Directors Bring Experience in the Art of Assessment and the Curating of Art

Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC/CUNY) welcomes Bryan Dowling, Director of Assessment in the Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Analytics, and Lisa Panzera, Director of the Shirley Fiterman Art Center.

Bryan Dowling, Director of Assessment

Applying more than a decade of experience streamlining data collection, analyzing institutional self-studies, strategizing around Middle States reports and more, Bryan Dowling assumes his role as Director of Assessment in the BMCC Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Analytics.

“I look forward to joining the Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Analytics, and working with students, faculty and administration to ensure our students step out into the world with everything they need to succeed,” says Dowling, who comes to BMCC from the Psychology Department at Hunter College, where he served as Research Programs Manager. In that role, he maintained departmental data, coordinated courses serving up to 500 students and managed budgets slated for faculty research. 

Dowling earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from SUNY Plattsburgh. He earned a Master of Science in Psychology with a concentration in Animal Behavior at Hunter College, CUNY, and a Ph.D. in Psychology — with concentrations in Biopsychology, Behavioral Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology — at The Graduate Center, CUNY.

“I’ve spent 21 years at public institutions, starting my higher education at a community college, moving on to SUNY for my bachelors degree, and ending up at CUNY — first as a graduate student and then as an employee,” he says. “I’m delighted to continue my career with CUNY and help carry out the mission of our public colleges to provide a quality education for all our students. I’ve heard nothing but the best about BMCC and am excited to join the team.”  

Lisa Panzera, Director of Shirley Fiterman Art Center

Lisa Panzera brings more than 30 years experience curating exhibits and directing in galleries and internationally renowned museums, to her new position directing the Shirley Fiterman Art Center at BMCC.

“I greatly look forward to joining the BMCC community,” Panzera says. “I am very excited at the prospect of building the Shirley Fiterman Art Center’s exhibition program and to cultivating both existing and new relationships to raise awareness of the Art Center.”

In her former role as Senior Director of Fergus McCaffrey, a contemporary art gallery in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, Panzera organized 10 to 12 exhibitions and art fairs a year. When Fergus McCaffrey moved from its 1,400-square-foot space on the Upper East Side to its current 9,000-square-foot space in Chelsea, she oversaw the gallery’s expansion. She served as General Editor of catalogues the gallery produced, secured relationships with artists, and fostered affiliations with museums, institutions and collections.

Panzera started her career as a curatorial intern at the Smith College Museum of Art in Northampton, Massachusetts. Later roles included curator of the Levy Gallery for the Arts in Philadelphia, and associate curator at both The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and the Fondazione Prada in New York. 

After earning a Bachelor of Arts in Art History at Smith College, Panzera went on to earn both an M.Phil. and Ph.D. in Art History at the Graduate Center, CUNY. At Hunter College, she taught graduate courses in Modern Art, Special Topics in 20^th Century Art, and Theory and Criticism. She has lectured at the Museum of Modern Art, the School of Professional Studies in the Continuing Education department at New York University, the Whitney Museum of Art, and Marymount College. She has also published widely in journals including ARTnews and Art in America.