Based on historical and archival information, the founding year of the department is considered to be 1970. In that year, within the faculty of “Agricultural Mechanization” the department of “Occupational Safety” was established by the institute’s order. The founder and first head of the department was Associate Professor, Candidate of Technical Sciences Boris Petrovich Topchiy. However, the study of safety and fire safety began in 1956 by 5th-year students majoring in “Electrification of Agriculture” and “Agricultural Mechanization”.
In 1956, the subject, comprising 28 hours, was introduced into the curriculum and taught by the instructors of the “Machine Repair” department, namely Topchiy B.P. and assistant Shtikalo Y.E.
In 1963, the subject was renamed “Occupational Safety”, and its scope was increased to 60 hours in 1965.
By the order of the Ministry of Higher Education of the USSR No. 273 dated September 23, 1963, the discipline “Occupational Safety” became a separate course. A new program was developed, and in September 1970, the department of “Occupational Safety” was established. This department was tasked with teaching “Occupational Safety” and “Soviet Law” for majors 1509 and 1510, as well as overseeing the “Occupational Safety” section in diploma projects.
To further enhance practical training for students, the Department of “Occupational Safety and Vocational Training” was established by the rector’s order No. 244 dated September 3, 1989, under the deanery of “Occupational Safety and Environmental Engineering”. The department was led by Associate Professor, Candidate of Technical Sciences D.A. Butko. During this period, a training and production ground was constructed (800,000 square meters). A laboratory with simulators for driving was also built. To actively engage the faculty in specific scientific research, a specialized research laboratory (the first in the USSR) “Development of Occupational Safety Management System and Methodology for Job Passportization and Certification” was created, consisting of 20 researchers.
In 1982-1984, the Scientific and Methodological Council on Vocational Education of the Ministry of Education of the USSR (Scientific Secretary D.A. Butko) presented occupational safety training programs for agricultural specialists. At the request of the Ministry of Agriculture of Ukraine, the research laboratory and department staff developed methodologies and document templates for the inspection of all agricultural machinery (tractors, cars, combines, agricultural machines). Graduation and diploma projects repeatedly won first places in competitions for the best diploma project and work (supervisors Y.P. Glebov, D.A. Butko, M.A. Vlasov).
In 1992, the department was renamed to the “Department of Life Safety”, and it was headed by Associate Professor, Candidate of Technical Sciences V.L. Lushchenkov.
In 1994, the Tavria Scientific and Production Center for Occupational Safety was established based on the department (headed by Associate Professor D.A. Butko). The center’s scientific developments and material assets (worth 120,000 rubles) were transferred to the academy.
Since 1994, the Department of Life Safety has been the first in Ukraine to graduate specialists in occupational safety. From 1994 to 2007, approximately 230 specialists in the field of “Occupational Safety” were graduated.
The department became the winner of the review competition “Best in the Profession” for the academic year 2006-2007, conducted within the academy. The department’s collective photo holds an honorary place on the University Honors Board.
Y.P. Rogach initiated the diversification of the department’s educational activities, covering not only occupational safety and environmental aspects but also organizing the educational process in the context of the Bologna Agreement. The department teaches disciplines such as “Life Safety”, ”Fundamentals of Occupational Safety”, “Occupational Safety in Industry”, ”Environmental Impact Assessment”, ”Environmental Certification”, ”Human Ecology”, ”Engineering Ecology”, ”Civil Security”, ”Industrial Sanitation”, ”Legislation and Law in Agriculture”, ”Occupational Safety Theory”, and others.
By the rector’s order No. 2-OD dated August 3, 2007, the department was renamed to the “Department of Occupational Safety and Life Safety” and transferred to the newly created Faculty of Agrotechnologies and Ecology.
