MESSAGE FROM PRESIDENT FELIX V. MATOS RODRIGUEZ - SPRING 2012

The Year of the “Chain Reaction”

Printable Version

While outlining my traditional mid-year communication to the Hostos family, I finished reading Peter Corning’s The Fair Society: The Science of Human Nature and the Pursuit of Social Justice (which I would recommend, particularly for those of you who are born optimists like me, yet are concerned about the future direction of our country).  In the last paragraph, Corning quotes Eric Hoffer to make his argument for the ripple effect that is created by allowing fairness to guide your behavior in life: “Kindness is not a role you play; it’s a chain reaction.”  This brought to mind the great success of Chain Reaction, Tere Martínez’ play about Antonia Pantoja, which was performed so admirably by the Hostos Repertory Company this past fall.

Timing is everything.  Chain Reaction was the perfect vehicle to help us reflect on the challenges we face as individuals, as a college, as a university, as a city, and as a nation.  It also encouraged all of us to find a niche from which to start a chain reaction to improve the quality of life around us and create a ripple effect throughout the world.  This play provided great examples of many things we do well at Hostos:  integrating the production with the Book-of-the-Semester Project; collaborating with neighborhood schools and community-based organizations in service-learning initiatives; supporting the creative talents of our students, faculty, and staff; serving as a catalyst for interdisciplinary endeavors; and documenting the experiences and passing on the wisdom of minority groups that have shaped our city’s history.  I commend our Provost, Dr. Carmen Coballes-Vega, for her enthusiastic support of the entire project and personal commitment to ensuring that it would have a significant impact.  Furthermore, I predict that Chain Reaction’s influence will continue to be felt here and elsewhere in ways we’ve yet to envision.

By the time you read this, we should be moving into the renovated space on the fifth floor of the 500 Building, which will come as a welcome relief to the many faculty members who have patiently been sharing office space for the past year and a half.  I want to thank all of them for their cooperation throughout the renovation process.  Once they see their new classrooms and offices, I’m sure they’ll agree that the permanent improvement was well worth the temporary inconvenience.

While many important activities and events took place during our busy Fall 2011 semester, I’ll mention only a few.  The Division of Academic Affairs sponsored several professional development opportunities, including Toward a More Balanced Curriculum in the 2010’s: Integrating Women’s and Gender Studies into Existing Courses, and the Multilingualism at Hostos seminars.  Among the faculty members who drafted proposals for funding were the following:  Professors Andrea Fabrizio and Gregory Marks, Bridging Cultures Cooperative Agreement Grant: “Conflict and Conversation: The Transformative Power of Humanities Education in the Community College” (NEH); Professors Nelson Nuñez Rodríguez and Flor Henderson, “NIH RISE: Community College Students Making Strides in Biomedical Research” (NIH), and Professors Catherine Lewis and Rees Shad, “Designing Futures with Games” (NSF).

Our colleagues in the Division of Student Development and Enrollment Management continued to refer students to the Single-Stop program (http://www.hostos.cuny.edu/singlestop), which has established an impressive track record by saving money and obtaining tax refunds for our students, as well as providing them with a wide variety of other services.

In September of 2011, the Hostos Community College Foundation sponsored its sixth annual golf outing, which netted $45,000 for scholarships and other educational projects at the college.  Then in November, the Division of Institutional Advancement held its first phonathon and annual appeal campaign, which succeeded in expanding our pool of individual donors.

When the Honorable Raul Yzaguirre, U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic, visited Hostos in October, our conversation centered on the college's academic offerings, demographics, and longstanding collaborations and partnerships with New York City’s Dominican community and institutions in the Dominican Republic.  That month we also hosted Lieutenant Governor Robert Duffy and the NYC Regional Economic Development Council to ensure that the Bronx’s economic needs and prospects would be taken into consideration by this body.  Continuing our tradition of celebrating the accomplishments of Bronx residents, in December Hostos collaborated with Latino Sports to honor Ethiopian-born Buzenesh Deba, who placed second in the 2011 New York City Marathon.  We also had the honor to have Mr. George Sheldon, Acting Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services visit our Allied Health Career Pipeline program just a few weeks ago.

Hostos faculty and staff have continued to receive accolades and awards for their work.  For example, Peter Mertens, Deputy Director of  the Division of Continuing Education and Workforce Development, received the Outstanding Continuing Educator Award from the Continuing Education Association of New York; Professor Isaac Goldemberg was inducted into the American Academy of the Spanish Language (ANLE), which the United States government recognizes as the highest authority on the Spanish language in this country; and at the San Juan International Film Festival, Adjunct Professor Kisha Burgos won both the Best Actress Award and the Grand Jury Award for Under My Nails, a film she wrote and produced.

Reviewing a recent report from our Affirmative Action Officer Eugene Sohn, I saw that thirty-four (34) searches are now in progress on campus!  Most of these are for faculty and student support positions.  Knowing how time-consuming the process can be, I want to thank all those who have agreed to serve on these committees.  We need these new valuable human resources in order to serve our students more effectively and build a culture of continuous improvement and innovation on our campus.  I also ask all faculty and staff members to serve as guides and mentors for our new colleagues when they arrive on campus this semester or in the summer or fall, so that they will have a great personal introduction and professional experience at Hostos.

This semester, the Middle States accreditation team will visit Hostos again on March 26-28, 2012.  Our previous interactions with the team chair have been positive, enlightening, and constructive, and I am confident that all the members will feel welcome at Hostos and know that we value their insight.

The Middle States Team will not be the only visitors to our campus this spring.  In addition to welcoming many outstanding guest speakers who will participate in forums sponsored by student organizations and clubs, faculty symposia, and community organizations, in April we will join Pregones Theater Company in hosting the renowned Puerto Rican writer Luis Rafael Sánchez.

Now that I have you looking ahead to April, please remember that the Hostos Foundation’s 2012 gala will be held at Marina del Rey on Thursday, April 19th.  Proceeds from the 2011 gala and other Foundation-sponsored events provided the funding so that we could award over $73,000 in support—scholarships, book vouchers, and MetroCards, for example—for our students last fall semester.

Once we complete our Master Plan process this semester, we will begin to seek financial support from our elected officials to meet the college’s present and future physical infrastructure needs.  By the end of the summer, we look forward to moving into new space in the former Bronx Terminal Market, which is now part of the Gateway Center Mall.  That facility will house the offices and programs of our Division of Continuing Education and Workforce Development.

I am really excited about the “chain reactions” that will result from the many important processes we engaged in during the Fall semester:  Foundations of Excellence, Middle States, the Master Plan, Pathways, and the Strategic Plan, as well as many other divisional initiatives.  These and other “chain reactions” will generate the power needed to fuel an ever-evolving, continually improving Hostos in the years ahead.  I am sure that we can depend on the college community to be a source of renewable energy as we act on the recommendations and feedback obtained from the aforementioned processes.  Working together, there’s no limit to what we can accomplish, and our students deserve nothing less than our very best efforts!

Welcome back, and I look forward to seeing you on campus!

Félix V. Matos Rodríguez, Ph.D.
President