Friday, September 17, 2021 | Vol. 3 No. 4, Fall 2021 Semester
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MESSAGE FROM PRESIDENT DAISY COCCO DE FILIPPIS |
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My Dear Colleagues and Students,
As the semester progresses, the Hostos family continues to engage with thoughtfulness and care. Life is returning to the campus, and we are doing our part in terms of supporting the community in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida.
This past week, we had a very productive first meeting of the MacKenzie Scott's Gift, President’s Initiatives Advisory Corps. I am happy to share the structure and membership list:
MacKenzie Scott’s Gift President’s Initiatives for Student Success:
Managing Executive Committee:
President Daisy Cocco De Filippis, Chair
SVP Esther Rodríguez-Chardavoyne
Director Diana Kreymer
Director of MacKenzie Scott’s Gift President’s Initiatives for Student Success (to be identified)
Hostos Advisory Corps:
SGA President Brian Carter
Acting Provost Charles Drago
Dean Babette Audant
Associate Dean Ana García Reyes
Assistant Dean Johanna Gómez
Professor Julie Bencosme
Professor Madeline Ford
Professor Biao Jiang
Professor Catherine Lewis (College-wide Senate designee)
Professor Angel Morales
Professor Nelson Núñez Rodríguez
Professor Yoel Rodríguez
Professor Kate Wolfe
Executive Director Evelyn Fernández-Ketcham
Director Lisanette Rosario
Director Fabian Wander
Development Officer Idelsa Méndez
Communications Associate José R. García
At our first meeting, the following initiatives were discussed:
- Families United in Education
- Jobs on Campus for Students
- Hostos Research Center
- Mentoring and Supporting Students Accepted in 2 + 2 programs
- Hostos External Internships Program
- Supporting Student Emergency Fund/BTSA
- Educating for Diversity
- Workforce Initiative
As indicated previously, we will provide regular updates, understanding that some of the initiatives that were identified will require some planning for Spring 2022 and some others will take effect this Fall 2021 semester. Please follow updates on our initiatives in the Semanario and on the following website.
Finally, as we move forward together in the face of significant challenges, please continue to work on student retention, quality of teaching and learning, advising in an intentional and regular, and consistent manner. Let us not forget, however, to take care of ourselves by organizing our time in ways that promote diligence but also rest and relaxation.
Mil gracias y bendiciones, Daisy
Daisy Cocco De Filippis, Ph.D.
President
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A POEM TO CELEBRATE HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH |
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“Pan”
By Gabriela Mistral
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Pan
Dejaron un pan en la mesa,
mitad quemado, mitad blanco,
pellizcado encima y abierto
en unos migajones de ampo.
Me parece nuevo o como no visto,
y otra cosa que él no me ha alimentado,
pero volteando su miga, sonámbula,
tacto y olor se me olvidaron.
Huele a mi madre cuando dio su leche,
huele a tres valles por donde he pasado:
a Aconcagua, a Pátzcuaro, a Elqui,
y a mis entrañas cuando yo canto.
Otros olores no hay en la estancia
y por eso él así me ha llamado;
y no hay nadie tampoco en la casa
sino este pan abierto en un plato,
que con su cuerpo me reconoce
y con el mío yo reconozco.
Se ha comido en todos los climas
el mismo pan en cien hermanos:
pan de Coquimbo, pan de Oaxaca,
pan de Santa Ana y de Santiago.
En mis infancias yo le sabía
forma de sol, de pez o de halo,
y sabía mi mano su miga
y el calor de pichón emplumado...
Después le olvidé, hasta este día
en que los dos nos encontramos,
yo con mi cuerpo de Sara vieja
y él con el suyo de cinco años.
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Bread
They left a loaf of bread on the table,
white inside, brown crust,
its top broken into a scatter
of big snowy crumbs.
It seems new, a thing I've never seen,
yet it's all I've ever eaten,
but half-asleep, playing with its crumbs,
touch and smell are forgotten.
It smells like my mother suckling me.
It smells like my three valleys,
Aconcagua, Pa'tzcuaro, Elqui.
It smells like I feel when I'm singing.
There are no other smells in the farmhouse
and that's how it could call me.
Nobody else around the house,
only this loaf broken open on a plate
that knows me with its body
as I know it with mine.
Everywhere in the world its been eaten,
this same bread, its hundred brothers,
bread of Coquimbo, bread of Oaxaca,
bread of Santa Ana and Santiago.
When I was little, I knew it,
in the shape of a sun, a fish, a ring,
and my hand knew its inner warmth
like a plumy pigeon.
Then I forgot it till today,
when we two meet,
I with my body of an aged Sara,
it with the body of a five-year-old.
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STUDENT GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION |
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Submitted by SGA President Brian Carter
Hello and Good Morning,
Heavy is the head that wears the crown. But I’m no King, I’m merely trying to lead by example and continue influencing my society in positive ways. It dawned on me that ideally, we should be responsible for each other — it takes a village to raise a child — and the more a person feels mentally stable, the likelihood of adversities seeming less apparent. Emotional and mental support is what we need at this moment in time. We’re all attempting to adjust to this new normal the best way possible, I say, which is to live one day at a time.
