MESSAGE FROM PRESIDENT DAISY COCCO DE FILIPPIS |
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All College Meeting – End of Semester Gathering
May 17, 2022
Welcome Remarks
Dear Friends,
I hope you had an opportunity to read our communication this morning. I ask for a minute of reflection as we recognize the powerful loss of lives due to COVID-19, honored today by a CUNY day of recognition. In particular, we remember Mr. Jaime Alberto Luhan, a valued member of our Natural Sciences Department since February 2008. Let us also keep in our prayers, the most recent victims of bigotry and random violence in Buffalo, New York and Laguna Woods, California. As we pray, in whatever form we do this afternoon, before I begin my end-of-year remarks, I ask Mr. Rafael Torres, of the Office of our Legal Affairs and Labor Relations to share this moment with us with a rendition of “Amazing Grace”.
Thank you, Mr. Torres, for your thoughtful and kind sharing of your beautiful gift. I will now begin my remarks this afternoon, dedicating our achievements to the memory of all we lost in our families, communities and in our national and world families.
My Dear Colleagues and Students,
It is powerful to gather at the conclusion of a semester and academic year of significant challenges and achievements. This year we began to transition to a more robust in person classroom and outside of the classroom intellectual and cultural activities, albeit cautiously. Our main concern is always the safety and health of our students, faculty, staff and administration, and the continued high quality of instruction and student and academic support services. This is how we live our values at Hostos.
Throughout this academic year we continued to reach out and to keep the college community informed, as we have done since Fall 2020 by means of the Hostos Weekly/El Semanario Hostosiano’s entries about our collective work; work so many of us have shared. We know how we have organized and worked diligently and creatively on so many fronts to be supportive to our students, our academic programs and ourselves. Thank you as well for the multiple number of participants in Veladas Hostosianas/Hostos Culture Talks, meetings, workshops and opportunities to share our students’ work. So much was done by so many to keep a robust intellectual life. This work has been supported as well by those on the ground, our generous laborers, custodians, maintenance staff, engineers and electricians, members of IT and Public Safety colleagues. Thank you, mil gracias does not begin to express the gratitude and the pride I feel.
We celebrate this afternoon the completion of our Middle States Self-Study, our reviewers, members of Middle States Accreditation Visiting Team Final Report was received and shared, not only affirming our compliance with all standards and requirements for affiliation, but also with praise for how the core tenets of social justice, equity and student success show up in our mission and our work. I pause to offer an encore heartfelt Bravo shout out to the intrepid and hard-working Steering Committee Leadership and the Planning Committee membership, superbly represented in the persons of Co-Chairs Professor Nelson Nuñez-Rodríguez and Professor Kate Wolfe, the patient and talented writing contribution of Professor Kate Lyons and the talented and thoughtful communications, data and guidance provided by Dean Babette Audant.
Among the many accolades the Visiting Team commended us on was for doubling our graduation rate, increasing transfer by 20-percentage points and holding retention relatively steady over the last decade, despite the pandemic and other factors that have hit other institutions hard. As a Hispanic serving institution, we’re particularly proud that we’ve achieved these student success milestones for the communities we serve.
We recently launched our next five-year strategic planning process, which we will complete over the next academic year, to take effect in the Fall 2023 semester. This process will engage close to 100 students, faculty, staff and administration members in a steering committee and mission-themed working groups process, as we provide opportunities for the entire campus to participate through campus-wide forums. Having just undergone the Middle States accreditation process, we already know how to plan to even more intentionally address social justice and equity in our approach, so that all students have a fair opportunity to achieve in higher education and in their lives.
Making retention gains will represent a major focus too building on our innovation in developmental education, gateway courses, cohort offerings and advisement investments. This next plan will extend our horizon beyond graduation, layering in a strong focus on employment and transfer to help students see their paths forward from the time they arrive to well after they leave us. To that end, the generous support from The Ms. MacKenzie Scott Gift’s and the seeds planted with our pilot initiatives this semester and summer, will go far. We celebrate early wonderful results in engagement and participation of initiatives that go from Families United in Education, Hostos Research Center’s innovations, Workforce Initiatives in non-credit to credit opportunities, Educating in Diversity programming, Next-Gen Public Health Scholars and other 2 + 2 +2 transfer opportunities, Jobs on Campus, and scholarships strongly support our efforts.
My particular passion, a passion I share with many colleagues at Hostos, is giving students the opportunity to pursue a liberal arts foundation while also articulating career pathways that lead to jobs and careers that help our students earn a good living. These are all guided by faculty, staff and administration with generosity and professionalism.
