June 02, 2025

At Mizzou Engineering, we have long provided our students with a reliable foundation for growth and excellence. One particularly successful graduate is Don Flora (BS IE ’66, MS IE ’68, MS ’71).

A lifetime champion of Mizzou, Flora holds an Alumni Legacy Award, a Missouri Honor Award, a Faculty-Alumni Award and is a member of the Industrial and Systems Engineering Hall of Fame. He took a moment to share his story.

I’ve always enjoyed math and science.

When it came time to choose a major, I read some newspaper articles about starting salaries for college graduates — engineers had the highest. That caught my attention. Then, I saw an article about Mizzou Engineers’ Week activities. Being an impressionable 18-year-old, I thought: good wages and fun — what could be better?

I read a book called Industrial Engineering in Health Care my junior year.

I was dating someone studying to become a medical technologist, so I spent some time in hospitals. The complexity of hospitals fascinated me. When Mizzou received a Regional Medical Programs grant, my academic advisor secured funding for me to work at University Hospital. I began working with him during my senior year and later received a graduate fellowship to continue the project. I was hooked.

In Marching Mizzou, I learned to lead and follow simultaneously.

You trust your teammates and understand how you fit into the bigger picture. It’s teamwork and individualism at their finest. Marching Mizzou has always been one of the largest and most inclusive student organizations on campus, welcoming students from every academic background. I’m still in touch with friends from Marching Mizzou more than 60 years later.

My first and only job in pure industrial engineering was that job at the University Medical Center.

During that period, I worked full- or part-time for three and a half years and earned my master’s in health administration [now health services management]. After that, I moved back to Kansas City and worked in health planning as a staff member and executive director. I was fortunate to work with an outstanding group of professionals and community leaders to develop a comprehensive health care plan for the Kansas City metro area. That work significantly influenced the direction of my consulting career over the next 40 years. In addition to the strong trajectory in the Industrial and Systems Engineering Department, it’s been great to see the College of Health Sciences embrace the management side of health care and meet the need for well-prepared administrators.

Industrial engineers help make the process of building things easier and more efficient.

All engineers are trained to think critically and analytically — to solve problems. But industrial engineers, more than other disciplines, are trained to see the entire system and find ways to make all the parts work together in a clean, organized way. The same principles you use to build a widget can be applied to designing a plant, running a company, or even improving complex systems like health care.

My experiences at Mizzou made a huge difference in the success of my company.

At Flora and Associates, we assisted hospitals and nursing homes through the maze of laws and regulations necessary for successful operation. Starting the company felt like being thrown into the deep end of the pool without knowing how to swim. However, the analytical and systems-based thinking that engineering demands translated directly to health services management. The mental discipline from engineering, the understanding of health care systems from the team at University Hospital, and even the collaborative lessons from band practice — all of it came together to support our success.

My proudest achievement involves our first hire at Flora and Associates.

A young nurse joined the mobile lithotripsy team we helped establish as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army Reserve. Over 25 years, he earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees, rose to the rank of colonel, deployed four times, and received the Legion of Merit from the U.S. Armed Forces. Because of the support we gave him during his military service, our company received the Secretary of Defense Freedom Award — given to just 15 companies a year. We remain the smallest company ever to receive that honor.

Students, look around you while you study.

These are the days for wide eyes, the thrill of discovery and adventure. Take this feeling and hold on to it. Keep this sense of wonder and joy with you for the rest of your days.

Great legacies start at Mizzou Engineering. Learn more about the accomplishments of our alumni.