I would like to invite as many students as possible, and faculty and staff, to join the SGA along with the Counseling Center to the “Candid Conversations” series. We aim to highlight important topics that should be discussed and share ideas on how we want to impact society in a positive way. Our first installment will feature conversations focused on processing adjustments. Students, faculty, and staff will be given an opportunity to share experiences, give advice, and possibly offer solutions as we attempt to become more acclimated to these new circumstances. Join us on Zoom on October 29 at 3:30 p.m.
Also, there is a new initiative at Hostos that will provide additional support to students through the Hostos Advisory Corps. This platform will introduce other support initiatives — the Families United in Education program, designed to help families who are attending school together to progress together. A first-year initial cohort of parents/children or siblings would participate in an intensive program that offers mentoring, tutoring, and cultural activities. The goal is to help families achieve their academic goals.
In closing, I just want to remind you that success is not given, it is earned. With that said, continue to stay on course, limit your distractions, and increase your focus. At the end of the day, you are your only competition, there’s no such word as “can’t,” and the only person responsible for you falling short of your goals, is you. So continue to believe in yourself and the rest will follow.
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MIDDLE STATES SELF-STUDY UPDATE |
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Submitted by MSCHE Steering Committee Co-Chairs Professor Kate S. Wolfe and Professor Nelson Nuñez Rodríguez
A Spotlight on Hostos Student Learning Experience
The current Self-Study stage focuses on organizing and selecting suggested evidence pieces by the Hostos MSCHE Working Groups to support the narrative content. As a consequence of this process, the College divisions have submitted further evidence pieces. The Office of Academic Affairs recently finalized a revision of the Hostos Degree Maps which represent the core of our student learning experience. The Middle States Commission on Higher Education expects that accredited institutions design a coherent student learning experience and promote the synthesis of learning.
The accreditation expectations for Standard III (Design and Delivery of Student Experience) require academic programs of study that are clearly and accurately described in official publications of the institution in a way that students are able to understand and follow degree and program requirements and expected time to completion. The institution also has to offer a sufficient scope to draw students into new areas of intellectual experience, expanding their cultural and global awareness and cultural sensitivity, and preparing them to make well-reasoned judgments outside as well as within their academic field.
Hostos Community College’s degree maps manifest institutional commitments to open the world of ideas and knowledge to our students while preparing them to navigate a dynamic work environment and become responsible citizens, ready to engage and transform their communities.
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INSTITUTIONAL EFFECTIVENESS RESEARCH & ASSESSMENT
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Submitted by Dean of Academic Affairs and Institutional Effectiveness, Research and Assessment Babette Audant, Ph.D.
Mission in Practice: The development of English and Math skills
The Self-Study has a number of themes threaded throughout the report. Among these is one of our mission themes, the development of English and Math skills over the past ten years. The focus is not a surprise, as these are foundational skills that students apply and build on throughout their time at Hostos and their next academic and career steps. At Hostos, the focus on these two critical pathways is also a reflection of the intense, sustained, data-informed, and creative curricular and pedagogical responses by faculty in the English and math departments.
This is the second mission theme to be explored through the lens of the Self-Study. Rather than excerpt a section of the report, I’m highlighting some of the achievements that inform how this theme is addressed in Standards 1: Mission and Goals; Standard 3: Design & Delivery of the Educational Experience; Standard 4: Support of the Student Experience; Standard 5: Educational Effectiveness Assessment; and Standard 6: Planning, Resources, and Institutional Improvement.
Completion of Gateway English and Math in a student’s first year is a strong predictor of retention, as well as “on track” credit accumulation. Among the institutional goals set in the 2017-2022 Strategic Plan is “accelerate student developmental education completion.”
The CUNY Progress Management Process (PMP) stopped tracking “exit from remediation” and emphasizes Gateway Completion — a reflection in thinking, and policy, and curriculum reform. 25.3% and 42.9% of the Fa13 cohort completed Gateway Math and English, respectively. Of the Fa19 cohort, whose academic year was interrupted by the pandemic, 45.1% and 66.5% completed Gateway Math and English, respectively. (The preliminary data for Fa20 indicates that Gateway Math completion rates rose to 51.8%.)
Based on a pilot and subsequent evaluation of Supplemental Instruction funded by Title V, Supplemental Instruction was baked into the Hostos co-requisite curriculum for both English and Math Gateway sequences. The model was carefully implemented, outcomes were assessed, and the completion rates continued to increase even as more students enrolled in co-requisite courses, and the modality was necessarily changed due to the pandemic.
While the annual college-wide operational plans have not specifically reflected the work undertaken by faculty in English and math, the Hostos President’s response to the Chancellor and the PMP data have consistently included data about the incremental changes to the curriculum, and the sustained gains. While all successes are worth shouting about, I’d like to end with a sobering data point that underscores why the phasing out of developmental ed/remedial education, that “cost” students credits, and replacing that model with effective foundational skills development for credit, matters so much.