Another important support as we move forward are our new appointments this past semester in key positions. A colleague at CUNY, very familiar with management teams at CUNY, recently praised the talent and diversity our Cabinet represents—experience, great educational credentials, kindness and an ability to manage across departments and among different voices and backgrounds. I am grateful for the team I found in place. I cannot imagine managing without SVP Rodríguez-Chardavoyne by my side, or without Executive Chief of Staff Kreymer and the team in our office, or the connections to community facilitated by Dean García Reyes or transition without the kind support of Prof. Charles Drago, and so many colleagues who not only welcomed me, collaborated with me but have opened their arms to receive four new vice presidents at the beginning of this academic semester: Provost Wang, VP Yates, VP Fernández-Ketcham and VP Colette Atkins. Additionally, Chief Diversity Officer Latoya Jeffers, Dr. Sofia Oviedo and earlier on Director of Government Affairs Dr. Radezky.
We also should take this occasion to celebrate having been named part of the 25 semi-finalists for the Aspen Institute Prize. We are also looking forward to having the opportunity for colleagues to realize that Hostos should be among the top 10 Aspen Prize finalists.
One final note on commencement. As you know, we will have two days to celebrate commencement with our graduates. VP Yates and his team are projecting over 1,000 graduates, numbers to be finalized on August 1. Congratulations to our students and to all of us for supporting their journey. I look forward to seeing you all.
A special thank you to all of our colleagues presenting this afternoon, and our kind student leader, for sharing information about your respective areas recognizing a colleague by means of a “Manos a la obra/All Hands on Deck” presentation. Bravi!
As always, I close my remarks by reflecting on Pablo Neruda’s Nobel Laureate speech: his understanding of the connection we have with others and the responsibility we have to one another, as we try to move forward as human beings in this life’s journey. Here is a brief excerpt from Neruda’s speech, words some of you have heard me read many times before:
All paths lead to the same goal; to convey to others what we are…
but in this dance or in this song, there are fulfilled the most ancient
rites of our conscience in the awareness of being human and of
believing in a common destiny.
I wish us all a rewarding end of the semester and academic year, and joyful opportunities to support and encourage our students and each other’s journeys.
Mil gracias y bendiciones, Daisy
Daisy Cocco De Filippis, Ph.D.
President
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A PSALM 23 IN REMEMBRANCE |
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The Lord the Shepherd of His People
A Psalm of David
The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever.
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MESSAGE FROM SGA PRESIDENT BRIAN CARTER |
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Good morning to all of my fellow colleagues:
As we conclude an amazing semester I want to congratulate the 2022 graduating class. You all deserve this day and honor. You will continue to encourage others and blaze trails to advance our community by putting forth the current standards that Hostos set in our commitment to excellence.
I want to thank you all and I admire you all. It was my honor to serve you as Hostos SGA President in the academic year 2022. I will continue to emphasize how much we gained by embracing each other’s accomplishments. This class will make significant contributions in society because I know each of you will strive for excellence.
I want to thank and acknowledge the hard-working leaders and professionals that make the foundation for our infrastructure at our beloved Hostos Community College. They work extremely hard behind the scenes and play an integral part in forming the initial connection with our student body. Our leaders work to push ahead to uplift and inspire our community. I feel you reflect the best of our society. On behalf of the SGA and Hostos Community College we are forever grateful for your continual efforts and will be forever in your debt, thank you.
I would like to take a moment to thank a few faculty members who because of their continuous generosity made the experience of Hostos fuller and more complete: Jason Libfeld from the Student Leadership Academy, who despite obstacles continues to help the SGA continue their promising tradition. Rhonda Smith, a mainstay of our C-Building and helps the SGA with activities and events and champions the school clubs by offering countless opportunities and unconditional support to students. Jerry Rosa plays an integral role in Hostos and student life. Working under the radar and behind the scenes, Jerry is the best mentor of the Hostos SGA. He helps us create a vision from where SGA has manifested. We are all grateful to have people like you all in our lives, Jerry, and you deserve glory.
I want to acknowledge Ruby Calle and Jennifer Williams from the CUNY EDGE office for providing unconditional support to our students. Grateful for Tovah Thompson and Michael Martínez from the Counseling Center for partnering with the SGA to hold virtual workshops throughout the Pandemic. Together we highlighted the importance of mental health awareness and providing safe spaces and opportunities to vent and stay engaged when the world as we knew it changed forever.
I am also thankful the wonderful Leslie King, Director of the Financial Aid and Financial Aid Office Coordinator Toya Pigford deserve my shout-out. They assist students with their financial obligations and it is not an easy job. Thank Professor Ernest Ialongo for your significant contributions to the College Wide Senate and to the countless committees where we have served together. Professor Charles Drago, I also want to thank you for your dedication and commitment to excellence. Also acknowledging Coach Maurice “Poo” and AD Erick Smiles for being role models for the women’s and men’s basketball teams.
