Selected Key Faculty of MBA Program
The following is a list of key faculties at the Business School of the Virginia University of Science & Technology (VUST). All faculty in the MBA programs at VUST hold advanced degrees, such as Ph.D., DBA, MBA, or EMBA, as well as specialized degrees in areas including Leadership and Management, International Business, Accounting, Finance, Marketing, Human Resource Management, Enterprise Risk Management, Strategic Management, Operations Management, and Managerial Economics.
Each professor is either affiliated with prestigious universities or holds senior management roles in corporations or government agencies. These faculty members are recognized Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) in their teaching fields.
All MBA program professors have at least four years of professional experience working in federal government agencies or large and small corporations. They bring expertise in the subjects they teach, along with insights into leading business theories, current technologies, and practical business skills aligned with today’s job market demands.
Lead Faculty of Business School, Dr. Zelalem T. Chala
Dr. Chala holds a PhD in Economics from Virginia Polytechnic and State University, MS in Agricultural Economics from Oklahoma State University and MS in Data Analytics from Southern New Hampshire University. He published a book and articles related to his research works in development and environmental economics Working in international development institutions (UNDP and EU), he brings more than 10 years of expertise in economic policy research, project management, and business plan development. Since 2013, he has been teaching in various colleges Bachelor and master’s program courses of economics, statistics, and data analytics courses. He has rich experience in teaching both on-ground and online courses using Moodle, Blackboard, Canvas and D2L Learning Management System & technologies. Dr. Chala has also acquired a leadership role as a program chair of the School of Business at Fairfax University of America. In this capacity, he effectively managed the teaching-learning process, leading the Program Academic Committee (PAC) and Curriculum Development and Review Committee; in recruiting, credentialing and evaluating faculty; advising students throughout their learning experience in college. As a program Chair, he developed and implemented new Bachelor of Science (BSBA) and Master of Business Administration (MBA) programs. Currently he is the Program Lead in the MBA Program of VUST. In this role, in addition to teaching business courses, he is supporting the university in academic and curriculum development, management and assessment; also advising students in their academic achievements.
Professors who Teach During 2024-2025 Academic Years
Professors |
Academic Credentials |
Courses Teaching |
Industrial Experience |
Dr. Erica D. Roach, (CFO of US OPM, MPM. PMP) |
EMBA/MBA | MBA510 – Leadership & Management | CFO |
| Executive Leadership/Business Administration | LAM611 – Project Management | U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) | |
| MIT/University of Maryland | MBA536 – Finance for Decision Making | Successfully managed a $462M discretionary budget with a notable execution rate of 99.7%, a $668M revolving fund, and $1.2 trillion in earned benefits funds supporting 8M U.S. federal employees’ health, life, and retirement programs. | |
Dr. Alexander Onukwugha |
DBA | MBA515 – Managerial Economics | Senior Director |
| Business Administration | LAM626 – Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management | Elite Protective Service, Inc. | |
| Argosy University | MBA560 – Human Resources and Organizational Behavior | Created integrated strategies that developed new and existing customer sales, brand product evolution and media endorsement | |
Dr. Petya Nikolova |
DBA/Ph.D. | MBA540 – Marketing Management | Chief Scientist |
| Business Administration/ Political Science | MAM648 – Marketing Strategy and Planning | Euro-Atlantic Partnership Committeee. | |
| New Bulgarian University | MAM546 – Strategic Management |
Multinational Peace Force –Southeast Europe and Its Implications for the Security of the Region. |
|
Dr. Zelalem T. Chala |
Ph.D. | MBA515 – Managerial Economics | Project Coordinator |
| Economics | MAM615 – Data Source for Marketing Analytics | German International Development Cooperation, Berlin). |
|
| Virginia Tech University | MAM628 – Marketing Analytics | Managed a $10.2 million agricultural Economic development projects targeted at improving agricultural productivity and food security in Ethiopian. |
|
Dr. Yi Lin |
EDBA | MBA540 – Marketing Management | Exec. Director |
| Business Administration | LAM638 – International Business Management | TVMining Media and Tech Co., Ltd. | |
| University of Paris | LAM646 – Advanced Management Principles | As Co-founder, established an innovative company to make TV content searchable; Marketing Strategy. Plan. Budget and Operation. | |
| Dr. Gulsebnem Bishop |
Ph.D. & MBA | IAM640 – Information System Auditing and Monitoring; |
Senior Project Manager |
