Dalton State welcomes two endowed chairs to advance STEM and classical education
Dalton, GA (08/25/2026) — Dalton State College has selected two accomplished educators to serve in endowed chair positions that will advance innovation in STEM and help prepare the next generation of teachers through classical education. Asaf Varol has been named the Shaw Industries Chair in STEM, and Cristian R. Aquino-Sterling has been selected as the inaugural Keith & Lynn Whitworth Distinguished Chair in Classical Education.
"We are excited to welcome Dr. Varol and Dr. Aquino-Sterling to these important leadership positions," Dalton State President John Fuchko said. "Their expertise, vision and commitment to student achievement will strengthen opportunities for our students while advancing workforce readiness throughout our region. We are deeply grateful to Shaw Industries and the Brown-Whitworth family for their generous support of these endowed chairs, which help Dalton State attract outstanding faculty, foster innovation and prepare students for success in high-demand careers throughout Northwest Georgia and beyond."
Varol brings more than four decades of experience in engineering education, academic leadership, research and international collaboration to his role. His work has focused on strengthening engineering programs, expanding student learning opportunities and building connections between higher education and industry.
"I want our students to learn engineering by doing engineering," Varol said. "That means creating more opportunities for industry-sponsored projects, internships, plant visits, undergraduate research, capstone experiences and direct interaction with practicing engineers. As resources and institutional processes permit, we also want our curriculum and laboratories to continue evolving in areas such as automation, robotics and artificial intelligence. One of my aspirations is to help establish a modern robotics and automation laboratory that can support teaching, student research and collaborative projects addressing real industrial needs."
Before joining Dalton State, Varol taught at the College of Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Throughout his career, he has held faculty and leadership positions in engineering and technology programs, including mechatronics, software engineering and digital forensics, and has taught and conducted research internationally.
Varol holds a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering and master's degrees in nuclear energy engineering and public administration. He earned his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering with honors from Firat University in Turkey.
"Dr. Varol's expertise in engineering education, research and industry collaboration will help advance Dalton State's STEM initiatives and strengthen opportunities for students pursuing careers in high-demand fields," Gina Kertulis-Tartar, provost and vice president for academic affairs, said.
Varol succeeds Dr. John Lugthart, who served as Dalton State's inaugural Shaw Industries Chair in STEM and helped strengthen STEM education, student success and industry partnerships across the college. Lugthart's service at Dalton State spanned more than thirty years, during which time he had a profound impact on Northwest Georgia through ecological efforts including restoration work at Lakeshore Park, leading the Conasauga Watershed Cleanup each year and the development of the Roadrunner Trail System.
Aquino-Sterling is the inaugural Keith & Lynn Whitworth Distinguished Chair in Classical Education. The position was created through the generosity of the Brown Whitworth Reynolds Foundation to strengthen teacher preparation at the college.
"I am excited to work alongside brilliant, caring and deeply committed colleagues in the School of Education, the college and community to explore how modern classical education, dual-language immersion, Finnish nature-based education and arts integration can be strategically integrated to reimagine education," Aquino-Sterling said. "I hope to make an impact at Dalton State by advancing innovative teaching, learning and scholarship, and building collaborative partnerships with the goal of helping to establish a profoundly humanist model of teacher education and K-12 education that is intellectually ambitious, globally minded and deeply connected to the flourishing of students and communities."
Before joining Dalton State, Aquino-Sterling served as associate professor of bi-multilingual education in the College of Education at Texas Tech University and associate professor and inaugural Associate Dean for Diversity and International Affairs in the College of Education at San Diego State University. His newly expanded line research examines curricular and pedagogical innovation at the intersection of modern classical education, dual-language immersion education and Finnish nature-based education. Aquino-Sterling is fluent in Spanish and English, with emerging reading knowledge in Latin and intermediate low proficiency in Brazilian Portuguese.
He holds a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction from Arizona State University, a master's degree from Columbia University and bachelor's degrees in Western philosophy and Spanish literatures from Fordham University.
"Dr. Aquino-Sterling's expertise in classical education, multilingual learning and teacher preparation will help advance innovative educator preparation programs and support development of the Learning Academy of Northwest Georgia," Kertulis-Tartar said.
Aquino-Sterling has published extensively on bilingual teacher education and is lead co-editor of Curricular and Pedagogical Innovations in Bilingual Teacher Education (Emeral 2022). He is co-founder and co-director of the International and Comparative Bi-multilingual Education Research Group (ICBERG), serves as editor of the "Curriculum & Instruction Development" section of the Journal of Global Education and Research, and is a board member of the Jirani Project, a nonprofit supporting children in Kenya, Africa.
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