Gateway president honored

Named an inspiring woman of 'achievement and distinction'

NEW HAVEN - Gateway Community College President Dr. Dorsey L. Kendrick recently was honored by Junior Achievement of Southwest New England and the Girl Scouts of Connecticut for her contributions to growth in the state and as a role model and inspiring leader, Gateway said in a statement.

Kendrick was one of four individuals inducted into JA’s New Haven Business Hall of Fame, the statement said. The Business Hall of Fame was established by JA to honor individuals who have significantly contributed to the growth and development of enterprise in Connecticut, it said.

JA said in the statement that by honoring the Hall of Fame laureates it “aims to present the best in business as worthy role models to Connecticut youth.” JA is the world’s largest organization dedicated to educating students about workforce readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy through experiential, hands-on programs.

Also, Kendrick is one of 10 inspiring women business and community leaders in the greater New Haven area honored at the Girl Scouts of Connecticut's Women of Achievement Breakfast.

According to the Girl Scouts, the honorees were “women of achievement and distinction who inspire us all with their courage, confidence, and character.” The Girl Scouts of Connecticut works with committed adults to help girls in grades K-12 develop strong values, social conscience and conviction about their own potential and self-worth.

Kendrick, selected last fall as one of the “100 Most Influential Blacks in Connecticut” by the Connecticut State Conference of NAACP Branches, was raised in Jackson, Tenn., and was one of three students in 1967 to integrate Union University, where she later earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration, the statement said. She also holds a master’s degree in business management from Cardinal Stritch University, a Ph.D. in philosophy in higher education administration from Walden University, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Education Management at Harvard University.

A New Haven resident, Kendrick was the first African-American woman to hold the position of associate dean and dean of the School of Business at Milwaukee Area Technical College, the statement said. She went on to become the highest-ranking African-American woman in Wisconsin’s system of higher education as executive vice president of Milwaukee Area Technical College.