Howard Elliott, Famous Alumni
Washington, DC
Howard "Skip" Elliott earned his M.S. in criminal justice administration from Columbia Southern University in 2011. Capitalizing on his education and more than 40 years of experience, Elliott was sworn in as administrator of the U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration on Oct. 30, 2017.
A veteran of the U.S. freight rail industry, Howard "Skip" Elliott has been leading safety initiatives in the boardroom, city halls, state houses and on Capitol Hill for more than 40 years. As the vice president of public safety, health and environment for CSX, Elliott oversaw environmental, hazardous materials transportation safety, medical, occupational health and industrial hygiene, railroad policing and homeland security initiatives for the Fortune 250 company. He is a pioneer and leading advocate for developing and implementing computer-based tools to assist emergency management officials, first responders and homeland security personnel in preparing for and responding to railroad hazardous materials or security incidents. Elliott retired from CSX in March 2017..
Elliott currently serves as the administrator of the U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, a role in which he was nominated by President Trump and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. He is a recipient of the Association of American Railroads' Holden-Proefrock award for lifetime achievement in hazardous materials transportation safety. Elliott earned his B.A. in forensic studies and English from Indiana University Bloomington in 1977. He was named the Distinguished Alumni from IU's Department of Criminal Justice in 2009 and is a member of the University's Executive Dean's Advisory Board for the College of Arts and Sciences. Elliott earned his M.S. in criminal justice administration from Columbia Southern University in 2011. Elliott graduated from CSU with a 4.0 GPA.
"For 30 plus years I told every new employee that education was a lifelong process and to start a degree, finish their degree, or go back for another. Then it struck me, I was a hypocrite. I hadn't followed my own advice. CSU gave me the opportunity to fix that."