Bergen Adds VP to Enhance External Affairs
PARAMUS, N.J. – Bergen Community College has hired longtime community college leader Suzanne M. Wetzel to direct the development of community partnerships for the institution as vice president of external affairs.
Wetzel brings extensive experience to the new position at Bergen, having served Monroe County Community College (Michigan) in a variety of outreach and development roles during her 36-year career there. Enhanced community development initiatives represent a priority for Bergen President Eric M. Friedman, Ph.D., listing the expansion of the College’s donor base, strengthening external relations and establishing a partnership development hub as presidential goals for the year.
“Throughout her career, Suzanne Wetzel has excelled in all facets of community development,” Friedman said. “From securing grants, sponsorships and partnerships to leading complex projects, she led many of Monroe County Community College’s most important initiatives over nearly four decades. Suzanne will quickly get to work in creating the same kind of success for Bergen in our community.”
Wetzel began her career as Monroe’s director of community relations and continued in that role until becoming the director of institutional advancement and the inaugural executive director of the college foundation. For the last 12 years, Wetzel served as Monroe’s vice president of administration and treasurer, concluding her 36-year career at the college earlier this month. She remained an active member of civic, government and community groups throughout her life in Michigan, serving on the ProMedica Monroe Regional Hospital Board of Directors, Monroe County Chamber of Commerce and as a councilperson for the municipality.
While at Monroe, Wetzel also contributed to the continuous improvement of higher education institutions through her work as a peer reviewer and team chair with the Higher Learning Commission, the accrediting agency for midwestern colleges.
Wetzel earned a B.A. in broadcast and cinematic arts/journalism from Central Michigan University and an M.A. in public relations from Michigan State University.
Based in Paramus, Bergen Community College (www.bergen.edu), a public two-year coeducational college, enrolls more than 13,000 students at locations in Paramus, the Philip Ciarco Jr. Learning Center in Hackensack and Bergen Community College at the Meadowlands in Lyndhurst. The College offers associate degree, certificate and continuing education programs in a variety of fields. More students graduate from Bergen than any other community college in the state.
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