I want to emphasize the importance of the amazing Dean Gómez. She is responsible for keeping the drive that every student deserves by constantly monitoring students’ academic progress and helping to create opportunities on a multitude of platforms, which I can say has become a critical part of students’ life, including my own. Her value to our beloved Hostos Community College is unequivocally special.
Deep gratitude for the incomparable SVP Chardavoyne, who works intensely and closely with the President’s Office caring for our budgets and agendas with Hostos’ best interest at heart.
I would be remiss to not include the President’s Office and the-one-and-only Executive Chief of Staff Diana Kreymer and our beloved President Daisy Cocco De Filippis. Her existence is unmatched and our community is positively impacted by how she continues to help stabilize our community.
On behalf of the SGA we will continue to encourage students and to inspire them to become as great as these wonderful individuals who continue to embrace others before themselves. I cannot thank you all enough. You are superstars and heroes to me. Thank you for your continued support and your commitment to excellence.
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Submitted by Director of Research Programs Sofia Oviedo, Ph.D.
Dear Students and Colleagues,
It is so lovely to be at Hostos during commencement season as students are being recognized for their accomplishments and the culmination of their hard work. I want to congratulate all students on their completion of the 2021-22 academic year, and to those who are graduating, I wish you much success in all your educational, professional and personal endeavors.
It is hard to believe that just five months ago I joined the Hostos family to serve in the role of Research Programs Director in the Office of the President. It has been a privilege to work in close collaboration with esteemed President Daisy Cocco De Filippis, and the wonderful faculty, staff and student members of the Hostos Advisory Corp — the committee that laid the groundwork for the Ms. MacKenzie Scott’s Gift: President’s Initiatives for Student Success, College Growth and Stakeholders’ Engagement.
It has been such a richly rewarding and enlightening experience for me to see the growth of these initiatives and to see their impact on the Hostos community firsthand. The development of these pilot initiatives is also a true testament to the President’s vision for Hostos Community College to continually serve as a beacon of hope in the midst of profound challenges and transitions for our students, faculty, and staff that encourages and empowers us all to achieve beyond our wildest dreams.
In the spirit of reflection that seems appropriate at the conclusion of this semester’s hard work, I would like to thank all my colleagues who through their leadership and dedication have made these initiatives possible and share a few highlights of our notable accomplishments.
1. Families United in Education – Provided support to 13 students, all family members enrolled in degree programs at Hostos. Participants received access to resources including book vouchers and MetroCards, mentoring through monthly family meetings, and exposure to cultural engagement experiences. Nine of the program participants had the opportunity to see The Lion King on Broadway and were thrilled by the experience.
2. Jobs on Campus – To date, 22 students have been hired to work over the spring and summer by various Hostos departments and offices in various capacities. Students will be learning and developing new job skills, receive on-the-job mentoring, and professional development that will enhance their future career prospects.
3. Hostos Research Center – Awarded 11 grants to faculty and staff that ranged from $3,000 - $10,000 in support of their ADELANTE Research Projects, which are being implemented over the summer and early fall. Several of these projects will also provide student research internship opportunities. Earlier this month, the center hosted a two-day grant writing workshop that was attended by over 30 participants that included faculty, staff, and students. It also announced the 2022 IDEAS Project Development Awards that will provide small grants to faculty and staff interested in developing a proposal that can be developed into a full-fledged project eligible for external funding.
4. Educating for Diversity – Awarded seven mini-grants ranging from $1,000 - $2,000 to faculty and staff who hosted a variety of activities that engaged the collegewide community in discussing issues of diversity. Activities held included a COVID-19 Student Panel hosted by the Women and Gender Studies Faculty Council; Own Your Power committee educational workshops; and The Young Lords: A Radical History book discussion, with author Dr. Johanna Fernández, that was hosted by the Social Sciences Speakers Series.
5. Workforce Initiative – The CEWD Division established the Ms. MacKenzie Scott Adult and Continuing Education (ACE) Scholarship that awarded seven $1,000 scholarships to Hostos students that completed a continuing education program and enrolled in a degree program. In March, a special reception was hosted by the President’s Office in their honor and three scholarship recipients were able to attend.
6. Hostos Mentoring and Supporting Students 2+2+2 Opportunities Program – We launched the inaugural NextGen Public Health Scholars Program, a unique partnership between Hostos Community College and the Columbia University School of General Studies and Columbia Mailman School of Public Health that will prepare Hostos students for careers in public health and epidemiology. Two information sessions were held and students were invited to apply to this amazing opportunity that will provide full tuition support, a stipend, mentoring, and access to internship programs. Applications are being reviewed and the selected students will be announced in June.
7. Ms. MacKenzie Scott Excellence Awards – Established by President Cocco De Filippis to confer monetary awards to graduating students in the 2021-22 academic year that demonstrated outstanding academic achievement and great potential for making meaningful contributions in their chosen career. 49 students have been selected for this award by Hostos’ academic departments and will be honored at the 2022 Honors Convocation.