| Computer Study; Business Administration | IAM636 – Forensic Evaluation and Incident Response Management |
The Wilderness Society, Inc. | |
| Pace University; Stratford University | IAM647 – System Assessment & Security Risk Analysis | Provide critical systems management and data analysis services as well as databasesecurity and training to the Membership, Development and Communications teams; Establish and maintain internal business rules and processes for importing. |
|
Dr. Linghua Peng |
Ph.D. | MBA510 -Leadership & Management | Quantitative Analytics Director |
| Management Science & Information System |
MBA546 -Strategic Management | Freddie Mac | |
| University of Texas at Austin | MBA690 – Capstone Project | Management Managed a team of six economists in Credit Risk, Home Price Forecast, Counterparty Risk, and Affordable Goal Forecast modeling area. Responsible for assigning projects, coming up with approaches to tackle the projects, on-going discussion and progress monitoring of the projects, and offering support during the presentation of the results. Motivated and encouraged direct reports to take initiatives. Provided constant feedback on behavior and skill improvement, and mentored career development. |
|
Dr. Rafael Garcia Reilly |
Ph.D | LAM630 – Management of Innovation and Technology Change |
Development Advisor and Release Support Manager |
| Information Management Systems |
MAM615 – Data Sources for Marketing Analytics | Lucent Technologies | |
| Stevens University of Technology |
MAM628 – Marketing Analytics | Senior System Analyst responsible for staffing and training the Inferno/Limbo project; Lead development of Client /Server operating systems, including Limbo programming. | |
Dr. Sheldon Peng (CPA, CMA, CIA) |
Ph.D. | MBA521 -Acco-unting for Decision Making | Present Managing Director, |
| Accounting | MBA536 – Finance for Decision Making | Essential Business Services, LLC | |
| Kent State University | MBA540 – Marketing Management | Specialized in accounting, tax, and business consulting; Assistant (Corporate) Controller. |
|
| Dr. Paul Wang |
Ph.D. | MAM632 – Digital Marketing | Chief Information and IT Security Officer (CIO/CISO) |
| Computer Science & IT | MAM622 – Advanced Analytics & Modeling | National Biomedical Research Foundation. | |
| George Mason University | IAM 626 – Advanced Applied Digital Forensics | Conducted entire foundation information system management, information security strategy, planning, policy, implementation, and networking architecture, security and infrastructure. |
|
Dr. Xinlong Weng |
Post-Doc & Ph.D. | MBA536 – Finance for Decision Making | General Manager |
| Statistics, & Mathematics |
MBA546 -Strategic Management | Hangzhou Mei Zhong Education Technology, Inc. | |
| Yale University; University of South Florida | MAM648 – Marketing Strategy and Planning | Built courseware in MBA and basic mathematics curricula for online delivering; Marketing Development; Planning and Budget. |
|
| Dr. Gideon Nwatu |
Ph.D. & MBA | MBA510 -Leadership & Management | Senior Consultant |
| Applied Management (ISM); Management & Accounting | MBA521 – Accounting for Decision Making | SOHANU, INC | |
| Walden University; UDC | MAM628 – Marketing Analytics | Cooperation Financial Advisor and Strategic Planning and budget Advisor, etc. | |
Dr. Jun Kang |
J.D. | MBA552 – Business Law and Ethics | Partner, |
| Business Law | King & Wood Mallesons LLP | ||
| School of Law, Michigan State University |
• Business Law • Investment Funds’ Forma on and Investment • M&A Transac ons (deal size: $50 million to $4 billion) • Capital Market Transacons (Equity and Debt Financings) |
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Prof. Joseph Pettiford, (SPHR, SHRM-SCP, GPHR®, PMI-ACP, SFC, CSM, SMC, CSPO) |
MBA | MBA560 – Human Resources and Organizational Behavior |
Associate Vice President for HRS |
| Business Administration & HR Management |
LAM611 – Project Management | Howard Community College | |
| University of Maryland | MBA690 – Capstone Project | • Manage $120MM+ operation, 1,500+ employees, • Supervise a staff of eleven highly skilled human resources practitioners. Oversee areas including labor relations, recruitment and retention, diversity and inclusion, organizational design and planning, workforce planning and analysis, management development, compensation, employee relations, professional development, and legal compliance. |
|
| Dr. Vargha Azad |
Ph.D. | MBA515 – Managerial Economics | Senior Consultant |
| Organizational leadership | LAM638 – International Business Management | World Bank | |
| Nova South Eastern University |
MAM622 – Advanced Analytics & Modeling | She worked on trade study for PREM (Poverty Reduction and Economic Management) in Africa on Intermediate Methodology for Comparative Analysis of Trade policies. Produced Country Assistance Strategy, Special Program of Assistance, and at a Glance table for the countries. Maintained, and updated the Live Data Bases for these countries. She did all the data analysis on these countries with respect to economic monitoring. She did the financial and economic analysis of World Bank projects. |