With an impressive professional history dating back more than 40 years, Dorothy Wiswall has trained and educated many students in language. She was most recently an adjunct professor at Buffalo State College from 2001 to 2015, though she garnered prior experience in the role at Canisius College from 1991 to 1993 and at Niagara University from 1981 to 1991. She has also served as a teaching fellow at the University of Michigan and as an instructor at the School for International Training in Vermont.
A community-minded person, Dr. Wiswall enjoys using her expertise for the benefit of others. She has been the treasurer of the Grand Island Community Chorus since 2006, a docent of the Buffalo Museum of Science since 2004, and a deacon at St. Timothy Lutheran Church in Grand Island, N.Y., since 2000. Between 2004 and 2010, she was a tutor for Literacy Volunteers in Buffalo, N.Y., and between 1998 and 2002, she was the vice president of the American Association of Teachers of German. Further, Dr. Wiswall was a workshop presenter for BOCES from 1998 to 1999 and the president and member of the board of directors of the St. Louis Community College Child Care Center from 1995 to 1999. She has held numerous roles with the Zonta International Club of Buffalo, which empowers women through service and advocacy.
Dr. Wiswall prepared for her distinguished career by earning a Bachelor of Arts from Cornell University in 1971, as well as a Master of Arts and a PhD from the University of Michigan in 1972 and 1979, respectively. She furthered her grasp on the field by joining prominent professional organizations like Phi Sigma Iota, an international foreign language honor society.
As a testament to her longevity, hard work and dedication, Dr. Wiswall received the State University of New York Chancellor’s Award, second prize in the faculty division of the Martin Luther King Poetry Contest at Canisius College, a travel grant to the University in Bern, Switzerland, and the Zontian of the Year Award from the Zonta International Club. Additionally, she is the recipient of the Who’s Who Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Worldwide Humanitarian Award. Dr. Wiswall is featured in numerous editions of Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Education, Who’s Who in Industry Leaders, Who’s Who in the World, and Who’s Who of American Women.
In her spare time, Dr. Wiswall enjoys swimming, sewing, playing the violin, and poetry. She pursued her interests by publishing “A Comparison of Selected Poetic and Scientific Works of Albrecht von Haller,” and the poetry book, “In the Seasons of My Mind.”