College Accomplishments
- Hostos Named as One of 25 Semifinalists for the 2023 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence
Eugenio María de Hostos Community College has been named as one of 25 semifinalists for the 2023 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence.
- Hostos alumna Folusho Adeoti and Student Reola Alexander Honored at the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society All-New York Academic Awards Team Ceremony
Hostos alumna Folusho Adeoti and student Reola Alexander were among those honored at the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society All-New York Academic Awards Team Ceremony held April 13, 2022. Jason Libfeld, Student Leadership Coordinator at Hostos Community College, attended the ceremony in support of both students.
- EdCast | Hostos President Daisy Cocco De Filippis and VP La Toro Yates: Moving Forward with Passion and Commitment
Dr. Linda Hirsch speaks with Dr. Daisy Cocco De Filippis about the challenges of being a "pandemic President" and moving forward in difficult times. VP Yates offers suggestions for increasing enrollment and retention.
- Announcing Jobs on Campus Part-time Job Opportunities for Hostos Students!
What does Jobs on Campus offer? Opportunity to work on campus in a professional setting with Hostos faculty/staff, flexible scheduling, opportunity to work regardless of immigration and financial aid status. Apply by April 15!
- Black at Hostos Series Presents ‘The Origins of the Great Migration’
On Wednesday, March 23, 2022, the Office of the President at Hostos Community College hosted the second installment of the College’s three-part Spring 2022 Black at Hostos series. Titled “The Origins of the Great Migration,” the lecture was presented by educator-activist Anamaría Flores, Professor in Hostos’ Black Studies Unit, and moderated by La Toro Yates, Ph.D., Vice President of Student Development and Enrollment Management (SDEM).
- Cartoonist Ivan Velez, Jr. Presents ‘Vengeful Goddesses, Warrior Queens, and Other Monsters’ Comic Writing Workshop
On Tuesday, March 22, the Latin American Writers Institute (LAWI) presented “Vengeful Goddesses, Warrior Queens, and Other Monsters,” a comic writing workshop with Bronx-based cartoonist Ivan Velez, Jr. Professor Inmaculada Lara Bonilla moderated the interactive creative event and set the tone with a quote from Velez.
- New York State Governor Kathy Hochul Presented a proclamation to Eugenio María de Hostos Community College in commemoration of Dominican Heritage Month to President Daisy Cocco De Filippis
New York State Governor Kathy Hochul Presented a proclamation to Eugenio María de Hostos Community College in commemoration of Dominican Heritage Month to President Daisy Cocco De Filippis.
- WBAI Celebrates the Late Gay Radical Jerry Meyer Out-FM's Bob Lederer interviewed two of Jerry's dear friends and colleagues, Wally Edgecombe, Director Emeritus Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture and William Casari, Associate Professor and College Archivist at Hostos.
- EdTech’s Carlos Guevara Contributes Expertise to 2022 EDUCAUSE Horizon Report
Carlos Guevara, Director of Educational Technology (EdTech) and Co-Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning, contributed his expertise to the recently released 2022 EDUCAUSE Horizon Report.
- 2022 ADELANTE Project Announces Winning Proposals
The Office of Research Programs at Hostos and the Hostos Research Center (HRC) Committee on Sponsored Programs and Grants (CSPG) Announces the ADvancing Excellence in Liberal Arts, scieNces, Technology and Engineering (ADELANTE) Winning Proposals.
- Women's Basketball Finishes as National Runner-Ups
(NJCAA newsroom) | ROCHESTER, MINN. (Mar. 12, 2022) – The Hostos Community College women's basketball team had its cinderalla run come to an end, suffering a 65-56 loss in the NJCAA DIII Women's Basketball Championship Game to No. 1 seed Owens Community College on Saturday evening at Rochester Regional Sports Center.
- Adjunct Assistant Professor Jamie Parker Publishes New Research About A New Product that Stops Hair Loss
Hair loss affects men and women around the world, and this was an important topic for Adjunct Assistant Professor Jamie Parker, Ph.D., who teaches Principles of Biology and Lab for Hostos’ Natural Sciences Department.
