In just two short years, Donny McCleeary, PhD, has left an indelible mark on Florida College. The South Carolina native not only chairs the FC mechanical engineering program he helped to build, but has also completed his doctorate along the way—demonstrating the same drive and discipline he encourages in the program’s students.

“I grew up liking science and technology, and my middle school physics class had an after-school robotics program that really piqued my interest,” he recalled.

That drive gained momentum in high school, when he joined and later led his local FIRST Robotics national competition team. McCleeary’s high school CAD experience would lead to valuable undergraduate research work at the University of South Carolina, where he received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering.

After a brief stint with an engineering firm, he enrolled in the doctorate program at the University of South Florida in 2021. Shortly after a friend at church told McCleeary about the possibility of a mechanical engineering program at FC, and he reached out to school leaders. Early conversations led to the eventual creation of the program, which welcomed its first class in 2024. McCleeary graduated from USF in spring 2025 following four years of doctoral work and balancing the role of both professor and student.

“Even though I was only six or seven years out from my own undergraduate experience, I noticed I still exhibited many behaviors of a professor, and had made that leap to academic from student,” he said. “As a student and a professor, I was also able to think about how I’d teach myself.”

McCleeary’s doctoral work spanned a broad field of engineering, enriching both his own studies and the development of FC’s program.

“In the master’s program you really pursue one topic, but the PhD required me to see a much broader angle, with very diverse research projects,” he explained. “From biomedicine and programming to AI and the effects of human factors on systems, I learned a lot of new concepts very quickly and it gave me the confidence to be able to teach it to my students, as well as the importance of being patient. I can tell them that yes, it’s tough, but it’s not invincible.”

In his role as professor, McCleeary is especially grateful for the ability to discuss Biblical principles with his students.

“A lot of teaching engineering involves analogies, and as Christians there are so many biblical examples, like incorporating the dynamics of swinging an object to David’s sling,” he explained. “A lot of students are visual learners, and that’s the most effective way to help them.”

McCleeary is grateful for the success of the program and hopeful for its future, particularly as construction of the Romine Engineering Building nears completion.