Lance Franklin leads environmental health and safety for WashU. He drives innovation, compliance and ensures the safety of the WashU environment, including overseeing areas in radiation, biological and chemical safety, environmental compliance and occupational safety. With over 29 years of experience in environmental health and safety in higher education, Franklin has led several institutions in orchestrating compliance programs and maintaining a safe and compliant university environment.

Franklin served as director of environmental health and safety services at Virginia Tech from 2008-2016; he also served as an affiliate faculty in the College of Engineering and College of Architecture and Urban Planning at Virginia Tech. He previously served as director, radiation safety officer, and adjunct professor in the College of Engineering at Wayne State University.

Among other career accomplishments, Franklin is twice the recipient of the Campus Safety, Health and Environmental Management Association’s environmental health and safety program award.  He was also an invited keynote speaker at Bluefield State University in West Virginia for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Celebration.

He is a licensed engineer in Missouri and Virginia.  Franklin earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry; two master’s degrees, one in occupational and environmental health sciences and the other in civil and environmental engineering; and a doctorate in civil and environmental engineering, all from Wayne State University. He is a State of Michigan KCP scholar.