Governor’s School leader joins panel that oversees TEC
Dr. Ershela Sims, senior vice president at the South Carolina Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics (GSSM), recently was appointed to the Florence Darlington County Commission for Technical Education.
Sims represents Darlington County on the commission, which oversees Florence-Darlington Technical College. She was appointed by the governor.
Sims is senior vice president for the Accelerate Virtual Engineering Program at GSSM. Before accepting her position at the GSSM, she was Dean of Engineering and Technology at the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics. There, Sims developed and taught courses in Statics, Biomedical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Engineering Research and Biomedical Instrumentation. She was also the director for Step Up to STEM, a residential summer program for teenagers taking Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics courses.
Sims was an adjunct assistant professor at Duke University from 2010-13. She trained and mentored undergraduate and graduate students in Biomechanics research projects. Prior to her career in academia, Sims worked as a software design engineer and technical architect for Nortel Networks developing telecommunications software. Following her work at Nortel, she was the assistant director of the Duke-UNC Brain Imaging and Analysis Center where she performed and managed research projects.
The Florida native earned her bachelor’s in Biomedical Engineering from Duke University. She received her doctorate in Biomedical Engineering from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Sims has been nationally recognized for accomplishments. In 2012, she won the National Society of Black Engineers Educator of the Year Award, and she and a colleague won an award from the National Science Teachers Association. Sims was also honored with the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics Exceptional Contribution in Scholarship Award.
Sims joined the South Carolina GSSM in 2017 and is a member of the American Society for Engineering Education and the National Society of Black Engineers.
