A banner with the Hostos Logo and the following message:
El Semanario Hostosiano/ The Hostos Weekly. A Campus-Wide Weekly Bulleting from the Interim President Daisy Cocco De Filippis, Ph.D.
Friday, May 14, 2021 | Vol. 2 No. 16, Spring 2021 Semester 
MESSAGE FROM INTERIM PRESIDENT DAISY COCCO DE FILIPPIS
Remarks from All-College End of Semester Gathering
Tuesday, May 11, 2021
 
My Dear Colleagues and Students,

Before we begin, I’d like to ask us all to take a minute to reflect on the sad news of the recent passing of Director Isabel Li. Say a brief prayer or pause for a moment so that we share in the loss together. Thank you.

I am so happy to be here with you, to see some of you, albeit virtually, as we claim the day, the conclusion of a semester and a year that tested our best intentions and saw us navigate towards true north in the face of incredible challenges for humanity. This year we continued to operate in a mostly online environment. Our main concern was 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. We have been sharing in the Hostos Weekly/Semanario Hostosiano about our collective work, work you all have contributed. You 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. Hostos academic life and student life has been supported by multiple workshops by OAA and SDEM, discipline-based department sponsored and political engagement and debates, book discussions and faculty book presentations, Honors presentations, candid conversations, respecting diversity events, Veladas Hostosianas/Hostos Culture Talks including Black Lives Matter and Black at Hostos townhall and talks, Puerto Rican and Dominican Heritage celebrations, including the Dominican Studies International Conference, Women’s History month and a significant number of community artistic free of charge events offered by the Hostos Center for Arts and Culture and educational workshops conducted free of charge for community members by our colleagues in CEWD. This work has been supported as well by those on the ground, our generous laborers, custodial staff, IT and Instructional Technology, Conference Center and Public Safety colleagues. Thank you, mil gracias, does not begin to express the gratitude and the pride I feel in our “manos a la obra/All hands on deck” approach.

Continued generous and collegial work in the process of writing of our 10 Year Self-Study report to be submitted to Middle States in draft next semester is moving forward in an effective and timely manner, thanks to our Self-Study Steering Committee co-Chairs Professor Nelson Nuñez Rodríguez and Professor Kate Wolfe, ably supported by Assistant Dean Babette Audant and our OIERA colleagues with exemplary support from Professor Kate Lyons’ writing skills in concert with a significant number of colleagues (100+) who so willingly are serving and contributing in the Working Groups.

Planning has been also supported this year by the various reports from our OIERA colleagues on our Operational Plan and in the multiple meetings of committees designed to assess, break down the walls of silos as exemplified by the collaborations of SDEM and OAA and our Career Services Director Lisanette Rosario and DIA Development Officer Idelsa Mendez, also co-chair of a Committee Advisory Council roundtable on creating mentorships, internships and job opportunities for our students, and so much more. Additionally, as OIERA begins to assess the outcomes of our current Strategic Plan, we will be using that assessment to inform the setting of goals for the Academic Year 2021-2022 Operational Plan. 

Briefly envisioning work in support of our students this academic year, we are putting intentionality at the forefront when it comes to the students’ onboarding and continued progress from orientation, advisement, career educational opportunities tied to employment, academic programs’ mapping, transferability with special emphasis on frequent touchpoints and assessment of students’ progress. There is so much more to discuss in the coming months.

I offer a very heart-felt, de todo corazón, thank you to our wonderful students, honorably represented by a very kind and talented SGA leadership, to be recognized in the person of our very own Brian Carter. Students have risen from the challenges, and the disappointments of not being able to hold so many expected activities and celebrations, to think of one another and to chart a course of generosity and creativity by means of a number of online activities, encouraging classmates to practice healthy habits, maintain serenity and speak out for social justice. Bravi! Congratulations, enhorabuena, auguri and so much more to our graduating SGA leaders. We celebrate you and all of our students as we also encourage and support the next phase of your journey. 

The faculty, staff and administration have shown their mettle, in so many incredibly generous ways. Academic Affairs has worked so diligently. Acting Provost Charles Drago has kept the academic side moving forward in collaborative ways, including working on the design of new two + two opportunities for our students, academic program reviews, evaluations of life experience and other prior knowledge for college credit and many other initiatives. The College-wide Senate, ably guided by Professor Ernest Ialongo stayed focused on moving curriculum and programs forward and on staying engaged in the life of the College, contributing collegially to our commitment to students and one another. All of us, just think of our collective work, consider what it takes to support students during a pandemic in a generous and sound educational environment that will be evident when we grant more than 1189 awards at Commencement this year. Bendiciones!

