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| Mr. Joe Sciabica, President of Universal Technology Corporation |
Mr. Sciabica joined the the DRSS Board this month after 33 years of credible civil service with the Department of the Air Force. Mr. Sciabica brings a wealth of knowledge to this position from his time serving with the Air Force Research Laboratory, the Air Force Civil Engineer Center, and as the current President of Universal Technology Corporation. He has spent his entire career in STEM fields, beginning with obtaining a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering, followed by working for the Air Force on rocket, space, air, and cyber systems, and culminating his career with the Air Force across all the disciplines of civil engineering.
We had the opportunity to ask Joe a few questions when he agreed to join the DRSS Board of Trustees:
Q - What excites you most about joining the DRSS Governing Board?
A - Having moved back into the Dayton Region this summer – I’m excited to be rejoining something that I was a part of in the start-up of the Dayton Regional STEM School to begin with. The Board, the faculty, the staff, the students, the families and the community leaders supporting The Dayton Regional STEM School have done a tremendous job. The Board is made up of a diverse cross section of members of the public and private sectors from across the region, and I’m excited about being a part of this team.Q - What unique perspective do you hope to bring to the board?
A - The opportunity to share what I’ve learned across my years working in and leading large organizations which are responsible for STEM products. I’ve worked or led organizations ranging from the basic theoretical research all the way to applied technology where we integrated technologies from the lab bench into rapidly fielded capabilities, akin to the concepts one sees in the orange juice commercials today – straight from the farm to the breakfast table! Having hands-on experience across the broad spectrum of technology areas, different levels of research and a knowledge of how folks who possess STEM degrees “go to work” will be one of my contributions to the board.Q - How do you see DRSS as an important player in fulfilling our Mission of “ensuring our community’s future success?” specifically with regard to preparing students for STEM careers?
A - While STEM is generally viewed as one of the harder degree areas to complete and to keep our youth engaged in, the Arts tend to be just as challenging and contribute wholly to the success of every STEM project I’ve been involved with. The bottom line is that education is a fundamental underpinning for all things in all areas and disciplines. We do apply different approaches to teaching at DRSS; immersing students in both the Arts and the Sciences, hence the reason/rationale for a STEM school. From my time leading research organizations, I saw time and again how no matter what the capability was that we were researching or trying to field – if we didn’t have the academic underpinnings in the STEM related disciplines, the requisite peer group of PhD researchers – we’d struggle to be successful and often times fail. We’re blessed in this region because we have so many phenomenal colleges and universities within a few hours. These higher-level institutions have a wide breadth of research that span the broader body of knowledge our STEM students will be a part of. Our state and local governments are also working to become more business friendly. Bringing all these elements together, I believe this holds high promise that the Dayton region will once again rise above all others in the nation to be a recognized technological leader. The Dayton Regional STEM School is an important player in our region's success.
Dr. David Goldstein, President of the DRSS governing board, added, “we are excited to welcome Joe Sciabica to the DRSS Board of Trustees. With his outstanding service to the Air Force, his longstanding deep investment in advancing the Dayton region, and his passion for STEM education and careers, he will be a great asset in guiding and promoting the school’s mission and vision.”