- Dr. George White, Jr. Closes Black History Month With Presentation of “One Nation Under A Social Justice Groove”
At the invitation of Dr. La Toro Yates, Vice President of Student Development and Enrollment Management at Hostos, Dr. George White, Jr., Interim Professor and Dean for the School of Arts and Sciences at York College, gave an engaging and timely virtual presentation on the intersection of music and social movements and perspectives.
- An Inspired Roundtable with Elected Women Leaders Re-Affirms the Importance of Solidarity
The Women’s History Month program “Women Leaders Roundtable: Leading Through Challenging Times,” presented by the Office of the President of Hostos Community College on Friday, March 4, 2022, turned the word solidarity into a living example.
- Announcing the Educating for Diversity Initiative Grant Awards for Spring 2022
The Office of the President is pleased to announce the Educating for Diversity Initiative Grant Awards for Spring 2022. The Educating for Diversity Initiative is generously supported by the Ms. MacKenzie Scott’s Gift: President’s Initiatives for Student Success, College Growth and Stakeholders’ Engagement. The grants represent Hostos’ continued commitment to fostering student and community engagement in scholarly discussions and creative activities that will spark dialogue and communal learning on important issues relevant to diversity, equity and inclusion.
- Alumna Folusho Adeoti Selected As Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship Semifinalist
We are pleased to share Hostos alumna Folusho Adeoti has been named a semifinalist for the competitive Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship.
- Dominican Heritage: A Room Full of Pride
In commemoration of the 178th Anniversary of Independence of the Dominican Republic, the Hostos Office of the President gathered an impassioned and impressive group of Dominican American leaders on Tuesday, February 22, 2022, to celebrate Dominican heritage and it was much more than the announced roundtable discussion. It transformed into a story circle that affirmed identity and how Hostos has helped advance generations of Dominicans.
- Attendees Open Up in Black History Month Event, Why is it so hard for people to open up about mental health?
Opening up is a matter of trust, and that is what happened on Friday, February 18 with the Black History Month event dedicated to mental health thanks in part to the collaboration between the Office of Student Activities, the Office of the President, with the support of the Office of Community Relations and the Office of Governmental and External Affairs.
- Associate Professor Ana Ozuna Delivers Impassioned Presentation for the Black at Hostos Series, The Origins of Black History Month
“The Origins of Black History Month” lecture on February 16 was a concise and comprehensive historical lecture on the journey that led to the U.S. Congress in 1986 to vote the month of February as Black History Month.
- Award-Winning Filmmaker Djali Brown-Cepeda Presents Talk on Black Representation in Media
On Wednesday, February 23, award-winning filmmaker and archivist Djali Brown-Cepeda gave a presentation on Black representation and racial inequities in the U.S. Held virtually, the talk was sponsored by Hostos’ Black Studies Unit as part of the College’s Black History Month event series and moderated by Professor Ana Ozuna.
- Our Top-Seeded Hostos Men's Basketball Team are CUNYAC Champions again! The Caimans Hoisted the Trophy for a Second Straight Season and the Sixth time in School History
The #4 seeded Caimans began their Region XV playoff push facing off for the fourth time this season and second time in five days against the #5 seeded Tigers of Queensborough Community College in the quarterfinals of the Region XV playoffs. The Caimans controlled much of the first half but a late push by the Tigers cut the halftime lead of the Caimans down to two points 25-23 heading into the locker room.
- No. 10 Hostos Wins Fifth Consecutive CUNYAC Community College Women’s Basketball Championship
For a fifth consecutive season, the Hostos Community College women's basketball team is CUNYAC Champions, defeating Bronx, 86-40, on Friday night to win the 2022 CUNYAC/HSS Community College Women's Basketball Championship.
- Hostos Alum Michael Cruz Wins Prestigious Rangel Fellowship
The Ralph J. Bunche International Affairs Center at Howard University is proud to announce that Michael Cruz was awarded a 2022 Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Fellowship following a highly competitive nationwide selection process. The Rangel Fellowship, funded by the U.S. Department of State and administered by Howard University, supports extraordinary individuals who want to pursue a career in the Foreign Service of the U.S. Department of State.