As recently as AY16-17, the CUNY PMP was still reporting on the average number of equated credits first-year students earned at Hostos (19.4%). And, while ~ one-quarter of Hostos first-year students earned >20 credits, those included the “credits” for remedial courses that didn’t count towards graduation. In Fa19, 36.6% of first-year students earned >20 credits, all of them “real” credits, and of those, 11.6% earned >30 credits. While numbers don’t tell the individual stories of student, faculty, and staff effort, they do tell a story of collective and coordinated effort to live our mission.
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Submitted by Executive Counsel & Labor Designee Eugene Sohn, Esq.
CUNY Statement of Policy on Multiple Positions
STATEMENT OF POLICY ON MULTIPLE POSITIONS
1. PREAMBLE
Each full-time faculty member is obligated to view his/her appointment to a college or university faculty position within The City University as his/her major professional commitment. This commitment obligates the faculty member in two ways: he/she is at once a member of the national and international world of learning and a member of The City University community. Though his/her first responsibility to The City University is that of teaching, he/she recognizes the important and essential obligation to be regularly accessible for conferences with his/her students, to participate in appropriate extracurricular undertakings, and to serve on various college and university committees and as a member of college and university councils and other assemblies.
The City University of New York is a major research university. A full-time faculty member is expected to create new knowledge in his/her discipline through scholarly research, writing, and creative works. He/she constantly makes all efforts to improve his/her professional standing through study and thought, and also through activities such as research, publication, attendance at professional conferences, and the giving of papers and lectures. Such professional involvements also enhance his/her abilities as a teacher and as a member of The City University community; such professional involvements support the value of his/her activities on campus and equip him/her to participate in significant educational innovations as well as furthering his/her professional stature.
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GOVERNMENTAL AND EXTERNAL AFFAIRS |
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Submitted by Eric Radezky, Ph.D., Director of Governmental and External Affairs
Hostos Commemorates the 20th Anniversary of 9/11
On Thursday, September 9, Hostos Community College and the Office of the President commemorated the 20th Anniversary of the attacks on New York City and the nation on September 11, 2001. The event included greetings from Congressman Adriano Espaillat and a panel discussion with Assemblymember Amanda Septimo and State Senator John Liu, as well as remembrances from Hostos community members Shalikah Ellington, Elbagina Bonilla, and Hostos Veterans Affairs Coordinator Ricardo García.
The online event honored and paid tribute to those we lost on that tragic day twenty years ago. We keep their memories alive by sharing our stories, thus fulfilling the promise to never forget. Click here to watch a recording of the event.
Child Tax Credit Monthly Payments Continue This Week
The following information is from the White House webpage on the federal Child Tax Credit:
The Child Tax Credit in the American Rescue Plan (also available in Spanish) provides the largest Child Tax Credit ever and a historic relief to working families ever. As of July 15th, most families are automatically receiving monthly payments of $250 or $300 per child without having to take any action. The Child Tax Credit will help all families succeed.
The American Rescue Plan increased the Child Tax Credit from $2,000 per child to $3,000 per child for children over the age of six, from $2,000 to $3,600 for children under the age of six, and raised the age limit from 16 to 17. All working families will get the full credit if they make up to $150,000 for a couple or $112,500 for a family with a single parent (also called Head of Household).
Most qualifying families don’t have to do anything to begin receiving the Child Tax Credit payments. If you filed taxes this year (your tax return for 2020), filed last year (your tax return for 2019), or if you signed up for Economic Impact Payments (“stimulus checks”) using the IRS’s Non-Filer tool last year, the IRS is automatically sending you monthly payments.
If you did not have to file your taxes this year or last year, and you did not register for Economic Impact Payments last year, you can still sign up for the Child Tax Credit payments, which are easy to use on a mobile phone and also available in Spanish. You can also use the sign-up tool to apply for any Economic Impact Payments, “stimulus checks”, that you’re entitled to but may not have received yet.
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HOSTOS REOPENING UPDATE: WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 17, 2021 |
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Submitted by Esther Rodríguez Chardavoyne, Senior Vice President of Administration and Finance and Interim Vice President of Student Development and Enrollment Management
Students: Check the Fall 2021 deadlines below and take action if necessary! Make sure you’re able to come on campus throughout the semester and avoid academic withdrawal.
Faculty and staff: Help our students remember these important dates. As a community, we’re in this together.
- Take a class on campus (hybrid or in-person).
- Do in-person clinical work or fieldwork, such as nursing clinicals or student teaching.
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Use services and resources on campus, even if they're only taking online classes.
And while student-athletes don’t have a set deadline, they must be fully vaccinated before they can participate in college sports.
Meeting the October 7 deadline
September 23 is the last day to get a vaccine shot and be fully vaccinated on time. (You’ll need to get the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to meet this deadline unless you have your first Moderna or Pfizer dose.)
September 27 is the last day to upload documents to CUNYfirst for campus access starting October 7. After receiving all necessary COVID-19 vaccine doses, be prepared to upload a photo or scanned copy of your:
- CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card (or an equivalent document if you were vaccinated outside the United States).
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NY State Excelsior Pass if you received your vaccination in NY State 15 or more days ago.
Until October 7, continue to get tested regularly at a CUNY testing site so you can come on campus before you’re fully vaccinated.
- You need a negative test result from within the last seven (7) days.
