Faculty and Staff

Dr. Joseph M. Losko is a 1996 Slippery Rock graduate in Safety Management. He received his Master’s Degree in Business from Waynesburg University (2005) and Doctoral Degree in Information Systems from Robert Morris University (2012). He is a Certified Safety Professional (CSP) and Certified Hazardous Materials Manager (CHMM). Prior to joining the Safety Management Department at Slippery Rock University in 2016, he held EHS positions at Zinc Corporation of America, UPMC Presbyterian/University of Pittsburgh Physicians (UPP), Magee-Womens Hospital, and Mylan Pharmaceuticals focused on Safety and Environmental compliance. He currently serves as a consultant and advisor to multiple corporations and organizatons. He has authored multiple peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on various safety and health related topics. He is a current professional member of ASSP and member of the American Society of Healthcare Engineers. His areas of interest and study are environmental compliance, industrial hygiene, hazardous/infectious materials, healthcare compliance and NFPA Life Safety.  

Cindy Medford, PhD, CSP, is an Associate Professor in the Safety Management Department at Slippery Rock University. She joined SRU in 2019 following a career in occupational safety and risk management spanning insurance loss control, transportation, manufacturing, government, and higher education. Her professional experience includes positions with Continental Insurance, Federal Express, Ryder Truck Rental/Budget Systems, Pepsi Bottling Group, the City of Paducah, Kentucky, and Murray State University.

Dr. Medford’s teaching and professional interests include risk management and insurance, fleet safety, occupational safety leadership, and the preparation of students for professional practice. She has also helped develop and lead international study-abroad experiences that connect occupational safety education with global industry and culture, including programs in Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, France, and Monaco.

A Certified Safety Professional since 1994, Dr. Medford is an authorized OSHA 10- and 30-hour General Industry instructor and an ABET/ANSAC Safety Program Evaluator. She serves as faculty advisor to SRU’s ASSP Student Section and is active in university assessment and professional service.

Her recent scholarship focuses on experiential and global safety education and the use of artificial intelligence in the safety profession. She co-authored “Beyond Borders: Study Abroad Brings Global Perspective to Safety Education,” published in Professional Safety in 2026, and contributed the chapter “AI for the Safety Professional” to the ninth edition of Fundamentals of Occupational Safety and Health.

Dr. Medford earned her bachelor’s degree in Occupational Safety and Health from Murray State University and a master’s degree in Organizational Management. She earned her PhD in Safety Sciences from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where her doctoral research examined worker safety perceptions and factors influencing marijuana use.

David Renz, PhD, CSP, is an associate professor in the Safety Management Department at Slippery Rock University.  Renz joined the university’s Safety Management faculty in August, 2019.  He is a proven HSE Manager with more than 29-years of industry experience.  He has worked for Fortune 100 and private companies including Exxon Mobil (formerly Mobil Chemical), Honeywell International, Armstrong World Industries, Chevron (formerly Noble Energy), and EdgeMarc Energy.  In addition, he established BruinCreek Solutions, a HSE consulting firm that currently serves customers in the oil & gas and manufacturing sectors.  Mr. Renz has an undergraduate degree in Safety Sciences from Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) and a master’s degree in business administration from Northern Illinois University.  He completed his PhD in Safety Sciences at IUP with his doctoral dissertation work titled “Workers’ Perception of Leader Intelligence, Safety Climate and Safety Participation in the Oil & Gas Extraction Industry”. 

Dr. Rona Smeak, a Certified Safety Professional (CSP), is an Associate Professor in the Safety Management Department. She has been with the department since 2013. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Safety Management here at “The Rock”, a Master’s of Business at Frostburg State University, Frostburg, MD and a PhD in Communications, Media and Instructional Technology at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Smeak has worked in a variety of industries in her 23+ years as an Occupational Health and Safety Professional. She spent over ten years as a Safety Specialist with the United States Air Force (Department of the Air Force Civilian) at Langley Air Force Base, VA and Pope Air Force Base, NC. From there, she worked at Orbital ATK, Rocket Center, WV. Finding an interest in Industrial Hygiene, she signed on as an Industrial Hygienist (IH) with Bechtel Jacobs at Oak Ridge National Labs, TN, as well as an IH consultant with Colden Corporation. Lastly, she worked as a Senior HSE with FirstEnergy at the supercritical Hatfield Power Station and Lake Lynn Hydro Power Station.

Dr. Smeak has published many peer-reviewed articles and has presented her work at numerous conferences. She is an authorized instructor for OSHA 10 and 30-hour for Construction and is a certified Asbestos Building Inspector and Asbestos Management Planner. She sits on numerous committees at the University and is currently the Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania’s American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) Student Section Faculty Advisor.