College Leadership
Senior Dean Wins State Award
Dr. Kai Wang Recognized as Staff of the Year
RALEIGH, N.C. (January 22, 2018) – The North Carolina State Board of Community Colleges has announced that Dr. Kai Wang, Senior Dean of Strategic Innovations at Wake Technical Community College, has been named Staff of the Year for 2018.
“We’re enormously proud and fortunate to have Dr. Wang on our team,” said Wake Tech President Dr. Stephen C. Scott. “This recognition is well deserved! Kai’s creativity and leadership skills are a powerful combination – one that Wake Tech has benefitted from in many significant ways.”
Dr. Wang joined Wake Tech in 2002 as an adjunct instructor and went on to serve as a department head and as dean of special projects. In his role as Senior Dean of Strategic Innovations, he furthers Wake Tech’s mission by improving existing programs and services while launching new ideas and turning them into projects with real impact.
Dr. Wang also serves as Chief Campus Officer for Wake Tech’s “virtual campus,” Wake Tech Online, enhancing and strengthening the college’s growing array of online courses and programs. Wake Tech serves more online students than any community college in the state, and was recently ranked number one in the nation for online community colleges by bestvalueschools.com.
In 2006, he was a driving force in the creation of Wake Tech's Simulation and Game Development program, obtaining a $900,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to support its development. The program now trains more than 300 students a year for high-tech jobs in Research Triangle Park and the video game industry.
Dr. Wang has been an innovator throughout his tenure at Wake Tech, and helped create the nation’s first two-year degree in Business Analytics. He has served as a mentor in Wake Tech's Leadership Development Capstone projects, and was the recipient of Wake Tech’s Excellence in Leadership Award in 2017.
Read the full announcement on the NC Community College System website: http://www.nccommunitycolleges.edu/news-center/news/state-board-announces-award-winners.
