April Learning Partner — Geigle Safety Group

Columbia Southern University is proud to recognize the Geigle Safety Group as our Learning Partner of the Month for April 2015.

When Columbia Southern University was founded in 1993, it was on the leading edge of a revolution in education utilizing the worldwide web to transform the college experience and give working adults a practical route towards getting or completing a college degree. In 1999, Steve Geigle followed a similar path by offering occupational safety and health training online through OSHAcademy. One of the first to offer this type of training online, the OSHAcademy website offers workers the same convenience and flexibility in scheduling their educational commitments CSU offers its students.

Steve also developed an online preparation course for individuals studying for the Certified Safety and Health Manager Certification, offered by another CSU Learning Partner, the Institute for Safety and Health Management (ISHM). In 2011, Steve’s sons Chris and Barry joined the team, another website was added, www.qualitysafetytraining.com, and Geigle Safety Group was formed. This move united all of the businesses under a single entity. Today, they have more than 60 authorized training providers worldwide who offer classroom-based training to meet the needs of local students.

We presented the April “Partner of the Month” certificate to OSHAcademy CEO Chris Geigle recently at the Oregon Governor’s Occupational Safety and Health Conference in Portland. Ernie Smith and Jonathan Kandel from CSU were exhibiting at the conference, and had the chance to speak with Chris about the benefit he sees in being a CSU Learning Partner.

“From our perspective, the partnership with CSU is value added. People who complete training with us can use what they have learned towards a college degree that they otherwise might be unable to obtain.” He should know this first hand, as he is also getting his master’s degree in occupational safety and health at CSU. “My schedule with work, home, and kids is very busy. Getting my graduate degree would not be possible without the flexibility that CSU offers.”