Over the summer months, I will be conducting an evaluation of the pilot initiatives, which will help to inform decision-making and planning for the upcoming academic year. I will share the key findings in the first issue of El Semanario Hostosiano/The Hostos Weekly. We will also provide the Hostos community with the opportunity to submit proposals for new pilot initiatives that align with the college’s mission and the overall vision for the Ms. MacKenzie Scott’s Gift: President’s Initiatives. I am already looking forward to the new ideas that will emerge from this process and to the important work that we will advance to support our students’ success at Hostos and beyond.
Wishing everyone a restful and rejuvenating summer break!
Sincerely,
Sofia Oviedo
For more information and to request a form please email Sofia Oviedo at soviedo@hostos.cuny.edu | Tel: 718-518-4309.
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INSTITUTIONAL EFFECTIVENESS, RESEARCH, AND ASSESSMENT |
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Submitted by Director of Assessment Office of Institutional Effectiveness, Research, and Assessment, AJ Stachelek, Ed.D.
The goal of this week’s El Semanario contribution is to summarize how far we have come in academic assessment and the journey that awaits us.
Regarding assessment of degree programs and academic department operations, the A-PART process is in the report phase including “closing the loop” at meetings between the department chairs and the provost, where recommendations based on analysis of outcomes will be discussed. These meetings will be essential in defining the A-PART for the next academic year and enable the A-PARTs to be utilized as the planning document intended to inform department-wide activities for the next academic year. This step will be an exciting opportunity to fully realize the potential of the A-PART!
The A-PART’s Section 2 is where annual program learning outcomes (PLOs) assessments are undertaken by each degree program within the respective department. Going forward, PLO assessment will be aligned with the Institutional Learning Outcomes (ILOs) assessment schedule when and where appropriate to provide more insight into how well Hostos achieves, and provides access to, learning as it aligns to the mission.
Overall, the A-PART serves as a framework for conversations among faculty within an individual department across a given academic year and provides the provost and department chairs with a foundation for a culminating annual conversation about accomplishments, opportunities, and resource allocation for the coming academic year. With the help of the Degree Program Assessment Committee (DPAC) members, the A-PART process has become what it is today with their help. Thank you to all the DPAC members, department chairs, unit coordinators, and program directors that made (and continue to make) this process possible!
Regarding the assessment of general education (as defined by CUNY Pathways) the General Education Pathways Assessment Committee (GEPAC) members have worked closely with faculty across departments to coordinate the assessment process across departments. In the first academic year, general education assessment was situated in a single department for each of the two areas (English Composition and Mathematical and Quantitative Reasoning) that completed their respective assessments for the aligned learning outcomes.
To support assessment of Creative Expressions, a Pathways Gen Ed “bucket” or “competency area,” GEPAC members provided liaisons to both the English and Humanities departments, as both departments were assessing learning aligned with Creative Expressions. While this process ensured that the departments had support in place for conducting assessment, it did not enable alignment of assessment processes across departments. Having learned from these iterations, a fully integrated approach was adopted in spring 2022 to support the assessment of United States in its Diversity: A cohort of faculty members teaching courses that are part of the United States Experience in Its Diversity “bucket” were convened to define a common assessment in the form of a parent rubric. While this process is new and is only now entering the second stage of data analysis in fall 2022, the conversations among faculty in this cohort during meetings throughout the semester provided a lot of insight into ways to continue to improve and enhance assessment in general education. Thank you to all the GEPAC members and faculty members that have supported this process these last few semesters, who were willing to take a chance at trying something new!
Last, but not least, I want to thank the OIERA team for welcoming me into your group and teaching me about the importance, strength, and benefits of assessment and data analysis. I want to thank the President and the Provost for continuing to support the role of Director of Assessment. It has been a pleasure working with so many people in this Hostos community who have supported this process—you taught me so much and I look forward to growing with all of you in the years ahead!
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Submitted by Executive Counsel and Labor Designee Eugene Sohn, Esq.
Dear Hostos Employees:
The ESPARC and Workplace Violence Training modules for the 2021-2022 academic year are now available. In accordance with New York State Law, every year, ALL employees (full-time and part-time) are required to complete the two separate online trainings listed below available via CUNY Blackboard:
Workplace Violence Prevention Training
“ESPARC” Training: Employee Sexual Misconduct Prevention & Response.
Hostos is making it a priority to reach for 100% completion rate as soon as possible! This will ensure compliance with NY State Law and avoid bombarding staff with repeated reminders.
You can access the trainings by logging onto the CUNY Blackboard. The trainings are found under “My Organizations.” See attached for more detailed instructions if needed.
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OFFICE OF GOVERNMENTAL AND EXTERNAL AFFAIRS |
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Submitted by Director of Governmental and External Affairs Eric Radezky, Ph.D.
