ASSP Honors Bliss as 2021 Outstanding Safety Educator

Morgan Bliss, a widely respected professor in the occupational safety and health field and member of the American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) for 11 years, is ASSP’s 2021 William E. Tarrants Outstanding Safety Educator.

Bliss, Ed.D., CSP, CIH, who uses the pronouns they and them, is an assistant professor and graduate coordinator in the Safety and Health Management Program in the Department of Engineering Technologies, Safety and Construction (ETSC) at Central Washington University (CWU). On the faculty since 2016 and a resident of Ellensburg, WA, Bliss develops curriculum and laboratory exercises, advises students, supervises internships, conducts applied research and provides career counseling and mentoring.

Prior to joining academia, Bliss worked as an occupational and environmental health and safety consultant for 10 years with a specialty in healthcare safety and emergency management.

Bliss developed CWU’s Master of Science in Safety and Health Management degree program, creating and marketing 11 courses for the fully online graduate degree. Bliss twice was recognized by the university’s Multimodal Learning Center as the academic year’s Faculty Fellow based on exceptional skills in online teaching and instructional design. They have been the faculty advisor for more than 50 internships, helping students apply classroom learning on the job.

Bliss has written several articles on occupational safety and health topics that have been published in peer- reviewed journals, and has presented dozens of sessions at safety and health conferences.

Bliss has helped advance ASSP and its membership in many ways, including serving as the current professional development and social media chairs for the Industrial Hygiene Practice Specialty, a two-year term as administrator of the Training and Communications Practice Specialty, and member of the Council on Practices and Standards. They also served for two years as the faculty advisor to ASSP’s CWU Student Section.

Bliss is a member of ASSP’s Women in Safety Excellence Common Interest Group.

For more information, visit https://www.assp.org.