- Hostos Community College joins Grow with Google’s HSI Career Readiness Program to Train 200,000 Latino Students In Digital Skills by 2025
January 26, 2022 (BRONX, NY) – Today, Eugenio María de Hostos Community College announced its participation in the Grow with Google HSI Career Readiness Program. The initiative will help Latino students at over 20 Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) prepare for the workforce through digital skills training and career workshops.
- National Science Foundation Awards $2.3 Million to Hostos Oasis for Parents’ Education Program
The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded $2.3 million to Hostos Community College’s “Hostos Oasis for Parents’ Education (HOPE): A Holistic Two-Generation Approach to Improving STEM Education in the South Bronx” program. This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
- Hostos Science Week 2021 Looks to the Future
Hostos Community College celebrated Science Week 2021: Science for the Future from November 15 through November 18. The multi-day event series took featured a series of lectures, discussions, presentations, and interactive virtual events, including the Hostos STEM Olympiad: Kahoot Format.
- Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture Receives $100,000 from the Howard Gilman Foundation
On November 29 the Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture was chosen as the recipient of a $100,000 grant from the Howard Gilman Foundation. The grant will be used for general operating expenses at the Center and will be distributed over the course of the 2022 and 2023 fiscal years.
- Hostos Alumnus Ayodeji Otuyelu Publishes First Book
Nigerian-born poet and Hostos alumnus Ayodeji Otuyelu, ‘20, is a natural storyteller. He started writing creatively in grade school, pouring his innermost thoughts and feelings into his poems. However, he kept his writing largely to himself until he immigrated to the U.S. in 2016 in pursuit of the freedom to be his authentic self.
- 20th Anniversary Commemoration of AA Flight 587 A Tribute Hostos Community College Never Forgets
Soon after American Airlines Flight 587 crashed on November 12, 2001, taking the lives of all 251 passengers traveling to the Dominican Republic, Hostos Dean of Community Relations Ana I. García Reyes stretched her arms and heart to her fellow countrymen and women in a gesture of solidarity which has not waned. In fact, it has since grown to become a yearly commemoration involving the past four Presidents of Hostos Community College and a memorial garden wall with the names of the lost souls.
- Hostos Commemorates Veterans Day and Announces First-Ever Joe Alicea Veterans Fund Scholarship Recipients
The Eugenio María de Hostos Community College Office of Veterans Affairs is pleased to announce the first Hostos student awardees of the Joe Alicea Veterans Fund scholarship: Specialist Michael Colón and Petty Officer Second Class Shalikah Ellington. They will each receive $1,000 in support of their academic journey.
- A Napoletana Tarantella Captures the Spirit of Hostos During Italian American Heritage Month Celebration
As the audience waited for the Hostos Italian American Heritage Month Celebration to begin, the sound of a Napoletana Tarantella had everyone shaking off a bit of the pandemic woes, just as the old tradition. It was the perfect occasion where music locked in a sincere spirit among attendees and honorees until the very end.
The Hostos Center for Arts & Culture Receives a Supplemental Award to its Shuttered Venue Operators Grant
The Small Business Administration and its SVOG program recently informed the HCAC it was eligible for a Supplemental SVOG award if updated financial information for the first half of this year met the criteria. The Arts Center was approved and has been awarded an additional $163,307 (half of the original amount awarded) bringing the total to $489,922.
- Hostos Community College One of 150 U.S. Community College Eligible for 2023 Aspen Prize
Hostos Community College of The City University of New York is one of 150 institutions eligible to compete for the $1 million Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, the nation's signature recognition of high achievement and performance among America's community colleges, it was announced today.
- Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott Gifts Hostos with $15 Million
Eugenio María de Hostos Community College is proud to announce a $15 million gift from philanthropist, author, and activist MacKenzie Scott. This is the largest single gift in the College’s history and one of the largest in the history of The City University of New York (CUNY).
