SUNY Old Westbury opened the 2019-20 academic year with three additions to its administrative staff: Jerrell W. Robinson has joined the College as director of the Educational Opportunity Program, Oren Shefet was promoted to lead the Office of Counseling and Psychological Wellness, and Nicole Sasu-Twum was promoted to sports information director.
“We are very fortunate to have these talented individuals here at the college,” said College President, Dr. Calvin O. Butts, III. “Dr. Robinson's previous experiences will allow him to guide an essential support service for those seeking to further their education at Old Westbury, Dr. Shefet will continue using his expertise and compassion in caring for the emotional wellbeing of our students, and Ms. Sasu-Twum's time with the athletics program will serve us well in spreading the good works of our student-athletes and teams."
As director of Educational Opportunity Program, Robinson will oversee student support initiatives providing access, academic support and financial aid to students who show promise for succeeding in college, but who may not have otherwise been offered admission. He previously served several local colleges including LaGuardia Community College, LIU Brooklyn, Hunter College, and Berkeley College in various capacities in campus health and wellness, recreation, first-year programs and student life. A resident of Rockville Centre, New York, Robinson earned his Doctorate in Education degree in Executive Leadership at St. John Fisher College, a Master of Science degree in Counseling and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from SUNY Oswego.
As director, Shefet is responsible for the overall leadership, administration and range of counseling services offered by the Office of Counseling and Psychological Wellness. This includes psychotherapy and counseling for students both individually and in groups as needed, triage and crisis counseling and intervention and consultation services. A resident of Plainview, New York, Shefet was born in in Jerusalem, Israel, and earned both a law degree and a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology at Tel Aviv University before coming to the United States. He earned a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at the Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies at Adelphi University, and a Master’s degree in Applied Psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University. Shefet completed a fellowship in multicultural psychology at Stony Brook University. He previously served SUNY Old Westbury as associate director for clinical services, assistant director of training, and senior psychologist. He serves on the editorial board of the Journal of College Counseling, and in 2019, was awarded the Professional Leadership Award by the American College Counseling Association, recognizing his unique contribution to the field of college counseling.
As Sports Information Director, Sasu-Twum is responsible for compiling and reporting to the NCAA and Skyline Conference statistics for each of the College’s 13 intercollegiate programs, developing multimedia content for the College’s athletics website and social media accounts, and maintaining historical archives for the Panther athletics teams. She started at Old Westbury as a sports information assistant, and was a recipient of the NCAA Inclusion College Sports Information Directors of America grant. Sasu-Twum, a resident of Briarwood, New York, earned a Master's in Sports Administration from Canisius College and a Bachelor's in Business Administration from SUNY Institute of Technology.