Funding and Community Affairs
Hostos Community Project Funding Application Moves Forward
I am pleased to inform the Hostos community that Congressman Ritchie Torres has selected the “Hostos Community College Support for Articulation Agreements” application as one of 15 in his district he is recommending for Community Project Funding to the House Appropriations Committee. Congressman Torres received over 100 community applications, and making the cut of 15 says a lot about the quality of our application and the importance of Hostos Community College to the South Bronx.
The House Appropriations Committee has final say on which projects from across the nation will be funded by the federal government. If awarded, Hostos would use the funds to support students in joint degree programs known as “articulation agreements” in which Hostos students in these programs go on to City College, Queens College or Columbia University upon completing their degree at Hostos.
Many thanks to everyone at Hostos who helped me put our application together.
The following updates come from the Mayor’s Community Affairs Unit.
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Did you know that senior and disabled New Yorkers may be eligible to freeze their rent from future increases?
The NYC Rent Freeze Program, which includes the Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption (SCRIE) Program and the Disability Rent Increase Exemption (DRIE) Program, helps those eligible stay in affordable housing by freezing their rent.
To be eligible you must be:
- 62 years old OR 18 years old and disabled.
- Be the primary tenant named on the lease/rent order or have been granted succession rights in a rent controlled, rent stabilized or a rent regulated hotel apartment.Have a combined household income for all members of the household that is $50,000 or less.
- Spend more than one-third of your monthly household income on rent.
COVID-19 Updates: New Alert System, In-Home Vaccination Appointments, Lost Vaccination Cards and more.
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NEWS FROM THE OFFICE OF ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
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Submitted by the Office of Academic Affairs
Bouampoundi Brigitte Thiombiano Named 2022 Hostos Valedictorian
Bouampoundi Brigitte Thiombiano is a Spring 2022 graduate and this year’s Hostos Valedictorian. A Harlem resident, Brigitte is originally from Burkina Faso, West Africa. All her schooling was in French, and she started to learn English as soon as she arrived in the U.S. in 2014.
Meet the Class of 2022 Salutatorian, Gabriela Torres
Gabriela Torres is from New Rochelle, New York. She graduated from high school at the height of the Coronavirus lockdown in May of 2020; the prom and ceremony were replaced with a drive-by diploma pick-up line. Since pivoting to online learning that spring, Torres has not returned to in-person classes. She has yet to visit the Hostos campus, and she’s excited that her first time on campus will be to serve as the 2022 Salutatorian.
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Achievements in Office of Academic Affairs
The Office of the Provost is pleased to shine a spotlight on the faculty and staff in the Division of Academic Affairs, who during the course of the academic year, in addition to serving the students of Hostos, have co-authored books or book chapters and published musical albums and written articles; founded advocacy groups and served on or chaired community boards and advisory panels; been elected to leadership positions in external professional organizations; have been awarded grants and fellowships; and, have been accepted into professional educational programs, to name a few.
The Game Design degree program received an award as the “Best Game Design Program” by intelligent.com.
Book titles include, Razones para Destruir Una Ciudad, Classically Conditioned Biases-The People of the Twin Land of Kiaralot & Donekiaratall, La Tete Hours d'leau and Thomas. Music album titles include Moonlit and Patterns.
Advocacy groups and advisory boards include Professional Education-Advocacy Society for Race and Color Equity, School Board Trustee for HoH Union Free School District, New York State AIDS Institute HIV Advisory Body, and New York City Civil Rights History Advisory Committee.
Leadership roles include New York Chapter of the Association of College & Research Libraries and Community and Junior College Libraries Section (CJCLS) of the Association of College & Research Libraries.
Grants include National Science Foundation, PSC-CUNY, and Adelante.
Fellowships include Andrew W. Mellon Transformative Learning in the Humanities, Mellon/ACLS Community College Faculty, Global Scholars Achieving Career Success, Poverty and Humanities Institute/Stevens Initiative, PEN America Writing as Activism, and CUNY Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.
Professional education programs include Harvard Kennedy School of Government Executive Education in Public Leadership and CUNY HyFlex course design, development, and delivery of instruction.
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38th Annual Honors Convocation Ceremony (Recurring Notice)
The Senate Scholarship and Awards Committee and the Office of Academic Affairs is pleased invite you to the 38th Annual Honors Convocation Ceremony. The ceremony will be held in the Hostos Main Theater on Wednesday, May 25, 2022 at 6:30 p.m. During the ceremony, the College will recognize the graduating class Valedictorian and Salutatorian as well as students awarded with the Ms. MackKenzie Scott Academic Excellence Awards, Scholastic Achievement and other distinct college awards, academic department awards and awards from special programs.
All faculty and staff are invited to join as stage and audience members in this celebration of our student academic achievement. You are encouraged to make your reservation using the link below.