- Hostos Digital Design and Animation “Shelter in Place” at Governors Island
The Hostos Digital Design and Animation Program is giving four Hostos students and two recent graduates a summer experience to remember in Governors Island—4heads, the annual artist residency, to create a multi-media art installation titled, “Shelter in Place,” set to open the public in late September.
- EdCast Receives Two More Telly Awards for Excellence in Cable Broadcasting
“EdCast,” the CUNY TV program produced, written, and hosted by Hostos Professor Linda Hirsch, is the recipient of two 2021 Bronze Telly Awards in the Television General-Education category for excellence in television broadcasting. “Returning to Campus During Covid-19” and “Powerful Voices: New Approaches to Stuttering,” featuring Hero High School Student Noel Mullings, were the winning episodes.
- Hostos Presents ‘Speaking Up for AAPI at Hostos’ Roundtable
On Wednesday, May 26, 2021, Hostos presented “Speaking Up for AAPI at Hostos,” a roundtable discussion supporting Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities. Interim President Daisy Cocco De Filippis and the Chair of the College-wide Senate Professor Ernest Ialongo welcomed distinguished panel guests Congresswoman Grace Meng, Senator John Liu, The City University of New York’s Asian American and Asian Research Institute Executive Director Joyce Moy, Guttman Community College Assistant Professor Grace Pai, Hostos professors Kristopher Burrell, Helen Chang, and Victor Torres Velez, and student Sadia Zaman.
- Eugenio María de Hostos Community College Holds Its 51st Commencement Ceremony with Keynote Speaker Julissa Reynoso Pantaleón, Chief of Staff to First Lady Dr. Jill Biden
On Friday, May 28, 2021, Eugenio María de Hostos Community College held its 51st commencement ceremony over the College’s YouTube channel. Though security protocols over the global pandemic dictated a digital ceremony, Hostos registered 1225 candidates for graduation, marking a milestone in a year of great uncertainty.
- Hostos Allied Health Students Fatima Choudhry and Silvia J. Prado Carpio Receive the Nasry Michelen Foundation 2021 Allied Health Scholarship
Hostos Allied Health students Fatima Choudhry and Silvia J. Prado Carpio are the recipients of the Nasry Michelen Foundation’s first $2,000 allied health scholarship award. They were recognized at the College’s 37th Honors Convocation.
- Interim President Cocco De Filippis To Present Five Presidential Medals at Hostos’ 51st Commencement Ceremony
In recognition of their extraordinary service, Interim President Daisy Cocco De Filippis will present Presidential Medals to a Hostos student, staff member, community leader, and faculty at the College’s 51st Commencement Ceremony.
- Kaplan Scholar Oumou Dili Traore Knows How Empowering Education Can Be
As the end of the school year approaches and commencement ceremonies near, one is reminded again of the transformative power of education. The sights and sounds of that joyous day when, in-person or virtually, students receive their diplomas not only gladden the heart, they demonstrate the power of the community college system and the on-going need for institutions like Hostos. The positive changes they make possible in the lives of so many is evident in the stories students share.
- Class of 2021 Allied Health Star Student Highlight: Antionette Fleming
Antionette Fleming is graduating from Hostos’ License Practical Nursing (LPN) certificate program this spring and one step closer toward her goal of someday training the nurses of tomorrow.
- Class of 2021 Allied Health Star Student Highlight: Rachel Yepes
Nursing student Rachel Yepes moved from Stanford, Connecticut, to New York City in search of a fresh start when she was 19 years old. She found a new home with family friends in the Bronx, where the Hostos bridge spanning across the Grand Concourse caught her eye, signaling an opportunity for her to continue her education in pursuit of a healthcare career. “I was like, it seems like I should go here,” she said.
- Hostos Community College Announces Associate of Humane Letters Recipient and Keynote Speaker for the 2021 Digital Commencement Ceremony
The Office of Interim President Dr. Cocco De Filippis is pleased to announce Julissa Reynoso Pantaleón, Chief of Staff to First Lady Jill Biden, will be Eugenio María de Hostos Community College’s 51st Commencement Ceremony Keynote Speaker.
