Only five years ago, The Master’s University did not offer degrees in engineering. But today, thanks in large part to a few strategic faculty hires, TMU has a rigorous engineering and computer science (ECS) department that combines decades of professional industry experience with hearts devoted to the Lord.
Students can now major in electrical, mechanical, and computer engineering, on top of TMU’s preexisting computer science tracks, in part thanks to the hiring of Profs. Dan Dubei (2021), Phil Hamory (2023), and Jason Hendrickson (2024). Their contributions have helped build the ECS department into what it is today and will leave a lasting impact at TMU in the years ahead.
“Having the engineering program here, we’ve been able to draw a lot of students that we normally would not have drawn,” says department chair Dr. Joey Kim. He notes that some engineering students even passed up Ivy League schools to attend TMU.
Kim recalls that Dubei, a mechanical engineering industry professional of over three decades, sketched out a plan to help TMU launch an engineering program years before that hope became a reality. Dubei’s resume, interest in the University, and love for Christ made the decision to hire him as a full-time mechanical engineering professor an easy one.
“He is now serving as our liaison to local companies,” Kim says. “He’s the one setting up tours so that our students can go into actual workplaces to see what it’s like. At the same time, it’s a networking opportunity for the companies to meet some of our students.”
Phil Hamory also comes to TMU with deep industry ties, having spent 30 years working at NASA. He is applying that experience to his current work of leading TMU’s electrical and computer engineering programs.
“He brings in quite a lot of high standards, which is expected at NASA,” Kim says, “and he’s really not lowering that standard for our students here.”
Hamory’s involvement in the ECS programs is serving to reinforce the rigorous quality of the curriculum, and Kim says that Hamory’s students produce truly excellent work as a result.
On the computer science side, where Dr. John Eickemeyer has faithfully led the program for more than two decades, TMU made another crucial addition. In 2024, the school hired Jason Hendrickson (a longtime adjunct professor and the school’s Director of IT Innovation) as a full-time faculty member. Hendrickson has provided crucial teaching support to a program that Kim describes as “bursting at the seams.” Hiring him as faculty has allowed the computer science program to continue growing and provides a high level of instruction to students.
Hendrickson has also begun exploring new options for that side of the department, including a computer security track and summer programs aimed at middle and high school students.
Beyond their contributions to the University as a whole, working with Dubei, Hamory, and Hendrickson has also impacted Kim personally.
“Understanding the quality of their character and how they have a heart for the students here has really encouraged me to elevate my standards too,” Kim says. “They have done such a tremendous job — it’s really hard to put into words.”
Learn more about TMU’s engineering and computer science programs here.
