Hostos adjunct English Professor Robert Waddell will be awarded an Arieto Award for Writing as “Writer of the Year” at the 2017 Taino AwardsHostos Community College adjunct English Professor Robert Waddell will be awarded an Areito Award for Writing as “Writer of the Year” at the 2017 Taino Awards, held at the Bronx Museum on April, 16.

Waddell is being honored for a series of contemporary articles on Tainos and their everyday struggles of modern natives.

“For me, writing and teaching go hand in hand,” Waddell said. “This is a way to reach out, illustrate and illuminate what was once hidden or yet to be discovered. I am so very appreciative of this recognition.”

Waddell was born in the Bronx, growing up in the Mitchell Projects, Mott Haven. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree from Hunter College and his Master’s from City College. He began writing professionally for The New York Times, followed by writing stints as New York correspondent for Latino.com and a reporter for Siempre newspaper in El Barrio. He has written extensively about Latinos and Latino life. He also writes for Virtual Boricua.org, where his series on contemporary Tainos was first published.

In 2010, Waddell won a prestigious NEA fellowship for theater criticism. He has been an adjunct professor at Hostos Community College since 2009, and also teaches at Bronx Community College.

Wadell expressed gratitude to Candy Warixi Soto, Marina Ortíz, his family, his ever supportive Hostos and Bronx Community College colleagues and friends, and especially his mother, who passed away three years ago.

“It was my mother who first told me about Tainos,” said Waddell. “She embodied all that is great about being Puerto Rican. She was the go-to person in our building whenever someone needed help. In many ways, she paved the way for my eventually becoming an educator.” 

For more information on the Ninth Annual Taino Awards, click here.

About Hostos Community College
Eugenio María de Hostos Community College is an educational agent for change that has been transforming and improving the quality of life in the South Bronx and neighboring communities for nearly half a century. Since 1968, Hostos has been a gateway to intellectual growth and socioeconomic mobility, as well as a point of departure for lifelong learning, success in professional careers, and transfer to advanced higher education programs.

Hostos offers 28 associate degree programs and two certificate programs that facilitate easy transfer to The City University of New York’s (CUNY) four-year colleges or baccalaureate studies at other institutions. The College has an award-winning Division of Continuing Education & Workforce Development that offers professional development courses and certificate-bearing workforce training programs. Hostos is part of CUNY, the nation’s leading urban public university, which serves more than 500,000 students at 24 colleges.