The Faculty and Staff reservation form is accessible here:
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The “Caiman Clues” for the Spring ’22 semester
Students: Every week, for the Academic calendar year, read the Caiman Clues for helpful tips and reminders.
Caiman Clues —Your Hostos Helping Hand to Success
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NEWS FROM THE DIVISION OF STUDENT DEVELOPMENT AND ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENT |
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Submitted by Vice President of Student Development & Enrollment Management La Toro Yates, Ph.D.
Ambition Over Adversity
By Tupac Shakur
Take one's adversity
Learn from their misfortune
Learn from their pain
Believe in something
Believe in yourself
Turn adversity into ambition
Now blossom into wealth
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To my Colleagues and Students,
It is my honor to close out my first semester in the role of Vice President for Student Development and Enrollment Management. As I reflected on my first five months at Hostos Community College, a constant theme kept coming to mind: using data to inform decisions. My first step in utilizing data was to work with the Cabinet, Academic Affairs, and the SDEM division to isolate the correct data points to offer a panoramic view of enrollment and share it regularly. I am happy to announce that fall 2022 enrollment is trending approximately 11.36% higher than last year. It is early in the enrollment cycle, but it is a positive trend to see enrollment moving forward and reacting to some of the initiatives SDEM has put in place since January 2022. The applicant pool is currently ahead 1,400 new student applications versus last year. The focus of stabilizing enrollment at Hostos Community College has multiple components.
- SDEM’s #1 goal is to increase yields throughout the admissions/enrollment funnel
- Creation of Data Dashboards is in process to inform enrollment planning (collaboration between IT, OAA, and SDEM)
- Multiple mini-Open Houses/Information sessions
- Media Design, CD, ASAP
- Liberal Arts and Criminal Justice (forthcoming)
- Readmit Mondays (to reengage students that have stopped out from Hostos Community College
- Radio Commercials on WBLS and Power 105.1
- Digital Ads
- Media Design, Music Production, Game Design, and Summer School.
Finally, there will be a meeting with the CUNY Central Enrollment Management team in June to review Hostos Community College enrollment practices to help develop enrollment projections (connected to the college’s budget). SDEM will also work with an Enrollment Consultant outside of Hostos/CUNY to create a Strategic Enrollment Management Plan framework. The timeline is:
- Summer 2022 higher EM consultant
- Fall 2022 utilize Steering Committee (Strategic Plan) working groups
- Working draft of Plan by the end of 2022
- Draft submitted to the President in January 2023
- Final SEM plan spring 2023
- Roll-out of Plan for fall 2023
Congratulations to all of our students graduating in the class of 2022!
Please join us for a Pre-graduation celebration (with family and friends) on May 26 from 12 to 3 p.m. at Evelina Antonetty Park (Grand Concourse between E. 147th Street and E. 149th Street ). Thank you.
Accessibility Resource Center (ARC)
ARC began collaborating with Hostos WIPA program to provide Disability Benefits counseling in June. Attendees will be doing a truncated version of Back 2 Basics with a short Holland code test and then the option to view possible job options on Onet online.
Veterans Services
- Hostos has secured the Memorial Day Event participation from the East Bronx History Forum and will be recognized as an honored guest at the Memorial Day Van Nest Event on May 30th, 2022. HOVA extended participation invitations to the event, and Lehman and BCC Veterans offices will be attending.
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Veteran Coordinator, Ricardo Garcia, was inducted into the New York State Veterans Hall of Fame and was officially recognized by NY State Senator A. Biaggi in a virtual ceremony conducted in April 2022. Link: https://www.nysenate.gov/profiles/2021/alessandra-biaggi/ricardo-garcia
Congratulations to Ricardo Garcia!
Financial Aid
- The Financial Aid Office has begun awarding $117K in Emergency SEOG awards to currently enrolled students for Spring 2022 to remove past due balances.
- FAO continues to award the remaining $50K in Discretionary SEOG Grants to currently enrolled Spring 2022 students
Central Updates:
- OSFA will be identifying and communicating directly with Hostos students eligible for Pell grants to enroll in Summer 2022.
- OSFA is preparing to award $300K of ARP Spring Discretionary Grant funds to Hostos students currently enrolled in Spring 2022.
Student Activities
- SGA will hold its annual recognition event on Tuesday, May 24, 2022, from 4 to 5 p.m. on Zoom.
- Updated the cap and gown page of the Commencement website so that students are aware that cap and gown packages are no longer being sold online.
- The Cap and Gown vendor will be on campus on May 25 and 27 for in-person purchases.
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NEWS FROM THE DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE |
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End of Year
As the spring 2022 semester comes to a close, we take this opportunity to thank all of our staff for their dedication over this past academic year in ensuring that essential services continued without interruption to support the safe return of in-person teaching and learning.