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Testing must be done through CUNY’s safeCircle testing program. Enroll through Cleared4 to get started.
After the October 7 deadline
Missing these deadlines can hurt you academically and financially.
On-site students who miss the September 27 deadline may be subject to academic withdrawal from their class. That includes students taking classes that meet on campus (hybrid or in-person) and students doing on-site clinicals or fieldwork.
Online-only students who miss the deadline won’t be allowed on campus to use services and resources until you submit documents and are fully vaccinated. While your classes aren’t directly affected, you’ll miss out on access to areas on campus like the Library or Open Computer Lab.
However, students who are not fully vaccinated may still be able to come on campus for certain emergency services. After October 7, please contact Fabian Wander, Director of Health & Wellness, for assistance.
Getting help or more information
Have questions about the student vaccine requirement or submitting a request for exception or medical exemption? Contact the campus Location Vaccine Authority (LVA) through Health & Wellness.
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Post-Storm Resources at Hostos
A Bronx Service Center for New Yorkers affected by the September 1 flash flood emergency is now open on the Hostos campus.
Operated by NYC and FEMA, this center is here to support affected individuals and families with in-person support and information on resources and services available.
New York City government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and community-based organizations are on-site to help connect families and individuals to critical services, including enrollment in public benefits and health insurance, housing, food assistance, and mental health counseling. Services will be available to all visitors. Visitors to the sites will not be asked about their immigration status.
The Bronx location is in the C Building (450 Grand Concourse). Services have been available since Friday, September 10.
The center is currently open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Services provided at the center include but are not limited to the following:
- The Department of Social Services will assist with enrollment in SNAP benefits, cash assistance, and public health insurance, and help connect people with emergency food assistance. English and Spanish speakers will be available to assist with enrollment.
- Housing Preservation and Development will be providing information about resources to homeowners and advise tenants on how to proceed with getting an inspection if there was a lot of damage and they believe they cannot return.
- The Department for the Aging will assist in case management and senior employment.
- The Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs will assist with language and immigrant issues.
- Small Business Services will assist small business owners who were impacted by the storm.
- Referrals and information for pump-out assistance for residents who still have standing water in their homes.
- The Department of Buildings will be able to answer questions from the public related to damaged structures, conducting repairs or renovations, and to provide guidance regarding the filing of construction projects with DOB.
- The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene will provide mental health counseling.
- American Red Cross in Greater New York will assist in disaster relief management — including referrals, distribution of emergency supplies, and applying for assistance — and mental health counseling.
New Yorkers can visit their local service center, call 311, or access city services online by visiting NYC.gov/ida.
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NEWS FROM THE OFFICE OF ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
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Submitted by Acting Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Charles I. Drago
Spotlight on Faculty Achievement
The Office of Academic Affairs is delighted to share the list of faculty most recently promoted from assistant professor to associate professor. The work and dedication involved in teaching, publishing, and serving the college are significant. A grand congratulations to all of Hostos’ newest associate professors!
Thomas Bechdel, Ph.D., Associate Professor in the Humanities Department
Associate Professor Thomas Beachdel is an art historian that specializes in late eighteenth-century aesthetics/science and contemporary photography. Since coming to Hostos, he has published numerous articles and two books, “Young American” (Paradigm Publishing, 2019) and “New York New York: Marie Tomanova” (Hatje Cantz, 2021). Beachdel lectures widely at art institutions including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Guggenheim, Whitney, and at NYC galleries. By invitation, he has curated fifteen international art exhibitions, most recently for the European Month of Photography in Berlin (Oct. 2020). He is currently planning two upcoming exhibitions, working on an anthology on late eighteenth-century landscape aesthetics of the sublime, and putting the finishing touches on his new book, “Tracing Black: Color and Concept, An Art Historical Phenomenology.” Associate Professor Beachdel created a non-Eurocentric Global Humanities Unit at Hostos.
Louis Bury, Associate Professor in the English Department
Associate Professor Bury is the author of “Exercises in Criticism” (Dalkey Archive Press, 2015), named by Entropy Magazine "Best of 2015: Non-Fiction.” He has delivered invited talks and readings about the book at places such as the University of Virginia, the University of Calgary, and the University of Pennsylvania. He is also an art critic, with a focus on contemporary Eco Art, and contributes regularly to Hyperallergic, BOMB, and Art in America.
Andrew Connolly, Ph.D., Associate Professor in the English Department
Andrew Connolly earned a Ph.D. from the University of Edinburgh. His scholarly publications include his monograph “Philip Roth and the American Liberal Tradition” (Lexington Books 2017), which examines how Roth’s fiction shows considerable concern with questions of class, ethnicity, race, gender, and literary culture. Professor Connelly’s writing has appeared in the peer-review journals The Journal of American Studies and Philip Roth Studies. He has contributed chapters to numerous book collections on Roth, including “Philip Roth in Context” (Cambridge 2021). He is currently working on a new book, with the working title “American Carnage: Reading Fiction in the Age of Trump.”
