WHITE PLAINS RESIDENT NAMED DIRECTOR OF GATEWAY CENTER AT WESTCHESTER COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Teresita Wisell of White Plains, New York has been appointed to the position of Associate Dean and Director of the Gateway Center at Westchester Community College. She is preparing for the summer 2010 opening of this new building which will dramatically impact higher education in the county.

In response to the changing demographics of Westchester, including the ever-increasing number of international residents, and in order to respond to the campus’s need for extra classroom space, the college is constructing the 70,000 square foot Gateway Center to house the following resources:

*English Language Institute, which annually educates more than 4,000 individuals learning English skills.

*International Student Services including our international student advisor and various citizenship resources.

*Academic Business Programs and Professional Development Center, which provides training and education to members of the local workforce.

*Volunteer Program. Hundreds of volunteers from the community work on the campus, and volunteer efforts include Conversation Partners, which couples volunteers with individuals learning English; Green Thumbs, in which volunteers help keep the campus green with various flower and plant displays; Women’s Mentoring Project, which pairs female students with female business leaders; and board participation, with members of the community serving on a variety of boards including the Westchester Community College Foundation Board.

Gateway will be an important new resource in the county. In addition to providing space for students who are new Americans, along with other students, the building will be one of the most visually exciting structures in the county. The Center is being designed by the internationally-renowned Polshek Partnership architectural firm. As the architects of notable buildings including the William Jefferson Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock, Arkansas, Polshek Partnership has designed this environmentally-friendly “green” building boasting state-of-the-art classrooms, leading edge technology, innovative use of lighting, a spectacular tower, and the extensive use of native plantings on the grounds.

Wisell comes to this position with broad experience in immigrant education, community outreach, undergraduate admissions, and K-12 collaborations. She holds a BA in International Relations and an MBA in Marketing, both earned at Saint Joseph’s University. After holding various positions in the Admissions Office at Saint Joseph’s, including Acting Director of Admissions, she moved on to Temple University as their Associate Director of Undergraduate Admissions. After several years in this role, she became Director of Admissions at Westchester Community College in 1994. She held this position through July of last year, when she took a temporary leave in order to serve as Director of the Community College Consortium for Immigrant Education, a national project supported by the Kaplan Fund.