Three New Department Chairs Named in School of STEM
June 23, 2022
Hudson Valley Community College announced the appointment of three new academic department chairs in the college’s School of STEM this week, including one for a new Department of Computer Science and Mathematics.
Dr. Linda Lim, a faculty member at the college since 2004, will lead the new department, which includes students in associate degree programs in Computer Information Systems, Hacking and Cybersecurity, and Math and Science. Lim has taught courses related to both mathematics and computer science during her tenure at the college and has been very active on campus. She serves as faculty advisor to the student Engineering Science Club and is on the self-study steering committee for reaccreditation from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. She also currently serves as vice president of the SUNY Two-Year Engineering School Association.
Lim is a familiar figure on campus around Halloween, when she leads her engineering design students in a friendly pumpkin launching competition using catapults, trebuchets, and other launching devices designed and built by the students themselves.
She received her doctoral and master’s degrees from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and her baccalaureate degree from Messiah College.
Dr. Chris McNally is the new chair of the Applied Technologies Department, which oversees students in degree and certificate programs in Automotive Management, Automotive Technical Services, Automotive Technical Services-Autobody Repair, Clean Energy Management, Electric and Autonomous Vehicles, Electrical Construction and Maintenance, Heating/Air Conditioning/Refrigeration Technical Services, Overhead Electric Line Worker and Mechatronics.
McNally, who received the State University of New York Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2009, has been a faculty member teaching automotive technology at the college since 1996 and most recently led efforts to create the new associate degree program in Electric and Autonomous Vehicles. He also oversees a new National Science Foundation (NSF) Advanced Technology Education grant related to educating automotive and electrical construction students about electric vehicle charging systems.
A two-time finisher of the Lake Placid Ironman Triathlon, he is the founder of IOU (It’s on Us), a non-profit, grassroots movement to raise awareness of the problem of sexual harassment of female athletes.
McNally received his doctoral and master’s degrees from the State University of New York at Albany, his baccalaureate degree from SUNY Oswego and his associate degree in automotive technology from Herkimer County Community College.
Dr. Michael Shea is the new department chair for the Biology, Chemistry and Physics Department, which serves students in the Biotechnology, Biological Sciences, Environmental Science and Physical Sciences associate degrees. Shea, who received the State University of New York Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Faculty Service in 2020, has been a faculty member at the college since 2010.
He currently serves as chairman of the college’s Academic Senate Curriculum Committee, and also as the college’s representative on the SUNY Faculty Advisory Council on Teaching and Technology (FACT2), an advisory body to the SUNY Provost, advocating and acting as a resource for University stakeholders regarding technology, teaching and research. Shea has been praised for his innovative and creative teaching, his service to students in the Science Study Center and his willingness to take on leadership roles on campus.
He received his doctoral degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, his master’s degree from Hofstra University, his baccalaureate degree from SUNY Geneseo and his associate degree from SUNY Adirondack.
The creation of the new Department of Computer Science and Mathematics allows for a realignment of the college’s School of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM), which will now house four distinct departments – Applied Technologies; Biology, Chemistry and Physics, Computer Science and Mathematics; and Engineering, Architecture and Manufacturing.
