Adrian College seeks a full-time faculty member for the new department of engineering
Posted Monday, January 26, 2026
Adrian College is seeking a full-time engineering faculty member for a newly established Engineering Department beginning this fall.
Jake Docking, Dean of Retention and Enrollment Services at Adrian College, coordinates the College’s engineering programs. He said the move comes as the college’s engineering enrollment has doubled over the past year.
Adrian College’s new Department of Engineering will offer in-person courses that fulfill requirements for six dual-degree engineering programs offered in partnership with the University of North Dakota (UND) in Biomedical, Chemical, Civil, Electrical, Mechanical and Petroleum engineering. In the dual-degree structure, students earn a degree from Adrian College while completing a hybrid engineering degree from UND.
“Students rave about the quality of their hybrid courses at UND, but they also appreciate taking some courses on the Adrian campus,” Docking said. “Hiring a full-time faculty member allows us to offer more in-person engineering courses here, building the sense of community that is critical in a rigorous, collaborative field like engineering.”
Andrea Milner, Vice President and Dean of Academic Affairs at Adrian College, said the new department is a meaningful expansion of the college’s STEM academic portfolio.
“We’ve watched engineering grow faster than any program launched in recent memory,” Milner said. “The full-time faculty member will play a central role in building a hands-on, student-centered engineering class that responds to what students are telling us they want and what employers are telling us they need.”
Rick Hedrick, CEO of Observable Space, an Adrian-based manufacturer of advanced astronomical telescopes, has hired Adrian College graduates in the past.
“The hands-on experience from in-person engineering and physics education gives those students the problem-solving skills we need,” Hedrick said. “Graduates from programs like this hit the ground running.”
Adrian College expects to complete the faculty search by early summer. Docking said the hire will enable the College to offer up to four additional on-campus engineering courses per semester.
“With the establishment of the department of engineering and the addition of dedicated faculty leadership, Adrian College is positioned to become a regional hub for accessible, hands-on engineering education that prepare graduates to contribute immediately to Michigan’s economy,” Docking said.