The presentations this afternoon by colleagues, including updates from the SGA and College-wide Senate, Administration and Finance, Academic Affairs and Student Development and Enrollment Management will encourage us to recognize how each of us did our part this semester, and take lessons learned to integrate to the work that there is still to be done. 

Reports from Senior Vice President Rodríguez-Chardavoyne indicate that we will finish academic year 2020-2021 in the black, numbers will be confirmed in November. She will elaborate more on our budget later on in the program. We owe SVP Rodriguez Chardavoyne a debt of gratitude for her excellent work and dedication, assuming the responsibility of two divisions, at a time of powerful personal loss. Out of her sense of care for all, the John Chardavoyne Endowed Scholarship was established. Mil gracias, bendiciones. Dedication to Hostos and our students does not get any better. SVP’s oversight of SDEM has been supported generously by a number of colleagues. I offer sincere words of appreciation for our colleagues in SDEM, recognized this afternoon in the persons of Assistant Dean Johanna Gómez and Director Fabian Wander.

We have digital commencement to look forward to on May 28 at 2:00 PM and another year of successful completions, as we consider the drop in enrollment this year. It took tremendous perseverance, determination, grit on the part of students, faculty and staff, and yes, it deserves to be said again. At this moment Mr. Primak reports to our Commencement Committee that 1,189 students will receive awards, and that potentially the number could be higher. Final numbers to be submitted by August 1. Again, congratulations, well done, wonderful persistence, perseverance and triumph of the spirit, the intellect and the heart.

This commencement we will be honoring our Valedictorian Ishrat Zahan and Salutatorian Taisiia Smekalenkova. An Honorary Associate Degree in Humane Letters will be presented to former Congressman Jose E. Serrano, for his exemplary support of Hostos Community College for many decades. Presidential Medals in recognition of generous and effective college and community service will be presented to our student Maya Joy Abdousala, Professor Nelson Nuñez Rodríguez, Professor Kate Wolfe, Director Frank Virone and community member Dr. Rafael Lantigua. Congratulations to all, outstanding!

This afternoon recognitions will be presented by divisional leaders to eight colleagues* who have served Eugenio María de Hostos Community College with dedication and distinction for 40 or more years, supporting Hostos’ ongoing struggle, persistence and determination to provide the South Bronx with quality, affordable education. These colleagues are: Prof. Linda Hirsch, English, 46 years; Prof. Nieves Aguilera, Nursing, 46 years; Prof. Lewis Levine, Language and Cognition, 43 years; Prof. Cynthia Jones, English, 43 years; Prof. Mildred Rabry, Language and Cognition, 43 years; Prof. Norma Peña de Llorenz, Language and Cognition, 42 years; Prof. Alida Pastoriza, Dental Hygiene, 40 years; Mr José Santana, IT, 40 years. We will be presenting our colleagues with tokens of appreciation in the form of a framed certificate and a book by Eduardo Galeano. Recipients may select an English or Spanish version The Book of Embraces or El libro de los abrazos. Felicitaciones, mil gracias y bendiciones.

(*This paragraph has been revised based on new information received.)

A special thank you to Chairman Jose Sánchez Kinghorn and all the members of the Hostos Foundation for your generous and constant support of our students. A special thank you as well to Acting Dean Susan Pinamonti, for a successful fundraising year that saw the Division of Institutional Advancement exceed goals by 15%. I offer a special thank you to Associate Dean Ana García Reyes for her development work over the years with the Nasry Michelen Foundation that culminated this year with the establishment of the Dr. Nasry Michelen Endowed Scholarship for students in Allied Health and Public Health. The commitment of the Michelen Foundation also extended to bringing in partnership with Hostos “The Dr. Nasry Michelen Allied Health Lecture Series,” offering this past semester two important lectures: one on mental health during the pandemic and the other on our senior population in the pandemic. A special note of appreciation for Prof. Yoel Rodríguez’s leadership and contributions as co-chair of the Committee on Sponsored Programs and Grants, and his exemplary role in encouraging and supporting a culture of grants’ writing and research in our faculty and staff.

