HAMPTON — Virginia Peninsula Community College’s search for an addition to its engineering faculty led to the hiring of Daimei Zhu, the college announced.
“For engineering, bringing Dr. Zhu on is a huge move,” said Scott Stauble, the dean of Virginia Peninsula Community College’s (VPCC) 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 noted that before Zhu’s arrival, VPCC, 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,” Stauble 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, the college said, classes that were available online at other colleges and accepted at VPCC.
VPCC said Stauble is setting up lab space and equipment “to make sure students are getting an amazing hands-on experience that prepares them for transfer.”
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,” Zhu 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.”
Zhu has 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.
“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.”
With the hiring of Zhu, many more experiences will be available to more students, the college 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,” Stauble said.
For more information on VPCC, visit vpcc.edu.