Chester Miller hired as Engineering Village director

The College of Engineering and University Housing at North Carolina State University are pleased to announce the hiring of Chester Miller as the new Engineering Village director. Miller began his new position July 31.

Miller has a strong blend of engineering and student affairs knowledge and experience, having earned a BS in electrical engineering from Morgan State University and an MS in electrical engineering from Binghamton University. He spent seven years at IBM as a design and verification engineer and has 12 years experience working in higher education supporting student retention, success and development. The last seven years he has worked in University Housing at NC State in the apartment communities, most recently as assistant director for Wolf Ridge Apartments.

The Engineering Village is designed to intentionally amplify the First Year Engineering program in an on-campus living environment while providing students with a co-curricular experience to support navigating their first year at NC State. The program’s purpose is to introduce students to the field of engineering, encourage students to think globally to solve complex challenges, develop positive and supportive peer relationships, connect academic and career goals, and challenge students to become leaders and active contributors to their community.

The Village encourages student involvement and engagement into college life and their academic discipline and to develop skills and competencies necessary to become successful engineers. Engineering Village is in its second year and is housed in Metcalf Hall. It has grown from 95 enrolled students last year to 210 for the 2014-2015 academic year.

As Engineering Village director, Miller is responsible for providing direction, mission advancement, strategic planning, learning outcome based initiatives, high-impact activities, workshop planning and implementation in support of student success. He will also teach a section of the E101 Introduction to Engineering & Problem Solving course made up of students living in the Village.