Kevin Warren has been named senior director of Vanderbilt Environmental Health and Safety (VEHS), effective Oct. 1. He fills the position vacated by Bob Wheaton, who retired in June.
Warren previously served as the department’s director of chemical and radiation safety and assisted with the development and implementation of the hazardous waste program, including the billing system, lab safety program, pharmaceutical waste program and HazMat response team.
In his new role as senior director, Warren will serve as the leader for VEHS, responsible for the overall management and strategic planning for the development, implementation and continuous improvement of VEHS technical programs. He is charged with developing new programs in response to changing regulations and will serve as Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s technical representative with local, state and federal officials in health, safety and environmental regulatory compliance.
“Having served in a leadership role within VEHS nearly two decades, Kevin’s broad knowledge of our institution and its needs around safety and regulatory compliance is an important asset as we work to address challenges associated with the Medical Center’s continued growth. I want to welcome him into this new role,” said John F. Manning Jr., Chief Operating Officer and Corporate Chief of Staff for VUMC.
Warren will lead and oversee all the VEHS programs, which encompass hospital and clinic safety (includes JCAHO-related EHS matters), biological safety, chemical safety, HazMat emergency response, industrial hygiene, hazardous waste management, radiological safety and VEHS Hub-integrated EHS system management.
Warren earned a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering from the University of Arkansas and a Master of Science in Environmental Engineering from Vanderbilt University. He has worked for VEHS since 1999. Prior to coming to Vanderbilt, he worked for E. Roberts Alley & Associates as a project engineer and for AquAeTer also as a project engineer.
“All of us at VEHS are very grateful for everything Bob Wheaton did in building and developing this department,” Warren said. “We have a lot of challenges ahead in managing a growing institution and changing regulations, but I have excellent support from an outstanding VEHS team and executive leadership. I look forward to building on the foundation laid by Mr. Wheaton and helping VEHS evolve to continue meeting the needs of the institution in the future.”
