EHS' Bruce Boyer retires after 21 years of service to the Western community

On Friday, Mar. 29, the Western Washington University community said farewell to Bruce Boyer as he transitioned to retirement. Bruce served as the workers’ compensation manager and ergonomist for the Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) department for over 21 years.

Prior to starting his WWU career, Bruce worked for the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) as a workers’ compensation claims manager. He graduated from Western with a bachelor's degree in Psychology (class of 1981) and paid his way through college by working in the timber industry on the coasts of Washington and continued to work in the industry until joining L&I in 1999. Bruce’s ties to Western go even further back as his grandmother graduated from what was then called Whatcom Normal School in 1913.

In his time at Western, Bruce has successfully grown both the workers’ compensation and ergonomics programs for the university. He has also supported other programs such as the confined space rescue team and served as interim EHS director for nearly 2 years.

Those who have had the pleasure of working with Bruce will attest to his care, compassion, and commitment to the Western community along with his calm demeanor. For all those lives he has touched, we will miss you and wish you the best in retirement. On behalf of the WWU community, thank you and enjoy the next phase of life!

In the meantime, if anyone has questions regarding workers’ compensation claims, ergonomics evaluations, and hazard/incident reporting, please do not hesitate to contact EHS Director John Fauver directly at x4656 or jfauver@wwu.edu.