COMMUNITY REPORT
ISSUE 2 | SUMMER 2022 ACADEMIC YEAR 2021–22
HCC: Celebrating Diversity and Equity “Hope” By Emily Dickinson Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul, And sings the tune without the words, And never stops at all, And sweetest in the gale is heard; And sore must be the storm That could abash the little bird That kept so many warm. I’ve heard it in the chillest land, And on the strangest sea; Yet, never, in extremity, It asked a crumb of me. It is a joy to write these brief remarks to introduce the 2021–2022 Community Report to our family and friends. I celebrate two years since I returned to Hostos. Hope and hard work have moved us forward on so many fronts and culminated in a very successful Middle States Evaluation Visit and affirmation of our accreditation. Over 100 colleagues collaborated and significant leaders from the College assumed responsibilities. Our work in transforming lives and generations of families by means of a caring, thoughtful, kind and quality education is also being recognized by the College being named as a top 10 Aspen Prize finalist, a significant honor for community colleges. Additionally, we’ve put in place multiple mechanisms to set up the Steering Committee and working group structure of the planning team for our 2023–2028 Strategic Plan, work that will culminate with the creation and implementation of our plan by Fall 2023. As I write these words, there have been a number of panel, committee, and planning meetings of the Hostos leadership team as we envision our engagement with local high schools to grow in important ways this coming academic year. In October, we will congregate at Montefiore Hospital for the first Allied Health Studies Industry Summit, focusing on nursing. The first in a biannual summit coordinated with incredible support of the Community Advisory Council leadership, chaired by Mr. Elias Alcantara and vice chaired by Dr. Nydia Edgecombe. Looking back at the past year, we take pride in the in-person celebration of commencement and the powerful stories of persistence and triumph of over 1,100 graduates, some of whom completed their entire studies during a pandemic. Mil gracias y bendiciones, Daisy Cocco De Filippis, Ph.D. President Eugenio María de Hostos Community College, CUNY
Hostos named top 10 finalist for the 2023 Aspen prize for community college excellence.