While the health and safety of the community has always been front and center, the everyday work of the college – to support student success and academic advancement – continues unabated.
The current set of major building projects continues to move forward. The development of the Advisement Center space at 429 Grand Concourse is well underway. The college is moving forward with outfitting the space, having identified signage, furniture, and IT and AV equipment. Once the Advisement Center is open, we will have an opportunity to repurpose the space currently occupied by ASAP, SSCU and ARC.
The administrative units are busy ensuring year-end processes are completed appropriately and in a timely fashion as well as initiating planning for the next year. While the official end of the fiscal year is still over a month away, we anticipate ending this year “in the black” once more, again with the aid of stimulus funds and by strictly managing our expenditures. As our self-study has indicated, rebuilding student enrollment to pre-pandemic levels will be crucial if we are to protect the institution’s long-term financial health.
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Vaccination Status for Students Taking In-person or Hybrid Courses
As a reminder, students taking in-person or hybrid courses in the summer and fall 2022 semesters must have up-to-date vaccination status when classes begin. Further, all students taking in-person or hybrid classes, or entering a CUNY facility, must upload proof of that status to CUNYfirst by ten (10) days before classes begin. Additionally, students must also upload proof of receiving a booster shot once eligible according to CUNY guidelines.
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NEWS FROM THE DIVISION OF CONTINUING EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
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CEWD Staff Spotlight
Each week CEWD will highlight a staff member that began their trajectory as an Hostos student. We hope you share in our commitment to hiring our own and promoting them from within.
CEWD Staff Spotlight: Yolanda Soto, Student Career Advisor
Born and raised in the Bronx, Yolanda Soto began her Hostos Community College journey as a single mother in 1995. Soto’s’s hard work and determination earned her a place on the Dean’s List for several semesters. She successfully earned her Associate’s Degree majoring in Aging and Health in May 1998. In November 1998, Soto was hired as a College Assistant at the College of Opportunity to Prepare for Employment Program (COPE), now known as CUNYEdge. Promoted to COPE Administrative Assistant in January 1999, Soto held that position until she was offered a new position as COPE Employment Specialist in 2001. Knowing that education is a key to success, she continued her education and earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Health Service Administration from Lehman College in May 2011. Switching from CUNYEdge, Soto joined the Career Services team as Internship Coordinator in April 2013 and was promoted to her current position as Student Career Advisor in January 2020. Holding two degrees from CUNY, Soto is celebrating 27 years with Hostos.
“It is a blessing to serve hundreds of Hostos students and empower them to believe in themselves,” she said. “I always tell students “never forget the focus of why you were hired”. It is the ingredient to being successful in any job. My focus is on the students and I think of them all as my successes."
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Congratulations to CEWD students joining the class of 2022 as Hostos graduates
Rose Darbouze: Liberal Arts ’22 became a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) and a certified Electrocardiography (EKG) Technician, as a student of Hostos’ CEWD; was granted 2 college credits applied to CO-OP as part of OAA/CEWD credit articulation agreement under Credit for Prior Learning (CPL).
Janice Gittens Hunter: Community Health ’22 received a Community Health Worker certificate as a student of Hostos’ CEWD Pipeline Program’s Health Profession Opportunities Grant (HPOG).
Melissa Lamar-Vanterpool: Liberal Arts ’22 received a Health Information Technology (HIT) certificate as a student of Hostos’ CEWD Pipeline Program’s Health Profession Opportunities Grant (HPOG); was granted three college credits applied to OT 105.
Estecy Montero: Community Health ’22 received a Community Health Worker’s certificate as a student of Hostos’ CEWD Pipeline Program’s Health Profession Opportunities Grant (HPOG); was granted nine college credits applied to HLT 103,110 and 124.
Michael Cruz: Nursing ’21 became a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) as a student of Hostos’ CEWD Pipeline Program’s Health Profession Opportunities Grant (HPOG) and certified Patient Care Technician (PCT).
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Helena Rubinstein Scholarship Applications Goes Live June 9
Beginning June 9, 2022, applications for the CUNY Career Success Scholarship—Helena Rubinstein, will be accepted for Fall 2022 Occupational training. Since 2011, the Career Success Scholarship—Helena Rubenstein, created through an endowment from the Helena Rubinstein Foundation, has provided to its recipients up to 90% of tuition costs for Continuing Education certificate programs. The scholarship, which is awarded every Fall and Spring semester, is open to individuals who seek to advance their careers through continuing education and training, and cannot otherwise pay tuition. Nine CEWD students were recipients of the scholarship in 2022.
For more information or to obtain an application contact: Magdalena Ramierez-Nieves, Hostos CEWD Liason, at maramirez@hostos.cuny.edu. |
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CEWD Information Sessions Kick Off in May
Replacing semesterly Open Houses, CEWD will offer Virtual Information Sessions three times a month. Participants will complete an online inquiry form to gain access to the information session. Information to be uploaded on the CEWD website shortly.
