Among the hundreds of people whose contributions over RMCOEH’s nearly 50-year history have made it one of the most respected centers of its kind in the world, Donald Bloswick stands out.
He jumpstarted the center’s Ergonomics and Safety program, transforming it into a national leader, and founded the Occupational Injury Prevention program. He served on the graduate committees of nearly 300 students and taught many hundreds more. He conducted research on topics ranging from rehabilitation engineering to ergonomic risk assessments, shaping the field of ergonomics and improving the lives of countless workers.
And the length of his tenure with RMCOEH — from1986 to 2017 — ranks second only to that of former Continuing Education Director Connie Crandall.
“He’s one of the foundational figures in the center’s history,” said RMCOEH Director Dr. Kurt Hegmann.“If you look at what he accomplished during his time leading the Ergonomics and Safety program, and later adding the Occupational Injury Prevention program, it’s astounding. The center would not be what it is today without him playing such an integral role for so long.”
Bloswick’s impact on RMCOEH will be felt for many years to come. But for the first time since the center’s early days, students will not directly benefit from his insight and instruction. Last fall, he delivered what he planned to be one final lesson in the Department of Mechanical Engineering’s Ergonomics course —required for all students pursuing one of RMCOEH’s graduate degrees — where he has guest lectured since retiring from the university in 2017.
If it was indeed the final time he stands at a lectern before a room of RMCOEH trainees, it marks the end of an era — one that Bloswick said he will recall with fondness and gratitude.
“It's been a lot of fun and very satisfying to be part of RMCOEH,” he said. “Every program there has its own interest, and we did a lot of different things. The fact that we could operate through a center like the Rocky Mountain Center, with the credibility and reputation it has, gave us a real head start to help people. I think I'd have to admit that, without the center, I wouldn't have been anywhere near as successful as I was.”
As fulfilling as his decades with the center were, his tenure almost ended before it began. Shortly after accepting a faculty position with the University of Utah in 1986, he was informed that the College of Engineering had decided to transition the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering into simply the Department of Mechanical Engineering. His background tilted toward industrial engineering and, had he known of the change beforehand, he may not have taken the job despite his interest in being part of a NIOSH-sponsored Education and Research Center(ERC) like RMCOEH.
“I called my wife and the mover was there,” he said. “I said, ‘Has the mover started unloading?’ She said no, and I told her to tell him to wait a minute. I went to see the department chair and the dean. But everything worked out after that.”
That hurdle cleared, Bloswick settled into his job, which included taking over as director of RMCOEH’s Ergonomics and Safety program. He recalled it as a period of transition not only for the program, which had not yet hit its stride after its founding a decade prior, but for the center as a whole.
Around the time Bloswick joined RMCOEH, Dr. Royce Moser, Jr., a retired Air Force colonel, became the center’s director. Moser provided a much-needed steady hand and, under his leadership, the center began to establish itself as one of the top ERCs in the nation, securing research grants and developing several new graduate courses. It was also during Moser’s tenure that Bloswick launched the Occupational Injury Prevention program.
“I don't think it's a stretch to say that, without him, the center may have gone under,” Bloswick said. “I'm not saying it would have, but it may have. He had his planning and organizational experience from being in the military, and he basically got us so that we were stable for several years and started to improve.”
Bloswick said he also felt fortunate to have been part of the center under Hegmann, who succeeded Moser in 2003. He marvels at how much the center has grown over the last two decades and how radically different it is than when he arrived in the’80s. The center now has nine academic programs —spread across both the University of Utah and Weber State University — a research portfolio totaling more than 50 current projects, and financial support from the Utah Legislature alongside the federal training grant it receives from NIOSH.
“I have not been to every center in the country,”Bloswich said. “I've been on review panels for most of them, and I have a perspective of what they're like.
What Kurt has built in the last many years has just been amazing. What exists now is probably the strongest and most broadly funded ERC in the nation. It's just amazing. What little part I've had in that gives me a lot of satisfaction, seeing the center be what it is today. It’s just a great resource within the region and the country. I’m really proud to have been part of the center.”
Despite Bloswick attempting to downplay his contributions, those who learned under him and taught alongside him say he is one of the driving forces that shaped RMCOEH into what it is today.
Matt Thiese, RMCOEH’s chief operating officer, had the opportunity to be both Bloswick’s student and, later, his colleague. Thiese was one of the first trainees in the Occupational Injury Program, graduating with his PhD in 2008, then took over as director of the program in 2016 when Bloswick began transitioning away from his full-time duties.
“Don Bloswick didn’t just teach ergonomics — he built the foundation for it at RMCOEH,” Thiese said. “His leadership created one of the strongest academic and training programs in the country, and we continue to build on what he started. He was a mentor in the truest sense. He made time for every student, every colleague, and every idea. If you had a spark of interest in improving workplace safety, he’d help you turn it into a career. Don had this incredible knack for bringing life into his lectures — and somehow, Wilt Chamberlain always made an appearance. So much of RMCOEH’s success in ergonomics and safety can be traced back to Don. He was instrumental in shaping our curriculum, building partnerships, and mentoring the faculty who now lead the program. His fingerprints are everywhere — in the best possible way.”
After stepping away from the center, Bloswick has made the most of retirement. He is less busy than he used to be — though sometimes only slightly so —and fills his time with fishing expeditions, cruises with his wife, working on his property, and enjoying his three children and 10 grandchildren.
When he finds himself reflecting on his three decades with RMCOEH and the University of Utah, he does so with fondness. He feels fortunate to have spent his career pursuing meaningful work and grateful to have done it alongside wonderful people.
Nothing, though, gives him more satisfaction than having had the opportunity to mentor students —many of whom have gone on to remarkable careers of their own.
“It could've been somebody else in my position that would've done the same thing,” he said. “But the fact is, I was there and able to be a part of their professional development.”
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