Allison M. Franzese, Associate Professor in the Natural Sciences Department
Associate Professor Franzese earned her Ph.D. from Columbia University, where she currently holds an appointment as Adjunct Research Scientist in the Geochemistry Division. Dr. Franzese uses the geochemistry of marine sediments to study ocean and atmospheric circulation and climate during the geologic past. Dr. Franzese was a shipboard scientist on the deep-sea drilling expedition, IODP Expedition 361: South African Climates, and co-authored the Proceedings of the International Ocean Discovery Program Volume 361. Her participation in that expedition directly led to her current NSF-funded research examining linkages between the Agulhas Leakage and ocean overturning in the last glacial cycle and through the mid-Pleistocene transition. Franzese welcomes students to join in her research. She has mentored nine Hostos students in the lab and plans to mentor more as she continues her career at Hostos.
Biao Jiang, Associate Professor in the Natural Sciences Department
Professor Jiang earned his Ph.D. from The City College of New York. His research interests lie in the broad areas of telecommunications, robotics, computer vision, and deep learning. He has published several papers in leading conference proceedings and journals in robotics and computer vision. At Hostos, he has dedicated himself to student STEM research. Professor Jiang has mentored 27 students in 13 projects and presented in 23 student research and professional conferences representing Hostos. Four of his students have won first-place in state-wide student research conferences, and three other students have received CUNY research recognitions.
Moise Koffi, Associate Professor and Deputy Chair of the Mathematics Department
Associate Professor Moise Koffi earned his Ph.D. from the CUNY Graduate Center. Dr. Koffi’s research focuses on fluid flows induced by oscillating plates and related heat transfer characteristics with application to biological systems, such as heat dissipation in large animals. He has been published in the leading thermal sciences journal International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, American Society of Mechanical Engineering Journal of Heat Transfer, and his conference papers in the Journal of Applied Mechanical Engineering. Dr. Koffi has delivered invited talks at national and international conferences on Fluid Dynamics & Aerodynamics in Rome and Berlin.
Dr. Koffi is also the Director of the STEP and CSTEP STEM programs that serve 500 underrepresented and economically disadvantaged secondary and undergraduate students each year. Dr. Koffi is the recipient of multiple grant awards totaling $9 million including 6 large grants from the New York State Education Department that fund the STEP and CSTEP programs. Dr. Koffi is proud to have mentored Hostos students in 10 award-winning projects at statewide STEM research conferences.
Anna Manukyan, Associate Professor in the Natural Sciences Department
A Computational Chemist, Associate Professor Manukyan’s research and scholarly interests include structure, function, and dynamics of artificial nucleic acids and membrane proteins. She has extensive experience in algorithm and software development, computer simulation, data analysis, and processing. Professor Manukyan has published articles and has delivered state, national, and international presentations in these areas. Professor Manukyan is the author of several peer-reviewed journal articles and received fellowships and awards for her scholarship from various institutions. She has been a principal investigator on numerous grants.
Anders Jasson (AJ) Stachelek, Ed.D., Associate Professor of Mathematics and Director of Assessment
Associate Professor Stachelek earned his Ed.D. from Teachers College, Columbia University in Mathematics Education. Dr. Stachelek spent his early career researching at the classroom level, investigating best pedagogical practices in high schools (Tools for Rethinking Classroom Participation in Secondary Mathematics, NCTM Mathematics Teacher Educator, March 2018, Vol. 6, Issue 2). From there, he expanded his research into broader systems in education, specifically analyzing the impact on student completion of gateway mathematics through corequisite versus standalone developmental courses — Reforming Introductory Mathematics Education: Three Community Colleges' Routes to a Common Goal, MathAMATYC Educator.
Dr. Stachelek is currently working on expanding his knowledge of educational systems in his role as Director of Assessment, looking across departments beyond mathematics to focus on processes and systems in education. He continues to learn from his fellow colleagues and thanks all of them for their support throughout his growth at Hostos. He is grateful for his son who was born just months before he started his position at Hostos.
Lauren Wolf, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Mathematics
Associate Professor Wolf earned her Ph.D. from SUNY-Albany. Dr. Wolf researches and writes about the pedagogy of care in a “total institution” (prison). Her paper “Teaching in a Total Institution: Toward a Pedagogy of Care in Prison Classrooms,” follows her prison teaching and re-entry work. She does research with her former advisor on the non-existence of eigenvalues in the essential spectrum of toeplitz operators. She has a journal article on uniqueness results for the Riemann Hilbert problem with a vanishing coefficient. She contributed a chapter on creative methods of teaching a difficult subject. She also wrote a paper on creativity in its most subjective sense within the mathematics classroom. In 2020 she published on teaching within a community using WhatsApp. She is the faculty mentor for two student clubs: Reimagining Justice and the Math Club. The clubs hold six events a year focusing on mass incarceration, education while incarcerated, sanctuary and melting ICE, helping students find their voice through activism and more. Professor Wolf has six research students a year. Her most recent research project was on displacement due to gentrification. She is working with Inner City Tech to make STEM available to all and continues to teach in local jails and does prison re-entry fairs. This past summer she was part of the Voicing Poverty Fellowship. She combines her love of mathematics with her scholarly, pedagogical, and social justice interests.
