Dr. Gail Zwart
Professor, Business & Management
Norco College School of Business & Management
(Retired in June 2020)
Dr. Gail A. Zwart was once a college dropout. She only stayed out for six months, but it was long enough to realize that working a minimum wage job was not what she wanted for herself or her future. Three decades and several degrees later, Gail is a successful business owner who teaches others how to start and maintain their own successful businesses. Not bad for someone who, at one point in her life, didn’t think college was for her.
Following her undergraduate work at Cal Poly Pomona, Gail obtained both a Masters in Public Administration from Cal State San Bernardino and an MBA from Baker College.
In addition, she has a Doctorate in Public Administration from the School of Organizational Leadership at the University of La Verne. “I always try to learn new things because it’s important to keep your brain agile,” says Gail. “It keeps the mind young. You should grab the opportunities to learn things outside of what you normally would. Take a class, look like a fool, increase your exposure to the rest of the world. I took a welding class once and now, I can create things with metal and fire. Expand your horizons and see where it takes you.”
Gail believes strongly in something she refers to as the “Three C’s of Life: Choice, Chance, and Change.” People must make a choice, to take a chance, or life never changes. It is that philosophy that eventually prompted her to leave her position at that time for the classroom. Prior to her 13 years of teaching at Norco College, Gail served as the Dean of Economic Development at the Riverside Community College District until 2003. Before that, she was the Director of Community Education and Contract Training. Though she enjoyed the rigorous responsibilities of her position, she felt the pull of being on campus, working with students directly, especially the ones who have been out of school for a long time and wonder if they can actually make it.
“I love teaching all types of students, but admit I have a passion for returning students, the people who haven’t seen the inside of a classroom in decades and think they can’t do it again,” Gail explains. “I love guiding them through the self-doubt, and watching as they persevere and realize that they can be successful. There is nothing more rewarding than working with a student to create a learning system that works for them, and then helping them surpass their own goals.”
At Norco College, Gail teaches Intro to Business, Intro to Business Management Communications, Ethics, Human Relations, and Principles of Management. A longtime entrepreneur, she also heads up the program that issues certificates in entrepreneurship. Gail and her husband Daniel have owned and operated A-1 Security Systems, which provides security systems and cameras for residential and commercial properties, for more than 25 years.
Outside of the classroom, one can usually find Gail doing water aerobics at her local gym, camping with her husband, or spending time with her family. She has two children she adopted from China as a single mom (a high schooler and a daughter attending college in the Netherlands), and two stepdaughters in college. An avid animal lover, she also has two dogs and two cats at home. Gail believes that giving back to your community is both a responsibility and an honor. She has served on the executive boards of the Greater Riverside Chamber of Commerce and the City of Riverside Parks and Recreation Commission. She currently sits on the executive board for the Riverside chapter of Habitat for Humanity.
To view the Business Administration program page, click here.
Mustang of the Month - April 2020
Gail has been a pillar of Norco College and Riverside Community College District for 32 years, serving in many different leadership roles.
In the words of her nominator, “Dr. Zwart is awesome. She is a great communicator who is transparent in planning and teaching.”
Gail embodies the Norco College spirit by modeling the core commitments.