Heads of the Department
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Topchiy Boris PetrovichThe Head of the Departmentof Occupational Safetyfrom 1970 to 1989 |
Topchiy Boris Petrovich, born in 1912 in the village of Kamenka, Melitopol district of Tavria Governorate. In 1933, he graduated from the Melitopol Technical School of Agricultural Mechanization with a specialization in technician-mechanic. From 1933 to 1935, he worked as the deputy chief of the mechanical workshop at the Metalloobedineniye plant. Between 1935 and 1940, Topchiy studied at the Melitopol Institute of Agricultural Mechanization, earning a degree as a mechanical engineer. After completing his studies, he became the chief of the Melitopol Motor Repair Shop for the People’s Commissariat of Land. From 1941 to 1943, he served as the chief mechanic at the Kolachin Auto Tractor Repair Plant. During 1943-1946, Topchiy worked as the head of production at the Kolachin Mechanical Plant, and from 1946 to 1951, he served as the chief engineer of the same plant. From 1951 to 1953, he held the position of director at the Lipetsk Mechanical Plant.
Starting in 1953, Topchiy became a collaborator at MIMEA (Melitopol Institute of Mechanization and Electrification of Agriculture), initially as an assistant, later as a senior lecturer and associate professor in the repair department. From 1960 to 1969, he served as the dean of the correspondence department. In 1969, Topchiy became the head of the “Occupational Safety” department.
He was awarded the medal “For Valiant Labor” by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and received the badge “Excellence in Socialist Agriculture” from the Ministry of Agriculture.
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Butko Dmytro AntonovychThe Head of the Departmentof Occupational Safetyand Vocational Trainingfrom 1989 to 1992 |
Dmytro Antonovych Butko was born on December 19, 1937, in the village of Vepryk, Hadyach district, Poltava region. In 1952, he graduated with honors from Vepryk High School. From 1952 to 1956, he studied at the Crimean Technical School of Agricultural Mechanization, and from 1956 to 1961, he continued his education at the Melitopol Institute of Agricultural Mechanization. After completing his university studies, he worked as the chief engineer at the Radgosp (experimental farm) named after Gorky in Melitopol district, Zaporizhzhia region, from 1961 to 1964. In 1964, Butko was elected as the second secretary of the Melitopol City Committee of the Communist Party. In 1965, he was elected as the first secretary of the Melitopol City Committee of the Leninist Communist Youth League (LKSMU), where he worked for two years. In 1967, Butko became the head of the organizational department of the Communist Party Committee. In 1969, he was elected as the third secretary and, two years later, as the second secretary of the Communist Party Committee of Zaporizhia region, where he worked until March 1973.
In 1973, Butko entered the postgraduate program at MIMEA (Melitopol Institute of Mechanization and Electrification of Agriculture) and completed it in 1978. He defended his candidate dissertation on the topic: “Development of parameters of the dosing device of the sweeping type of mobile feed distributors.” After defending his dissertation, he worked as an assistant and senior lecturer at the Department of Animal Husbandry Mechanization. In 1982, Butko was elected as the head of the Department of Occupational Safety and Vocational Training. In 1985, he was elected as the dean of the Faculty of Mechanization of Agriculture, where he worked until 1989. In 1990, Butko became the head of the scientific research laboratory on occupational safety management and concurrently worked as an associate professor at the Department of Life Safety. Since 1993, he has been the director of the Tavria Scientific and Production Engineering Center for Occupational Safety and, concurrently, an associate professor at the Department of Life Safety, where he continues to work to this day.
Throughout his years at TSATU, Butko received 30 letters of gratitude from the rector and was awarded certificates from the regional council, the “Excellence in Education” badge, as well as medals “For Labor Valor” and “For Labor Excellence”.
His scientific interests focus on occupational safety management. Notably, he has authored 14 textbooks on occupational safety. He holds three author’s certificates for inventions. He supervised student research on the topic of “Improving the Passportization of the Sanitary and Technical Condition of Workplaces in Agricultural Enterprises”. He also guided diploma projects aimed at improving technological safety and working conditions in various sectors of agriculture. As a result of his scientific work, Butko has published over 90 scientific articles, and more than 400 diploma projects by students have been defended under his supervision.
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Lushchenkov Valeriy LeonidovychThe Head of theDepartment of Life Safetyfrom 1992 to 2001 |
Valeriy Leonidovych Lushchenkov was born on June 21, 1941, in Sevastopol, Crimean Autonomous Republic. In 1970, he graduated from the Zaporizhzhia Machine-Building Institute. From 1970 to 1972, he worked at the Melitopol Motor Plant (holding positions of master and deputy chief of the central workshop). In 1975, he completed his patent law studies through distance learning at the Melitopol branch of the Zaporizhzhia Institute of Patents. In 1980, he completed distance postgraduate studies at the Moscow Institute of Automobile and Tractor Engineering. In 1982, Lushchenkov defended his candidate dissertation on the topic: “Investigation of the influence of phosphorus and certain alloying elements on the microstructure and wear resistance of white iron in hardfacing of the pusher of an automobile engine”.
