomination contained the following statement about him: “Few individuals have the intellect, skills, dedication, and ‘juggling ability’ to manage this magnitude of responsibility,  and even fewer can do so with the sense of calmness, collegiality, and good humor that Dennie brings to his job on a day-to-day basis.”

Templeton’s achievements include:

• Contender and finalist for the Campus Safety Conference and Campus Safety Magazine 2008 Safety Director of the Year Award, an award program that honors the top police chiefs and security directors of our nation’s hospitals, schools and universities.
• Developed and implemented RU’s emergency plans, protocols and strategic processes designed to ensure the welfare and safety of the university community in the event of an emergency.
• Engaged the extended community in RU’s emergency planning process by including local and regional first responder agencies in table-top exercises as well as full scale emergency drills.
• Convened a committee of university faculty and staff with expertise in information technology, communications and budgeting to review and assess various options for campus notification systems. The result has been the purchase, installation, successful testing and implementation of a highly functional, versatile and cost-effective campus-wide mass notification system.
• Utilized his expertise in distance education technologies to develop plans and processes that would allow academic continuity and course delivery, without jeopardizing the welfare and safety of the RU community, in the event of a lengthy closure of the university.

Other Governor’s Awards were given for Agency “Star,” Community Service and Volunteerism, Customer Service, Innovation, Teamwork and Career Achievement.