Scheduled Sessions:
Wednesday, June 1 at 7 p.m.
Wednesday, June 15 at 7 p.m.
Saturday, June 18 at 11 a.m.
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View the Continuing Education & Workforce Development Spring 2022 Catalog
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NEWS FROM THE DIVISION OF INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT
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The 2022 Annual Scholarship Benefit Raises more than $315,000 for Student Supports!
The Hostos Community College Foundation and the Division of Institutional Advancement would like to extend our deepest gratitude to the Hostos community for its support of the 2022 Annual Scholarship Benefit. Thanks to this outstanding Hostos family, we raised more than $315,000—funds that will ultimately empower Hostos students to persist and achieve their academic and career goals. To read more, to see photos of the event, or to make a gift, please visit the website.
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The Hostos 20.22 Campaign Culminates on June 2!
The 2022 Spring Commencement is just a couple weeks away! As we prepare to celebrate our newest alumni, remember to invest in our current students to ensure they have every opportunity to attain their academic goals. The Class of 20.22 Campaign is a chance to honor our newest graduates by supporting current students. Make a gift toward our transformational student support funds and help future Hostos alumni to persist.
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Congratulations to Gloria Mariel Lopes Carvalho For Getting Accepted to NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development
Gloria Mariel Lopes Carvalho, a graduating student with an A.S. Degree in Food Studies will pursue her B.S. Degree in Nutrition and Food Studies at NYU’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development.
Hostos Game Design Professors, Juno Morrow and Marcelo Viana Neto, Selected Members of Mayor Adams’ Game Development Industry Council As part of His Global Hub for Digital Games Industry Plan
New York City, NY (May 16, 2022) – Hostos Community College Assistant Professors of Game Design Juno Morrow and Marcelo Viana Neto are members of New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ and MOME Game Development Industry Council. The new council will advise the city’s production policies and programs in the Digital Games industry and is made up of various leaders of New York City’s digital games sector.
Valedictorian Awarded Prestigious 2022 Women’s Forum Education Fund Award
We are pleased to share the Hostos 52nd Commencement Ceremony’s Valedictorian Bouampoundi Brigitte Thiombiano has been selected as a 2022 Women’s Forum Education Fund Scholar.
Legendary Activist and Arts Advocate Elba Cabrera To Receive Honorary Degree From Eugenio María de Hostos Community College
Ms. Elba Cabrera, social activist and legendary advocate for Puerto Rican and Latino arts and culture, will receive an Associate in Humane Letters degree at Eugenio María de Hostos Community College’s 52nd Commencement Ceremony.
Eugenio María de Hostos Community College To Hold Its 52nd Commencement Ceremony with Keynote Speaker Elias Alcantara, Senior Vice President of the Macquarie Group
Eugenio María de Hostos Community College’s 52nd Commencement Ceremony will take place in the form of two semi-traditional gatherings: Ceremony #1, Tuesday, May 31, 2022 (for Fall and Winter Semester graduates), at 2 p.m.; and Ceremony # 2, Thursday, June 2, 2022 (for Spring Semester graduates), at 11 a.m.
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IN-PERSON COMMENCEMENT EVENTS
Nursing Pinning Ceremony
Wednesday, May 25 | 11 a.m. | Savoy MPR
X-Ray Pinning Ceremony
Friday, June 3 | 11 a.m. | Savoy MPR
Honors Convocation
Wednesday, May 25 | 6:30 p.m. | Main Theater
Pre-Commencement Celebration
Thursday, May 26, | 11 a.m. | Evelina Antonetty Park
Commencement Ceremonies
DAY 1
Fall and Winter semester graduates
Tuesday, May 31 | 2 p.m. | Main Theater
DAY 2
Spring semester graduates
Thursday, June 2 | 11 a.m. | Main Theater
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ABOUT EL SEMANARIO HOSTOSIANO/THE HOSTOS WEEKLY
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El Semanario Hostosiano/The Hostos Weekly is a weekly communication vehicle designed to unite our multiple voices as we share news about members of the Hostos family, provide updates on our work and upcoming events, and disseminate policy that impacts our work.
Published on Fridays at 9 a.m.
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This issue will be the last publication of El Semanario Hostosiano/The Hostos Weekly for Academic Year 2021–2022. We thank you, the reader, for tuning in each week to share in all of the good news being shared by multiple campus voices. We will resume publications on August 19, 2022 for the next Academic Year. Wishing everyone a safe and enjoyable summer! |
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For inclusion in The Hostos Weekly, please send your items to:
Please keep submissions to no more than two paragraphs of written content and note,
we are unable to add attachments to our publication.
Past issues of El Semanario Hostosiano/The Hostos Weekly can be found here.
Look for The Hostos Weekly each Friday.
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