- Hostos student and Kaplan Scholar Boinzemwende Jarmila Roxane Ouango Selected for a Summer Internship at the Brookhaven National Laboratory
Hostos student and Kaplan Scholar Boinzemwende Jarmila Roxane Ouango will serve as a summer intern at the Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, NY. The internship is made possible by the U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) which recently contributed $17.3 million to fund internship and research projects and to provide access to DOE’s National Laboratories.
- Hostos’ Public Safety Officers Help Reunite Missing Baby with Mother
The morning of Friday, May 14, Hostos Community College Public Safety Officer Raul DeJesus was standing outside of Hostos’ A-Building (475 Grand Concourse) when an individual exiting the subway station located in front of the College pleaded for his assistance and told him that there was an incoherent man on the subway platform, walking around aimlessly with a small infant. Officer DeJesus immediately notified his supervisor and NYPD via his two-way radio. He then entered the subway station with Sergeant Alfredo Rodríguez and Sergeant Mayra Pinzon. Inside the subway station, they encountered the man inside a waiting train, holding an infant.
- Hostos Continuing Education and Workforce Development Awarded Consolidated Funding Application
The Division of Continuing Education and Workforce Development (CEWD) and the Division of Academic Affairs was awarded $430,000 by New York State through the Consolidated Funding Application (CFA) process in Next Generation Job Linkage funds.
- Robin Hood Foundation COVID-19 Relief Grant for Student Emergency Assistance and Tuition Support
The Hostos Community College Foundation is pleased to announce that it has received a generous $150,000 grant award from the Robin Hood Foundation to provide assistance to students who have experienced financial hardship as a result of the pandemic.
- The Hostos Community College Foundation 2021 Virtual Annual Scholarship Benefit
On Thursday, April 29, the Hostos Community College Foundation presented its premier of the 2021 Virtual Annual Scholarship Benefit. This special event afforded the Foundation the opportunity to express its appreciation to its generous donors, celebrate their impact on students’ lives, and illustrate the phenomenal offerings that Hostos provides to its students and the community. This year, the well-attended Annual Scholarship Benefit raised more than $107,000 in support of student success and the educational mission of the College.
- Chancellor of Universidad Autónoma of Santo Domingo Visits Hostos
The Chancellor of Universidad Autónoma of Santo Domingo (UASD), Dr. Emma Polanco Melo, visited Hostos Community College on April 21, 2021 to meet with Hostos Interim President Dr. Daisy Cocco De Filippis and Associate Dean of Community Relations Ana I. García Reyes.
- FACULTY ACCOMPLISHMENTS | SPRING/SUMMER 2021
Professor Henry Lesnick is retiring as professor emeritus. OAA is proud to share a few highlights from his career as a member of the Hostos Community College faculty.
Henry Lesnick, Hostos CC Professor Emeritus, taught and developed courses in Language and Cognition, English, and Humanities departments. He was an active member in multiple national professional organizations, chairing committees, organizing presentations, and publishing in journals. Professor Lesnick helped organize the Hostos committee to stop English only and worked to defeat the national effort to pass the English language amendment (ELA). He spoke to the NY State Senate education committee on the discriminatory and educationally destructive effects of the amendment and the white nationalist agenda of its prime promoters. And, wrote a paper on the ELA for Governor Mario Cuomo, at his request, and worked with Jose Serrano who was the major opponent of the ELA in congress.
Professor Mohammad Usman has a new article in the International Journal of Housing Policy titled, “Urban informality in the Global North: (il)legal status and housing strategies of Ghanaian migrants in New York City.” The article focused on how documented and undocumented Ghanaians access housing in the Bronx. The findings reveal how strong ties to one's ethnic social network critically influence access to housing, irrespective of legal status.
Mohammad Usman, Sabina Maslova, and Gemma Burgess (2020). Urban informality in the Global North: (il)legal status and housing strategies of Ghanaian migrants in New York City, International Journal of Housing Policy, DOI: 10.1080/19491247.2020.1814189
Professor Elys Vasquez-Iscan was appointed Co-Chair of the NYS AIDS Institute HIV Advisory Body in the fall of 2020. In spring of 2021 She received a scholarship to attend a certificate program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Professor Herve Fossou, who graduated in 2015 from Hostos in the Community Health degree program has been accepted in a Ph.D. program in epidemiology at Washington State University. He will start in the fall 2021.
