Virginia Peninsula Community College's search for the ideal addition to its engineering faculty led to hiring Dr. Daimei Zhu. The lengthy search was time well spent in Scott Stauble’s view, calling the move a major success.
“For engineering, bringing Dr. Zhu on is a huge move,” said Stauble, the dean of VPCC’s STEM division. “Now that we have Dr. Zhu on board, along with Dr. (Nina) Mun, we’ve got an outstanding faculty in this engineering program.”
Stauble joined VPCC in July 2023. He noted that before Dr. Zhu’s arrival, the College, having lacked specialized faculty, relied on other institutions for electrical and computer engineering courses.
“Bringing Dr. Zhu on brings that expertise in electrical and computer engineering to grow that, hopefully,” he said. “We just weren’t able to offer them. … Dr. Zhu is offering them in house.”
The classes most affected were those needed for an AS degree in engineering for transfer to four-year institutions. Fortunately, they were available online at other colleges and were accepted at VPCC.
Stauble is setting up lab space and equipment “to make sure students are getting an amazing hands-on experience that prepares them for transfer.”
Enrollment trends are promising across the College, including Workforce Development programs and career studies certificates. While there has been a modest increase in engineering enrollment, Stauble sees enormous potential for growth, especially with the benefits of the Transfer VA program. He explained that under the program students who earn an associate degree at VPCC and meet other requirements are guaranteed acceptance at one of the state’s four-year universities.
“You save a ton of money,” he said, adding there also are programs that allow students to pay a reduced rate even after transferring.
However, it’s about more than just cost.
“Every study that comes out shows that students that transfer from a community college into a four-year do better at the four-year than the students who started at that four-year,” Stauble said. “You’re getting a better education. You’re getting better prepared, and you are saving money. There absolutely is no downside.”
Professor Zhu, who is from south China but comes to VPCC by way of Utah and Michigan, is just as excited about the program as Stauble.
“It’s a great program,” she said. “We focus on three aspects. We try to get students technicians’ degrees so they can go to work. They can also get an associate degree, but I think the biggest thing here is they have a great transfer program, so the students do have an opportunity to go to a four-year college.”
She’s been interested in engineering since high school and was exposed to all types of engineering while in college in China. She’s been in the United States since 2011.
Stauble likes her background in electrical and computer engineering, two areas where he sees potential for great growth at the College. She also has practical experience, and while this is her first full-time teaching position, she has been a teaching and research assistant.
“She has a very strong focus on student success,” Stauble said. “It’s bringing that expertise, that energy to the program that we needed while also bringing somebody who is dedicated to success and dedicated to making sure that students succeed.”
A number of Professor Mun’s students have gone on to four-year schools, gotten internships and eventually hired by NASA. One of those is Matthew Mills, who said what he learned in her classes prepared him for his work at NASA.
“You see it in class, but it'll just be a drawing or a problem that is just giving you numbers and you have to solve whatever,” he said. “But then here you get to see the things that are just pictures in the textbooks, actually in real life, and how those concepts of how they work displayed for you.”
With the hiring of Zhu, those experiences will be available to more students.
“Now that we have D. Zhu on board, along with Dr. Mun, we’ve got an outstanding faculty in this engineering program,” Stauble said. “If you want to go into engineering, this is the way to do it. You get individualized small classes where your professor actually knows who you are and cares about your success. You get to save money and you get guaranteed transfer to a four-year.”
For more information on VPCC, visit www.vpcc.edu.