Lance Franklin is the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Environmental Health and Safety and Environmental Affairs Officer at Washington University in St. Louis, where he oversees environmental compliance, biosafety, chemical safety, occupational safety and radiation safety. He also serves as an ex-officio member on several compliance committees. He brings more than 25 years of expertise in environmental health and safety to his role.
Lance holds a Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Wayne State University and an M.Div. from The Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University. Additionally, he has earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry, master’s degrees in environmental and occupational health sciences and civil engineering, and has completed post-graduate work in pharmacology.
Before his current role, Lance was the assistant vice president of Environmental Health and Safety at Virginia Tech, where he restructured the EHS department, established key safety committees and developed new safety programs. Under his leadership, Virginia Tech’s EHS department received the Susan Harwood OSHA grant. He also served as the director of Environmental Health and Safety at Wayne State University, optimizing protocols and managing hazardous waste and the radiation safety program. Additionally, he has served as an occupational safety consultant for prison systems in Michigan and Pennsylvania.
Lance has taught environmental sciences, occupational safety and risk assessment/control courses at Virginia Tech and Wayne State University.
His leadership has earned him numerous accolades, including the Campus Safety Association Complete Safety Program award and multiple innovation awards. He has served on the board of CSHEMA and the advisory committees for the State of Michigan Agreement State. He currently serves as an external advisor at Wayne State University’s Center for Leadership in Environmental Awareness and Research and as a board member for the Safety Training Consortium.
Lance is a Licensed Professional Engineer (PE) and a Certified Hazardous Materials Manager (CHMM). He is also a member of various professional organizations.
Lance’s career exemplifies the integration of safety and quality in research.