San Antonio College and Alamo Community College District (ACCD) officials dedicated the Business and Industry Center in a ceremony today in honor of Susan R. Oppenheimer, the first woman to be elected to the ACCD Board of Trustees.

The building, which was constructed in 1960 at 1801 N. Main Ave. and renovated in 1990, will be known as the Susan R. Oppenheimer Education & Training Center. It houses the college's Continuing Education Network classrooms and laboratories. The ACCD Board of Trustees passed a resolution in July to re-name the building in honor of Oppenheimer for her contributions to the district and students.

"We are very pleased to honor Susan Oppenheimer with this dedication," said San Antonio College President Robert E. Zeigler. He added, "She has played a vital role in the growth of the Alamo Community College District. Also, through the ACCD Foundation and later the generosity of the Jesse H. and Susan Oppenheimer Foundation, countless deserving students have received crucial financial resources to get a higher education."

Participating in the dedication ceremony were President Zeigler, Chancellor J. Terence Kelly, ACCD Foundation Board Chair Jackie Van De Walle, ACCD Board of Trustees Chairman Dr. Gene Sprague, Continuing Education Network Dean Ruben Torres, San Antonio College faculty and staff, and friends and family of the Oppenheimers.

In addition to being the first woman elected to the ACCD Board of Trustees, Oppenheimer also was elected by the board to be Chair, serving three consecutive terms from 1970-1988. In 1985, she was instrumental in creating the separately incorporated ACCD Foundation, intended to encourage the volunteer service of community leaders in generating resources to support the district's educational mission. She later joined her husband to form the Jesse H. and Susan Oppenheimer Foundation, which established the endowed Oppenheimer Scholars Fund for meritorious ACCD students.

Born in Boston, Mass., Oppenheimer earned her B.A. in chemistry and math at Wellesley College, did graduate studies at Radcliff College, and earned her M.A. in educational guidance and counseling at Trinity University. After working as a chemist for the Polaroid Corporation and then Santa Rosa Hospital, she taught at St. Mary's Hall, Northeast ISD, Keystone School, and Our Lady of the Lake University.

In addition to her contributions to the ACCD Board, Oppenheimer's community service has also included her work on the Board of Planned Parenthood, the AACOG A-95 Review Panel, the Jewish Federation Board of Directors, the United Way Board of Contributors and Community Planning Committee, UT Medical School at San Antonio Institutional Review Board, Chairman and Coordinator of the Holocaust History Program for San Antonio high schools, and the Child Advocates San Antonio Board and Planning Committee.

She is presently a lecturer in the public schools' Holocaust History Program, a McNay Art Museum Docent, Trinity University Board of Visitors, and Instructor in the Academy for Learning in Retirement for the Institute of Texan Cultures. She is married to Jesse H. Oppenheimer, an attorney, and they have three children.