West Virginia Universitys Mining Extension Service and its director, Jim Dean, have earned an international award for making coal mines safer places to work.

WVU Mining Extension Service received the H.L. Boling Above and Beyond the Call of Duty Award from the International Society of Mine Safety Professionals (ISMSP) at its Critical Issues Conference in Florida.

The award is given to only one organization each year, from among many that are nominated throughout the world, and WVU Mining Extension Service has demonstrated an outstanding dedication to safety and health, said H.L. Boling, a prominent mine safety advocate for whom the award is named.

ISMSP presents the award to mine support organizations that demonstrate extraordinary organizational skills, an exemplary safety and health record, and outstanding efforts to assist the mining industry with safety and health issues.

We are proud and honored to receive this award,said Dean,and grateful for the recognition of WVU Mining Extension Services efforts to improve mine safety.

Dean became interim director of WVU s Mining Extension Service in 1994 and permanent director in 1995. In 2006, he temporarily left WVU (on executive loan) when Gov. Joe Manchin asked him to serve as the interim director of the West Virginia Office of Miners Health, Safety and Training following the Sago and Aracoma mining accidents.

During Deans eight-month tenure at the state Capitol in Charleston, he collaborated with labor and industry to implement new rules on self-contained self-rescuers (SCSRs), mine communication and tracking systems, and mine shelters.

Now back at WVU Mining Extension Service, Dean oversees the work of 10 mining extension agents who teach a wide variety of classes at the organizations Dolls Run Mine Training and Placement Center near Core in Monongalia County and at a variety of other locations throughout the state and region. Many of those classes focus on preparing coal miners to handle emergency situations.

We provide basic miner training as well as specialized training in mine fire safety, mine rescue team training and much more,Dean said.

WVU Mining Extension Service provides training courses that new miners must pass to earn an apprentice card and begin work in the mines. The organization also provides specialized and advanced training classes for those who are already employed in the mines but want to gain more skills.

WVU Mining Extension Service has been very active in providing increased safety training required by strengthened state and federal regulations since the 2006 mining accidents.

In 2007, WVU trainers outfitted a tractor trailer with special equipment, turning it into a mobile mine emergency training unit designed to help fulfill new requirements for regular training in the use of SCSRs. The trailer is outfitted with simulated smoke and divided chambers. Miners don the SCSRs and go through the smoke-filled trailer, which is separated into compartments similar to sections of a mine. The experience is designed to help them get out of the mine safely in the event of a fire that limits visibility and makes breathing difficult.

Additionally, in 2006, WVU Mining Extension Servicein partnership with the West Virginia Coal Association and Southern Community and Technical Collegereceived a grant from the U.S. Department of Labor Employment Training Administration to establish the Academy for Mine Training and Energy Technologies. The academy is a partnership among government, industry and academia aimed at pooling resources and providing improved training for miners.

WVU established its Mining Extension Service in 1913 to extend the resources and expertise of the University to the coal miners of the state and nation. The service provides new and experienced miners with courses, both on and off campus, in a wide variety of topics in underground and surface mining, working with industry and state and federal agencies.