Natasha Lorca Yannacañedo, Associate Professor and Visual and Performing Arts Unit Coordinator
Associate Professor Yannacañedo holds a Master of Fine Arts in Acting from the American Conservatory Theater. She is an actor, casting director, and director. Her work spans independent film, radio, primetime television, and infinite plays. Professor Yannacañedo is a company member of the Harlem Shakespeare Festival. She is also a proud member of the Actors' Equity Association and the Screen Actors Guild /American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG/AFTRA). For three years in a row, she was the Vice-Chair for the National Playwriting Program for the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival and was selected as an apexart International Fellow in 2018. After directing, producing, and acting in After Orlando, her article “After Orlando in the South Bronx: Creating Safe Space for Healing” was published in Theatre Topics. She particularly relished her roles as Emilia in Harlem Shakespeare Festival’s all-female cast in Othello and Magaly in The Havana Orthodoxy which played in numerous venues. Her daughter, Amara, is the light of her life. She is full of gratitude to her husband, Dane McIntosh, for his tremendous support of her as an artist and professor.
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Submitted by Acting Writing Center Director, Professor Craig Bernardini and Writing Center Faculty Advisor, Professor Victoria Muñoz
Update from The Writing Center
The Hostos Writing Center got off to the usual roaring start this semester, thanks to our amazing team of dedicated tutors, coordinators, and faculty!
Over the week of August 23 to September 7, the Writing Center held a total of five “How to College” workshops to orient students and share best practices & tips for success. Students spoke movingly about what college means to them — from career aspirations and building stable lives for themselves to even loftier goals. “College,” one student wrote, is “a brilliant opportunity to empower myself as a female.” Another wrote, “A college education means an opportunity to live a richer life. I am not talking about rich in terms of money, although that is definitely part of the equation, but rather rich in terms of choices about what your life will be like.” A third summed up the meaning of college for them as “learning how to love learning.” After this discussion, Writing Center tutors shared hands-on advice for navigating the in-person and online environments: ID cards and vaccination requirements, Blackboard and campus buildings, and the thicket of CUNY First. They also reviewed best practices for staying on top of classwork and in touch with professors, study skills, and the function of the Writing Center itself. Over the course of the week, well over 100 Hostos students were oriented along the path to success!
The Writing Center also re-launched its highly successful “Reading Meetups” program on August 31, which provides online reading discussions of great works in the humanistic tradition from the Teagle Grant-Supported Great Books program, an initiative that was founded here at Hostos. “Reading Meetups” are led by Faculty Advisor Professor Victoria Muñoz, Poet-in-Practice Sarah Key, Writing Center Manager Jenifer Vivar, and Writing Center Program Manager Shaneka Crossman. The start-of-the-term event featured a discussion of Plato's “Republic,” centered on the theme “Owning Your Learning.” The “Reading Meetup” brought in a staggering 73 attendees and yielded a robust discussion. Students learned about Plato’s famous allegory of the cave, which underscores the importance of learning as a personal journey, and forged connections with Paulo Freire's “Pedagogy of the Oppressed.”
The Writing Center is open this semester for synchronous online and e-tutoring Monday through Thursday from 12 to 8 p.m. and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sessions can be booked here: http://bit.ly/3h3m5Cj. Writing workshops, reading meetups, and other events will continue to be offered throughout the semester. Look for weekly announcements. Questions? Reach out to WritingCenterHostos@gmail.com.
We look forward to seeing you!
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Submitted by Engineering Program Coordinator Professor Yoel Rodríguez
The Hostos Joint Dual Engineering Degree Program with The City College of New York’s Grove School of Engineering – Finalist for 2021 Examples of Excelencia Award from Excelencia in Education
In 2003, President Daisy Cocco De Filippis in her role as Hostos Provost signed the JD agreement with then Provost of The City College of New York Dr. Zeev Dagan. One of the Hostos-GSoE partnership’s major achievements has been the creation of a viable pipeline from the South Bronx to leading engineering programs in four-year institutions and graduate schools. Since its inception in 2004, 293 students have graduated from the JD Engineering Degree Program at Hostos, including 55 female graduates (~19%) as of Spring 2021. Starting with two students in 2004, the JD Engineering Program grew to 227 students in Fall 2020 of which ~51% were Latino and ~35% Black. Out of those 293 students, 201 (~70%) have transferred to CCNY’s GSoE as of Fall 2021.
The JD Engineering Program offers four majors with the following enrollment as of Fall 2020:
20 Chemical (ChE), 72 Civil (CE), 77 Electrical (EE), and 58 Mechanical (ME) Engineering. Once transferred to GSoE, our JD Engineering Program students have a ~50% B.E. degree graduation rate with ~25% of them pursuing graduate studies. Nationwide, the four-year graduation rate is ~33% for B.E. degrees (ASEE, 2016). It is worth noting that over 90% of students who do not transfer to or continue at GSoE, do transfer to STEM majors at other 4-year institutions. While the JD Engineering Program is designed for students to transfer from Hostos to GSoE, our students have transferred and attained baccalaureate and graduate degrees, including Ph.D. degrees at Princeton, Stanford, Cornell, Columbia, Carnegie Mellon, UPenn, Pennsylvania State, Temple, Texas Technology, Fairleigh Dickinson University, New Jersey Institute of Technology, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, and Manhattan College.
