VPCC Educator Cited in New York Times

We are pleased to highlight the accomplishments of Virginia Peninsula Community College faculty and staff. If you or your colleague have published works, shown in art exhibits, been featured by the media, etc., inform Communications and Marketing via our online portal at Monday.com

Hats off to Michael Academia, an adjunct biology instructor. He was featured in a New York Times article and other outlets discussing his research on the Chesapeake Bay osprey population.  

Check out the stories:

nytimes.com/2023/07/11/science/menhaden-chesapeake-bay-fishing.html

bayjournal.com/news/fisheries/researchers-peg-mobjack-bay-osprey-woes-on-food-shortage/article_acf2683a-1ffe-11ee-9501-27ef1e6e2c71.html

chesapeakebaymagazine.com/va-osprey-nesting-struggle-linked-to-menhaden-fishing/

Academia joined VPCC's Science, Technolog, Engineering, and Mathematics division in January 2023. He is also an osprey researcher at The Center for Conservation Biology in Williamsburg where he assists in collecting, curating, and analyzing data, writing, and publishing. The study area supports the declining osprey population within Lower Chesapeake Bay’s main stem which includes Mobjack Bay, Milford Haven, Fleets Bay and Back River.

He has a master's degree in biology from William & Mary and a bachelor’s degree in fisheries from Humboldt State University. He also earned a bachelor's degree in business, management, marketing, and related support services from Notre Dame de Namur University.