Professor Iris Mercado applied for the Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) initiative, and the Mindset GPS (Growth Mindset, Purpose & Relevance & Sense of Belonging) course. Professor Mercado was quoted in an article published in Consumer Report magazine earlier this year, and is a serving Board Member of the BronxCare Martin Luther King Jr. Health Centers.
English Department
This year, CUNY TV's EdCast, hosted and produced by Dr. Linda Hirsch, devoted five episodes to addressing the effects of the Pandemic on education:
1. The Digital Divide and COVID-19
2. Returning to Campus during COVID-19
3. Children, Trauma and COVID-19
4. Education 2020: How COVID-19 Shaped the Curriculum
5. Reaching Vaccine Resisters: CONVINCE USA
Assistant Professor Ana Ozuna was a $40,000 Grant Awardee recipient from the Mellon/ACLS Community College Faculty Fellowship from Spring 2020-Spring 2022.
- Incredible Achievements of Hostos Writing Center Tutors
The Writing Center is incredibly pleased to announce that 7 WC tutors are graduating from their Bachelor's degrees, with 3 entering graduate programs in Fall 2021. When these tutors were recommended to the Writing Center by their Hostos professors, we knew they were going to accomplish great things. We are so proud of Jenifer Vivar, who was awarded a prestigious NOAA-CESSRST scholarship to pursue a Master of Science in Data Science and Engineering at City College; only ten fellowships are awarded each year to promising stars in Data Science. Alyesha Alston will be commencing a Master of Arts in Forensic Mental Health Counseling at John Jay, having soared to the President's list, Dean's list, and June 2018 Honors Convocation Speaker at Hostos and graduated from SUNY Potsdam with a B.A. in Psychology. Ashley Barreto will be entering a Master of Fine Arts (Studio Arts) program at Michigan State University after graduating magna cum laude from Lehman College. Victor Valerio, a former fellow of the competitive Skadden Arps Honors Program in Legal Studies at City College, graduated magna cum laude with a double major in Political Science and English. He was also selected to be a Partners for Change Fellow in 2019 and completed 150 hours of service in community organizing. Eva Soriano earned a B.B.A. in Marketing Management and a minor in Theater, for which she has been awarded outstanding performance in the theatrical arts. Ashley Thomas, Hostos class of 2017, received a B.A. in Social Work from Lehman College, having interned at Bronx Parent Housing Network Promise Place as well as Lanet's Place. Shaneka Crossman, who graduated magna cum laude from City College, was the recipient of an NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates internship to apprentice as a developmental and comparative psychology researcher at Yale University. Please help us to offer hearty congratulations to these Hostos alumni who have built on the foundations Hostos has provided them to shine big and bright, as well as to Maya Abdoussala, who is graduating from Hostos with the Presidential Medal of Honor. What a year!
In addition, please enjoy this new published piece by Sarah Key, our Poet-in-Practice, in Heartwood Literary Magazine:
http://www.heartwoodlitmag.com/lucky-thirteen
Scholastic Achievement Candidate Reflection
Class of 2021, Mark W. Davy, candidate for the Scholastic Achievement Award, shared the following reflection with Provost Drago and the Office of Academic Affairs.
I am humbled by this recognition. I've had to knock down so many more obstacles than the front doors of Hostos to enter these hallowed halls. Even this acknowledgement, near the end of my junior college journey, found me in need of uplifting. It has bolstered my faith beyond imagination into certainty, for I know now that I am not alone. Hostos has aided me in that realization. My journey, however personal, is not unique- nor my burden the heaviest. I have seen young children sitting quietly beside single mothers, and shared notes with young fathers late to class from work. I have felt the weight of the world lifted off my back by the combined strength of a thousand bright minds laboring together. I have become part of a communal struggle, and I am better for it. Thank You, Dreams! Thank You, Hope! Thank You, Hostos!
Mark W. Davy '21