In acknowledgment and support of these achievements, the JD Engineering Program has been recognized by the National Science Foundation (NSF) with a S-STEM award in 2019 for the “The Hostos Engineering Academic Talent (HEAT) Scholarship Program.”
Led by Principal Investigator Professor Yoel Rodríguez, with Co-Principal Investigators Professors Nieves Angulo, Clara Nieto-Wire, and Antonios Varelas, the five-year HEAT project aims to leverage the successful relationship between Hostos and GSoE to increase the number of low-income, talented students who persevere and graduate with associate and baccalaureate degrees in engineering. HEAT Scholars receive financial support for up to four years of study, including up to two years at Hostos and up to two years at the GSoE.
Individually, Hostos engineering students have had many great successes. Hostos alumna Wendy Fernández (EE) was awarded Summer Research Internships at MIT in 2016 and 2017. She just earned her M.S. in Engineering from Columbia University. In 2015, Wendy was recognized at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS), and in 2016 at the Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) for outstanding presentations in Computational Biophysics. Wendy was also the recipient of the highly competitive National Graduate Education for Minorities University Fellowship (GEM), which funds masters and doctoral engineering students.
Hostos alumnus Dane Christie (ChE) earned his Ph.D. from Princeton University in Fall 2018 with a scholarship from the NSF graduate fellowship program. Dane is now working for Materials Science at Corning Incorporated in New York. Isamar Garrido-Rodríguez (ChE) won a second-place prize at the 2014 CUNY Nobel Science Challenge, and in 2017 was selected for a paid summer internship from the Society of Chemical Industry as an SCI Scholar – American Chemical Society (ACS).
Abdoul Nignan (ME) and Dariel Arrechaga (ChE) presented their research at the CSTEP 2019 –Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program, the 2019 CUNY Research Scholars Program, and the 2019 SACNAS conference. They won “Best Poster Presentation at CSTEP.” Further, Abdoul and Dariel alongside Escarle Beato (ME) and Emilio Peña-Acevedo (CE) are co-authors of a peer-review article published in the International Journal of Molecular Science 2021.
Scarlet Martínez Cardoze (ChE), Onyinyechi Obineche (ME), Alpha Bah (EE), and Francisco Gómez-Pérez (ME), presented their research at ABRCMS 2020, where Scarlet, Alpha, and Francisco received recognition for their outstanding presentations. Luis Tejeda Ortíz (ChE) and Arly Wispe (ChE) are now working at Merck. Oluwafemi Ligan received the 2018 SCI Scholar – ACS award and also worked for Merck from 2019 to 2020 after earning her B.E. degree in ChE from GSoE in 2019. Oluwafemi is currently pursuing her Ph.D. at UPenn.
Elayne Blancas (EE) got an internship at MIT for the 2019 Summer Program in Biology and Neuroscience and won first place for her oral presentation at the CUNY Research Scholar Program Symposium in July 2019. Dejolie Christelle Mbe Foam earned a B.E. in Biomedical Engineering from GSoE, completed her M.S. degree in Software Engineering at New Jersey Institute of Technology, and is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Information Technology with a specialty in Cybersecurity, Compliance, and Assurance at Capella University.
Fatimata Kafando and Ndeye Bakhoum were awarded scholarships to pursue their B.E. in Civil Engineering and Mechanical Engineering at Texas Tech University, respectively.
Luis García (EE) earned his M.S. in Engineering in Embedded Systems at UPenn in 2019 and is currently working as a Software Engineer at Northrop Grumman in New York.
Nyomor-Da Tackie-Yarboi (EE) was recently accepted as a GEM University Fellow and will begin his dual M.S. degree in Electrical Engineering, and Engineering, Technology, Innovation, and Management at Carnegie Mellon University in January 2022. Ricky Bhola (CE) earned his M.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of New York in Winter 2020.
Luis Tejeda Ortíz (ChE) and Christian Huacón (EE) who graduated with honors from the GSoE were selected for summer internships at UC San Diego in 2018, Merck in Boston in 2019, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 2017, and the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2018, respectively.
In addition, four HEAT Scholars, Kingsley Odae (EE), Mohamed Aden (CE-EnvE), and Boinzemwende Jarmila Roxane Ouango (EE) and Oumou D. Traore (CE-EnvE), were accepted to Cornell University for bachelor’s degrees in engineering last Fall 2020 and Fall 2021, respectively. These are some of the engineering student highlights. However, each of the JD Engineering Program students and alumni has and/or are contributing with their own wonder to the program’s success.
None of these awards and achievements could have been possible without the engagement and perseverance of the engineering students, as well as the strong support provided by faculty, staff, and administration. Thank you all! The Natural Sciences and Mathematics Departments have played a crucial role in the preparation of Hostos-propelled future engineers by keeping the highest standards of excellence in education. Specifically, the JD Engineering Program faculty advisors from both departments and Karla Contreras, the Program Advising Coordinator and current Dual Degree Advisor Specialist, played a key role in building the program and guided the students to success.
