Dr.
William Tarrants
Class of 1990
Background:
William E. Tarrants was born on December 9, 1927, in Liberty,
Missouri, USA. He received his Bachelor's degree in Industrial
Engineering from Ohio State University in 1951, his Master
of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from Ohio State
University in 1959 and his Ph.D. degree from New York University
in 1963. He is a Certified Safety Professional (CSP) and is
licensed in three states as a Registered Professional Engineer
(P.E.).
Professional
Experience:
Dr. Tarrants had experience as a ground safety officer in
the U.S. Air Force; as an instructor in the Department of
Industrial Engineering at Ohio State University; as instructor,
research assistant, and assistant professor at the New York
University Center for Safety Education; Chief, Division of
Accident Research, Bureau of Labor Statistics, U. S. Department
of Labor; directing the Manpower Development and Training
Program of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA), U.S. Department of Transportation; Chief Scientist,
Office of Program and Demonstration Evaluation; Program Analyst,
Office of Occupant Protection, NHTSA. He directed the activities
of the evaluation staff within NHTSA. In that position, he
was responsible for planning, organizing and implementing
evaluations of highway traffic safety programs and projects
at national, state, and local levels throughout the nation.
Career
Highlights:
Dr. Tarrants is credited with over 100 publications in professional
journals and/or books. He served on Editorial Boards and as
Editor-in-Chief of several other professional research publications.
He also served the National Safety Council as a member of
the Industrial Division; member and chairman, Research Projects
Committee; and for 16 years was chairman and moderator of
the "Current Research in Safety" session at the
annual National Safety Congress. In 1989 he received the Distinguished
Service to Safety award from the National Safety Council.
He developed, managed, and instructed in the industrial safety
masters degree program and the Armed Forces safety training
program at NYU. He served the American Society of Safety Engineers
(ASSE) as a member of its Board of Directors; chairman, Committee
on Colleges and Societies; vice president, Research and Technical
Development; member and chairman, Academic Accreditation Council;
member, Fellow Review Board; and as national vice president
(1975-1976), president-elect (1976-1977), and president (1977-1978).
In 1972 he was awarded the honor of Fellow by the American
Society of Safety Engineers.
Dr. Tarrants'
authorship of the three-phase Professional Development Project
for ASSE resulted in: (1) a definition of the scope and functions
of the safety professional's job, (2) the establishment of
educational requirements for degree preparation as a safety
professional, and (3) the development and implementation of
a certification/licensing program for the safety professional.
His work on the Professional Development Project led to the
establishment of the ASSE Academic Accreditation Council and
the creation of the Board of Certified Safety Professionals.
Dr. Tarrants made major contributions to the measurement and
evaluation of safety performance, including applications of
the "critical incident technique" to the appraisal
of safety performance.