For their continued support and care, I thank members of the President’s Extended Cabinet as well as my very supportive staff in the President’s Office, Victor Santana and Estel Ortega Frederick. I must offer a very special thank you to Cabinet member and Director of the President’s Office Diana Kreymer for her incredible work ethic and her generous support of all of our work. Obrigada.

Dear colleagues and students, as you have experienced and I have tried to capture in words, this is a powerful time for us: rising to significant challenges and achieving meaningful results. This is also a time that requires commitment, patience and an open and creative mind, as challenges and innovative responses to challenges are a critical part of what it takes to live a reflective and engaged professional life. We are managing at this time in an ever -evolving landscape of planning opportunities to overcome the pandemic and to restore and re-create a college experience for our students, support for our communities and the growth of the college in a safe environment, following all guidelines provided by the CDC, the State of New York and CUNY Central Administration. As I write these words I just received the news of Governor Cuomo’s announcement of a vaccination requirement for SUNY and CUNY students attending classes on the ground in the fall. We continue to plan in an ever-evolving landscape in preparation for our post-pandemic vitality, mindful, always, of everyone’s health and safety.

When I addressed the Hostos Community Advisory Council this past March, as we assessed progress in our goal to strengthen community connections and create opportunities for our students by working with each other and envisioning new projects, I reflected 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. I close my welcome remarks this afternoon by sharing that brief excerpt from Neruda’s speech, words some of you have heard me read 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.
Interim President
Eugenio María de Hostos Community College, CUNY
A POEM
The Creation Story
Joy Harjo
 
I’m not afraid of love
or its consequence of light.
 
It’s not easy to say this
or anything when my entrails
dangle between paradise
and fear.
 
I am ashamed
I never had the words
to carry a friend from her death
to the stars
correctly.
 
Or the words to keep
my people safe
from drought
or gunshot.
 
The stars who were created by words
are circling over this house
formed of calcium, of blood
 
this house
in danger of being torn apart
by stones of fear.
 
If these words can do anything
if these songs can do anything
I say bless this house
with stars.
 
Transfix us with love.

About the Poet Laureate
Joy Harjo is an internationally renowned performer and writer of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. She is serving her second term as the 23rd Poet Laureate of the United States.

The author of nine books of poetry, including the highly acclaimed An American Sunrise, several plays and children's books, and two memoirs, Crazy Brave and Poet Warrior: A Call for Love and Justice, her many honors include the Ruth Lily Prize for Lifetime Achievement from the Poetry Foundation, the Academy of American Poets Wallace Stevens Award, two NEA fellowships, and a Guggenheim Fellowship. As a musician and performer, Harjo has produced seven award-winning music albums including her newest, I Pray for My Enemies. She is Exec­u­tive Edi­tor of the anthol­o­gy When the Light of the World was Sub­dued, Our Songs Came Through — A Nor­ton Anthol­o­gy of Native Nations Poet­ry and the editor of Living Nations, Living Words: An Anthology of First Peoples Poetry, the companion anthology to her signature Poet Laureate project. She is a chancellor of the Academy of American Poets, Board of Directors Chair of the Native Arts & Cultures Foundation, and holds a Tulsa Artist Fellowship. She lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
REFLECTIONS ON THE PASSING OF ISABEL LI
WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM A REAL EDUCATOR
(Rev.) Jim Francis Sheehan, Campus Ministry

We are all shocked at the sudden passing of this peppy and dedicated Director of the HALC Center. What are the memories that we have of this energetic person? co-worker, and believer in the minds and capacity of the students? Mine is her rushing unannounced into my office, sitting for a few moments, and thanking me for what my office and myself provides to the college community. I honestly thought it was a pre-retirement speech– something one says so as to leave a good taste in the recipient’s memory! It wasn’t – as it was said two years ago -- well before her death. What I learned from this “Thank you” is we ALL need encouragement. We also need to express gratitude for each person who does yeomen work in a community college serving economically and socially challenged students. COVID truly has exacerbated our isolation and probably frustration of pushing the rock up the hill with Sisyphus and our peers. Thank YOU very much, Isabel Li, for teaching us that it is possible to express “Thank you/gracias!” outside the formal ceremonies.
MIDDLE STATES SELF-STUDY UPDATE
Submitted by MSCHE Steering Committee Co-Chairs Professor Kate S. Wolfe and Professor Nelson Nuñez-Rodríguez and Professor Linda Miles

