William A.J. Golomski, a past president and honorary member of ASQ, died at his home in Custer, WI, on Feb. 17, after a brief battle with cancer. He was president of the technical and management consulting firm W.A. Golomski and Associates.
In recommending Golomski for an honorary degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Donald S. Ermer, professor in total quality at the university said, in part, “His entire career has been directed toward the welfare of mankind, and he has been unusually successful due to his thirst for knowledge, his appreciation of good research, his ability to adapt theory to practice, and his skill at communicating and implementing through others. Bill was thinking out of the box decades before it was popular. He is one of the most helpful and unselfish persons I have encountered in a 30-plus year career.”
Golomski served in the Army Air Force during World War II and since 1949 worked as a consultant, speaker, writer and educator in more than 60 countries for more than 2,000 organizations. He joined ASQ in 1952, was upgraded to Senior in 1954, elected a Fellow in 1959 and was president in 1966-67. In 1992, the Board of Directors named him an Honorary Member.
Honors and awards
Other honors from ASQ for Golomski include the Edwards Medal in 1975, the Grant Medal in 1990 and being named one of the 55 Pioneers in Quality in 1996 during celebrations of the Society’s 50th anniversary.
In addition, he co-founded the Food, Drug & Cosmetics Division, sponsored the Education Division, developed the criteria for ASQ’s certified quality engineer program, was founding editor of ASQ’s Quality Management Journal and served on the initial judging panel for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. He chaired or was a member of many other ASQ divisions and committees.
Golomski’s numerous honors from other organizations include the American Deming Medal and the Frank and Lillian Gilbreth Industrial Engineering Award, the highest honor of the Institute of Industrial Engineering (IIE). ASQ’s Food, Drug & Cosmetic Division named its premier award for him, and he was elected an academician of the International Academy of Quality, which limits membership to 70.
His nomination for IIE fellow stated, “Bill Golomski is one of the most creative, well-known, respected, active, helpful and unselfish persons doing work in the field of industrial engineering today.”
Golomski developed quality systems in many industries, including food, automotive and construction. He also designed programs to assess the safety of many products, such as safety, bicycle and firefighting helmets, safety glasses and chemical protective units.
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