GCC Names Dr. Thomas C. Priester Associate Dean of Wyoming County Campus Centers

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BATAVIA, NY (03/07/2018) Officials at Genesee Community College announced that Dr. Thomas C. Priester of Lancaster, NY has accepted the position of associate dean of the Wyoming County Campus Centers in Arcade and Warsaw. Dr. Priester has been operating as interim dean since the summer of 2017 when his predecessor retired. He came to GCC in 2012 as an instructor of Transitional Studies and was named director of Transitional Studies in 2015. Prior to GCC, Dr. Priester worked as the director of Academic Success at Finger Lakes Community College and the program coordinator at Monroe Community College.

"I first came to GCC for an opportunity to serve as a faculty member at a forward-moving community college in Western New York," Dr. Priester said. "Community colleges are affordable, transformational institutions. From access to success, the unique role of the community college is to meet students where they are and help to get them to where it is they want to go. As hope-inspired institutions dedicated to helping students interact with the future, community colleges assist students overcome barriers to enrollment, develop and deliver rigorous curricula that prepare students for their respective life-career goals, and lead purposeful efforts that activate student persistence, retention and completion."

Dr. Priester also serves as a lecturer for the Higher Education Administration graduate program at SUNY Buffalo State College, and he is a member of the board of directors for the SUNY Fredonia Alumni Association, an accreditation reviewer for the National Association for Developmental Education and a peer evaluator for the Middle States Commission of Higher Education.

"Tom's commitment to the Wyoming County community and his dedication to higher education are evident in the work he began as interim associate dean," said Dr. Craig Lamb, dean of Distributed Learning who oversees both GCC's six Campus Centers and Online Learning. "His official appointment as associate dean will only spur his efforts and allow him to continue to serve our students, our faculty and staff, and our communities."

Dr. Priester earned his B.A. in Secondary English Education at SUNY Fredonia, his M.S. in Student Personnel Administration at SUNY Buffalo State College, and his Ed.D. in Executive Leadership at St. John Fisher College.

"With the academic and life-career success of our students (both inside and outside of the classroom) as our motivating factor, I am thrilled to work closely with the exemplary team of faculty and staff at the Wyoming County Campus Centers as we work together towards our common goal-student success," Priester said. "While relationships are the currency of higher education, one of our immediate goals is to rejuvenate successful relationships with local high school personnel and community members to position both the Arcade and Warsaw Campus Centers as educational hubs in Wyoming County. Ultimately, we plan to keep our hallways hoppin'!"

In Wyoming County, the Arcade Campus Center was established in 1995 and is located at 25 Edward Street, Arcade, NY 14009, https://www.genesee.edu/home/about/campuses/arcade/; and the Warsaw Campus Center was established in 1991 and is located at 115 Linwood Avenue in the YMCA Building, Warsaw, NY 14569, https://www.genesee.edu/home/about/campuses/warsaw/.

For more information, contact Marketing Communications Associate Director Donna Rae Sutherland at (585) 343-0055 ext. 6616, or via email: dsutherland@genesee.edu.

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Editor's Note:

A photograph of Dr. Thomas C. Priester, courtesy of GCC is available at: http://marketing.genesee.edu/images/TomPriester2.jpg