Pinoy Magazine profiles Dr. Espiritu as one of its Achievers!

Dr. Doris Espiritu is the inaugural Districtwide Dean and Head of the School of Engineering at City Colleges of Chicago. She was formerly the founder and Dean of Wilbur Wright’s Engineering and Computer Science  program. Dr. Espiritu also serves as a Senior Advisor to the Provost and has been teaching and leading programs in chemistry, biophysics, engineering, and computer science at City Colleges for more than fifteen years.

She Engineered Opportunity for City Colleges of Chicago Students

Engineer of Opportunity: The Story of Dr. Doris Espiritu at City Colleges

Dr. Doris Espiritu didn’t just build a program—she built a movement within City Colleges of Chicago

As the Dean of the Center of Excellence for Engineering and Computer Science at Wilbur Wright College in Chicago, Dr. Espiritu has turned a once-small program into a thriving STEM hub that’s now changing the face of engineering and computer science in higher education. 

Her story begins far from the classrooms she oversees today.

Raised in the Philippines, Doris was always a curious child, drawn to science and math by a deep desire to understand how the world worked. But it wasn’t until she interned at the Bureau of Soils and Water,  Department of Agriculture, a government department in the Philippines, that her passion found a purpose.

Flying 15,000 feet above a drought-stricken agricultural community, Doris watched as her team deployed sodium chloride into the clouds to create artificial rain. In that moment, science became more than theory, it became a passion. A goal to solve real problems with real solutions.

Fast forward a couple of years, as a Research Associate at the University of the Philippines’ Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology in June 1998, Dr. Espiritu focused on studying the phylogeny of cone snails using mitochondrial DNA sequences. This short-term research project involved extracting, amplifying, and analyzing mitochondrial DNA to investigate evolutionary relationships among different species of cone snails.

Years later, as a newcomer to the United States, Doris found herself starting from scratch—no network, no roadmap. She attended University of Illinois Chicago (UIC), College of Medicine to study Physiology and Biophysics.

At UIC’s College of Medicine, Doris engineered sodium bicarbonate cotransporter protein to understand the acid-base balance by the kidney.  She later switched her research to study obesity.  In addition to research, she trained medical fellows rotating in the nephrology lab. Dr. Espiritu also trained in computation biology, quantum mechanics and molecular dynamics at Princeton University and the Academies of Sciences in the Czech Republic. These experiences would later play a key role in shaping the vision for the current School of Engineering

In 2006, she joined City Colleges of Chicago as a Chemistry instructor. After working with the students and understanding the industry and the career paths available, Doris realized  City Colleges could do more for the students who wanted to pursue STEM careers.  “I knew my students were more than capable of doing the work engineering demands,” she said.

So when she launched Wright College’s engineering and computer science program in 2018 no one was surprised. It started with just a handful of students and a bold vision: to make world-class STEM education accessible, affordable, and inclusive.

Just five years later, enrollment had more than doubled—from 235 students in 2021-22 to 437 in 2022-23. The program surpassed 500 students in 2023-24, and it shows no signs of slowing down, with a total of 700 students in Fall 2025

But numbers only tell part of the story. Under Dr. Espiritu’s leadership, the program isn’t just growing—it’s transforming lives.

Her students, the students of City Colleges of Chicago, many of whom are first-generation college-goers, now graduates with associate degrees—with many of them continuing on to top-tier universities like the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Northwestern, University of Michigan, Illinois Tech, and more, completed engineering degrees and are now contributing in the US engineering workforce

What starts in a City Colleges of Chicago classroom ends in careers at the cutting edge of science and technology. Dr. Espiritu is on a mission not just to educate—but to   empower through education and to solve local and global  challenges, we need diverse minds at the table. “Engineering is all about problem solving,” she says. “And having diverse perspectives can be key to solving problems successfully.”

Doris also knows the barriers students face—especially women and students of color—when they don’t see people like themselves in STEM careers. That’s why she’s intentional about creating a culture of mentorship and belonging. It is why she’s expanding Wilbur Wright Colleges Engineering program to every college within City Colleges,  and creating the City Colleges of Chicago School of Engineering which is now offered at Harold Washington and Truman Colleges.

Today, Doris is a respected reviewer for the National Science Foundation and an active member of the Society of Women Engineers, and founder of eight students chapters of Engineering organizations, Recently she  was able to secure a $1.7 million NSF grant to support diverse students in STEM. Through industry and university partnerships, she has brought internships, research opportunities and real-world experience to students who might otherwise not have these incredible opportunities.

When asked about her proudest accomplishment, she reflects on the moments former students walk into her office—degree in hand, career launched—and say, “I wouldn’t be here without this program.” To Dr. Espiritu, that is the true measure of success.

As she continues to lead and inspire, her advice to employers is clear: “Hire our alumni—because they’re excellent.” She advises employers that if they build inclusive workplaces, they will not only attract top talent, “they will keep them”.

Dr. Doris Espiritu didn’t just build an engineering program—she built a bridge. From underrepresented communities to world-class education and career offerings. From potential to power.

And the future she’s shaping? It’s just getting started.