Dr.
Daniel E. Della-Giustina
Class of 2001
Background:
Dr. Della-Giustina's academic credential include a B.A. and
an M.A. from the American International College at Springfield,
MA (Education Administration, Psychology); and an Ed.S. (Health
and Highway Traffic Safety ) and a Ph.D. (Higher Education
and Educational Research) from Michigan State University.
His held two post-doctorate positions: at Lancaster University
in England (Environmental and Emergency Planning) and at the
University of Colorado (WIND Engineering and Environmental
Research). He is a Certified Hazard Control Manager.
Professional
Experience:
Professor Della-Giustina teaches in the Industrial Engineering
Department, Safety and Environmental Management Program, located
in the College of Engineering and Mineral Resources at West
Virginia University. He has chaired and taught in the graduate
program for 25 years. Concurrently, he has served as Adjunct
Professor in the Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering Department.
Career
Highlights:
During Dr. Della-Giustina's tenure as chairman of the Safety
and Environmental Managemen Departmentt at West Virginia University,
he built the program into the finest of its kind in the world.
His seven textbooks in safety, health and environmental disciplines
are standard teaching references in the United States and
international educational institutions. In the corporate sector,
his writings are widely used as the foundation upon which
company-wide safety programs are built.
Dr. Della-Giustina
developed safety management concepts that have wide application:
he alerted workers to the presence of hazardous substances
through the use of material safety data sheets, worker training,
product labeling and other measures; he developed an instrument
to investigate, analyze and report accidents, including guidelines
for processing Workers' Compensation claims; in concert with
the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) he developed
an instrument for responding to emergency situations and the
procedures for creating disaster recovery plans; he created
mechanisms to prevent fires and minimize losses involving
hazardous materials.
While
conducting a comprehensive national research project (dissertation,
1973)--that included a critical evaluation of large and small
school districts in all 50 states--Dr. Della-Giustina identified
safety practices and needs in the transportation of handicapped
students. His findings resulted in recommendations that were
implemented by the U.S. Department of Transportation. Today,
as a result of Dr. Della-Giustina's visionary work, all states
have expanded their transportation programs for handicapped
students and adopted uniform safety standards.
In the
early 1990's, Dr. Della-Giustina recognized the signs that
violence in the workplace was going to increase. He began
working then to define the problem and seek methods of coping
with what was to become a burgeoning national problem. His
leadership today is helping businesses understand potential
warning signs and ways to protect employees.
