Purpose Statement
The Hostos Community Advisory Council (CAC), established in October 2020 by then Interim President Dr. Daisy Cocco De Filippis, supports Hostos’s mission to advance intellectual growth and socio-economic mobility through higher education, while simultaneously building bridges with and serving the local community. The Council is committed to designing an inclusive college experience where all students, including Latinx, Black, and other historically excluded communities, achieve the proficiencies needed for lifelong learning, career readiness, and academic success, building on the insights gained through ongoing dialogues between leaders in various fields.
With nearly 100 representatives, the CAC brings together business, academic, and community leaders from across the New York City Metro area to meet three times each year (October, March, and June) and engage in dialogue with campus leaders. Members serve three-year terms, helping to connect Hostos academic programs with the workforce development needs and career-building opportunities of the region.
The Council also created roundtables for discussions about the skills, knowledge, training, and experiences most valued by employers in local, regional, and national industries. Roundtables explored themes such as creating networking pipelines to connect students with potential employers, identifying emerging workforce trends, fostering collaborations between academic departments and corporate partners, and developing arts and media-related career pathways. Complementing these efforts, focus groups engaged stakeholders across key sectors such as healthcare, human services, arts administration, and broader community needs to better understand opportunities and challenges in the Bronx and beyond.
Through these dialogues, the CAC developed an ongoing series of biannual Industry Summits, which bring together faculty, students, industry leaders, and community partners to align academic programs with workforce needs and to spotlight emerging career opportunities across vital sectors. These collaborative forums help ensure that Hostos remains responsive to the evolving needs of its students and community.