Since 1982, he has been working at MIMEA (Melitopol Institute of Mechanization and Electrification of Agriculture) as a senior lecturer, associate professor, and since 1992 – as the head of the Department of Life Safety.
His scientific interests include improving elements of the occupational safety management system on small agricultural enterprises. He has authored 14 textbooks on occupational safety. He holds three author’s certificates for inventions related to cast iron. He supervised student research on the topic: “Improving passportization of the sanitary and technical condition of workplaces in agricultural enterprises.” He also guided diploma projects aimed at improving technological safety and working conditions in various sectors of agriculture. As a result of his scientific work, Lushchenkov has published over 40 scientific articles, and more than 200 diploma projects by students have been defended under his supervision.
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Rogach Yuriy PetrovychThe Head of the Departmentof Civil Securityfrom 2001 to 2022 |
Yuriy Petrovych Rogach was born on March 28, 1958, in Martynivska Station, Voznesenskyi District, Mykolaiv Oblast. He pursued education at School No. 20 in Melitopol from 1965 to 1975. Afterward, he worked in various technical roles and laboratories. In September 1976, Yuriy Petrovych began his studies at Melitopol Institute of Mechanization of Agriculture, earning a qualification as an agricultural engineer-mechanic in 1981. From September 1981 to September 1982, he worked as the chief engineer at the state farm “Avangard” in Poltava region. In September 1982, he was elected as the Second Secretary of the Poltava District Komsomol, later becoming the First Secretary in September 1983. From 1983 to 1985, he was a member of the bureau of the Poltava District Party Committee’s Komsomol. In December 1985, he became a member of the Poltava Regional Committee of the Komsomol. Starting from October 1985, he managed a department at the state farm named after T.G. Shevchenko in Poltava region.
In February 1986, Yuriy Petrovych joined the Research Department of Melitopol Institute of Mechanization of Agriculture as a junior research fellow, later becoming a senior research fellow in the same year. From 1986 to 1988, he served in the army. After completing his military service in 1988, he returned to Melitopol Institute of Mechanization of Agriculture, continuing his work as a senior research fellow. From 1989 to 1992, Yuriy Petrovych pursued his doctoral studies. In 1992, he was appointed as an assistant at the Department of EMTP. In the same year, he defended his doctoral dissertation on the topic: “Substantiation of Optimal Parameters and Development of Zonal Working Bodies of a Cultivator-Flat Cutter for the Southern Zone of Ukraine”. In September 1992, he was awarded the scientific degree of Candidate of Technical Sciences. His research interests include soil cultivation, studying soil-climatic conditions for crop cultivation, and creating safe working conditions for mechanization. In 1993, he was appointed as the dean of the Faculty of Mechanization of Agriculture. In 1995, he was granted the academic title of Associate Professor. In 1998, Yuriy Petrovych Rogach was appointed as the Vice-Rector for Scientific and Pedagogical Work, a position he holds to this day. Since 2001, he has also served as the head of the Department of Labor Protection and Life Safety. In December 2007, Yuriy Petrovych was awarded the academic title of Professor.
Throughout his years at the university, Yuriy Petrovych has supervised the research work of 3 Ph.D. candidates and is currently supervising 3 doctoral candidates. He has 152 publications, including 76 scientific papers (6 international), 70 educational-methodical works, 4 declared patents in Ukraine, and 1 inventor’s certificate from the USSR. Yuriy Petrovych Rogach is the author or co-author of 5 textbooks and 1 manual.
As a highly qualified expert, he has chaired the State Examination Boards for the defense of diploma projects and theses in higher agricultural educational institutions 15 times.
He is highly respected among the scientific and pedagogical staff and students, and his dedicated work has been recognized in 18 rector’s orders.
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Zoria Mykhailo VitaliyovychThe Head of the Departmentof Civil Securityfrom 2022 – to date |