The JD Engineering Program thanks all its former faculty advisors and administrators for their commitment and legacy. Today, advisement is provided by advisors from three units: Accelerated Studies in Associate Programs (ASAP), College Discovery (CD), and Student Success Coaching Unit (SSCU). Thank you to all the new advisors. The JD Engineering Program is very grateful for the continued support provided by the GSoE administration team. The JD Engineering Program is also grateful to all Hostos STEM programs. The JD Engineering Program leverages resources available via other college programs (e.g., BMI – Black Male Initiative, Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP), CRSP, CSTEP, ASAP, HEAT) and student clubs (e.g., Physics, Science, Robotics, HEAT, Engineering) and continuously offers co/extra-curricular activities including professional development workshops, seminars, and career orientations. All of these interventions are tailored to provide Hostos engineering students, a population that often lacks STEM role models at home, with a college experience that helps them develop their sense of identity and belonging to Engineering/STEM.
The JD Engineering Program has shown itself to be a unique path to improve social mobility for its underrepresented minority student population. The JD Engineering Program brings hope to its population, believes in them, and encourages them to think that “they can do it.” Collectively, we will keep working hard to ignite that hope in this often-overlooked population. They deserve the opportunity to show their full potential and succeed by granting them access to the highest educational experiences and encouragement to dream big. As Barack Obama said “The real test is not whether you avoid this failure, because you won't. It's whether you let it harden or shame you into inaction, or whether you learn from it; whether you choose to persevere." Thanks once again to all Hostos-GSoE-CUNY community who makes the success of the HCC-GSoE JD Engineering Program possible. Together we are impacting the future of STEM in the United States and the world.
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American Society for Engineering Education. (2016). Engineering by the Numbers: ASEE Retention and Time-to-Graduation Benchmarks for Undergraduate Engineering Schools, Departments and Programs. Washington, DC: Brian L. Yoder.
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Students: Every week, for the academic 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 CONTINUING EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
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CEWD Student Spotlight
Isabel Harrel
Isabel Harrel had a career in corporate retail management for over 20 years until her position was eliminated in 2019. At that moment she determined it was her opportunity for a career change.
Harrel registered for the Medical Administrative Assistant (MAA) Certificate Program, one of many programs offered virtually by CEWD.
By August 2020, Harrel completed the MAA training online and successfully passed her National Healthcare Association certification. She attributes her success in the program to her professors who she describes as, “patient, thorough and reassuring.”
Isabel Harrel landed a job at a prestigious NYC hospital.
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NEWS FROM THE DIVISION OF INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT
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Hostos Community College Foundation (Recurring notice)
15th Annual Scholarship Fund Golf Outing Classic
The Hostos Community College Foundation will host its 15th Annual Scholarship Fund Golf Outing Classic on Thursday, October 7, 2021, at Pelham Bay and Split Rock Golf Courses in the Bronx. Please visit hostosgolfouting.com. to learn more about sponsorship opportunities and to register for the much-anticipated in-person return of this beloved event.
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Alumni Relations (Recurring notice)
4th Annual Alma Matters Awards
Please mark your calendars for Thursday, November 11, 2021, when the Office of Alumni Relations will host its 4th Annual Alma Matters Awards. This year, we will honor the Hostos alumni who serve as faculty and staff at the College. Start thinking about the incredible Hostos alums in your division who deserve recognition and stay tuned for information regarding the nomination process!
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|Conversatorio: Diaspora Communities Claiming and Re (Creating) Space Through Bomba and Plena
Hostos Center for the Arts and Culture
Sunday, September 19, 2021, at 12:00 p.m.
Open to all
Stated Meeting of the College
Office of the President
Tuesday, September 21, 2021, at 3:30 p.m.
For Students, Faculty and Staff
Dr. Nasry Michelen Allied Health Lecture Series #3
Dr. Rocio Hernández, Dr. Bienvenido Fajardo and Dr. Juan Tapia Mendoza: COVID impact on Children
Office of the President
Wednesday, September 22, 2021, at 3:30 p.m.
For Students, Faculty and Staff
Evelina Antonetty Centennial Celebration Kick-Off Event -
A celebration of the life and times of Dr. Evelina Antonetty, one of the most important figures of the Puerto Rican diaspora in the United States.
Tuesday, September 28, 2021, at 11:00 a.m. at the Evelina Antonetty Park (Grand Concourse between E 146 St. and E 149 St.)
Office of the President
Open to Students, Faculty, and Staff
Velada Hostosiana-Hostos Culture Talks
An Afternoon with YA Author and Poet Steven Parlato
Office of the President
September 28 at 3:30 p.m.
For Students, Faculty and Staff
Middle States Self-Study College-Wide Open Forum
Wednesday, September 29, 2021, at 3:30 p.m.
Office of the President
For Students, Faculty and Staff
Hispanic Heritage Month
Tuesday, October 12, 2021 at 3:30 p.m.
Office of the President
For Students, Faculty and Staff
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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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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.
Find the Fall 2021 Publishing Schedule for El Semanario Hostosiano here.
Past issues of El Semanario Hostosiano/The Hostos Weekly can be found here.
Look for The Hostos Weekly each Friday.
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