strickland, who also happens to be a virginian. as the administrator for coal at the mine safety and health administration, mr. stick land leads a team -- strickland leads a team that enforces safety rules, improves industry compliance and executes rescue and recovery operations. on his watch the number of coal miners who have died in accidents last year -- 16, while still too high -- that was the lowest ever recorded in united states history. in addition, the number of mines with chronic violations dropped from 51 in 2010 to 12 in 2014. and the number of citations against mines fell from more than 96,000 to less than 63,000 in 2014 as inspections increased. after the upper big mountain -- after the upper big branch mine disaster in 2010, mr. strickland was at the front lines of implementing reforms to improve mine safety, including quartererly inspections, surprise inspections for repeat violators and a program that identifies habitual safety lapses. when accidents have occurred, mr. strickland's creativity and calm under pressure have saved countless lives. in 2002 -- a 2002 accident, a pennsylvania coal mine