Mendeloff Named Director of the Center for Health and Safety in the Workplace at the RAND Corporation

John Mendeloff, a professor in Pitt’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA), has been appointed the first director of the Center for Health and Safety in the Workplace at the RAND Corporation. Mendeloff will continue to teach at Pitt on a half-time basis while he serves a two-year term as director of the new center and senior policy researcher in the RAND Corporation’s Pittsburgh office.

The mission of the RAND Center for Health and Safety in the Workplace is to conduct research and analyze data that will help improve worker health and safety and reduce the economic costs of workplace accidents and illnesses. The center has been designed to provide objective analysis and a neutral venue for convening stakeholders from government, industry, and labor.

This new assignment represents a tremendous opportunity for John as well as for GSPIA and RAND,” said David Miller, interim dean of GSPIA. “I hope this represents only the beginning in a series of opportunities for our two organizations to work together.”

At RAND, Mendeloff will help generate new cross-disciplinary research and consider enforcement issues of workplace safety that relate to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

“RAND is fortunate to have John joining us to lead the development of our new center,” said Barry Balmat, director of RAND’s Pittsburgh office. “His experiences and national reputation in the field will ensure that the center will grow into a valuable resource for the region, the Commonwealth, and the nation. John’s appointment with RAND and the University of Pittsburgh is also the latest example of one of the primary benefits of RAND having an office in Pittsburgh—the opportunity to collaborate with the local universities.”

Mendeloff had worked with RAND from 2004 to 2006 as an adjunct staff member, leading a study titled “Small Businesses and Workplace Fatality Risk,” sponsored by the Kauffman Foundation through RAND.

Mendeloff has been a Pitt faculty member since 1993 and holds joint appointments with the University’s Graduate School of Public Health and School of Law. He has authored two books and many articles on occupational safety and health policy and has consulted extensively for governments on how to use data to improve their performance.

The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit research organization providing objective analysis and effective solutions that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors around the world.