Equity through Open Pedagogy
 
The sustained framework created by the Hostos Library to encourage the use of Open Educational Resources (OER) supports the fulfillment of the student-centered 2017-2022 Hostos strategic plan, A Bridge to Student Success. This library initiative also supports efforts to increase access to higher education, which represents one of Hostos’ mission pillars. Under the guidance of Prof. Madeline Ford and Prof. Linda Miles, several Hostos academic departments, such as Education (DiSanto et al., 2019), have been implementing the use of these resources with the ultimate goal of increasing student learning, in alignment with our mission (Standard I: Mission and Goals).
 
The Library’s OER initiative also represents an opportunity to foster equity. The institution’s compliance with accreditation Standard II (Ethics and Integrity) requires Hostos to demonstrate the existence of programs that promote affordability and accessibility. The creation and sharing of knowledge fostered by the OER initiative contributes to the battle against educational inequality in that it provides Hostos students with low- or no-cost access to the educational materials they need to complete their coursework. The OER initiative enhances students’ social mobility by helping to make higher education more accessible. As Biswas-Diener and Jhangiani (2017) state, formal education is probably the most powerful way to redefine the possibilities of human experiences.
 
The OER initiative also impacts student engagement and curriculum design. Anecdotal data suggests that many Hostos students fail to purchase their textbooks until late in the semester or, in some cases, fail to access the textbook at all during the semester due to prohibitive costs. Students taking classes that utilize materials developed through the OER initiative are provided access to the textbook and course materials even before the first day of classes. The OER process implemented by the Hostos library enriches curriculum possibilities by encouraging the design of more engaging, locally relevant, interactive, and effective teaching resources (Biswas-Diener and Jhangiani, 2017). Furthermore, this program also stimulates faculty members to integrate their curriculum revision, scholarship, and service efforts by securing grants related to OER, and developing new materials and publishing on the outcomes of these efforts. For example, a published account of the collaboration between Hostos’ Early Childhood Education program and the Hostos Library demonstrates the ability of Prof. DiSanto, Prof. Cummings-Clay, Prof. Mitchell, and Prof Ford to elevate and transform the OER effort into scholarship (DiSanto et al, 2019). Course instructors who participate in the program are paired with library faculty; they collaborate to review course objectives and locate openly-licensed materials for adoption or adaptation. One particularly effective adaptation project was taken on by Prof. A. J. Stachelek, who transformed examples of story-based problems into an openly-licensed statistics textbook to local contexts that would be more familiar to Hostos students. All of these factors contribute to Hostos’ compliance with Standard III (Design and Delivery of Student Experience) and Standard IV (Support of Student Experience).
 
The Hostos Library effort impacts both student learning and faculty teaching. The training they provide for participating faculty supports the understanding of the OER “5R” activities (Biswas-Diener and Jhangiani, 2017): 1) Retain (the right to make, own, and control copies of the content), 2) Reuse (the right to use the content in a wide range of ways), 3) Revise (the right to adapt, adjust, modify, or alter the content itself), 4) Remix (the right to combine the original or revised content with other open content to create something new), and 5) Redistribute (the right to share copies of the original content, your revisions, or your remixes with others). Through OER work, faculty revise their course offerings and open new knowledge avenues to students, principles that reside at the core of our mission to increase both access to higher education and social mobility for the student population we serve. The self-study report is also an opportunity to look back and reflect on our growth as an institution. The outstanding work of the library in fostering OER is also a part of this institutional maturity.
 
References
Biswas-Diener, R., & Jhangiani, R S. (2017). Introduction to Open. In R. S. Jhangiani & R. Biswas-Diener (Eds.) Open: The philosophy and practices that are revolutionizing education and science (pp. 3–7). Ubiquity Press: London, UK. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/bbc.a.
 
DiSanto, J. M., Cummings-Clay, D., Mitchell, S., & Ford M. (2019). Beyond saving money: Engaging multiple stakeholders is a key to OER success. The International Journal of Open Educational Resources, 2 (1). Retrieved from https://www.ijoer.org/beyond-saving-money-engaging-multiple-stakeholders-is-a-key-to-oer-success-doi10-18278-ijoer-2-1-14/ on May 3rd, 2021.
INSTITUTIONAL EFFECTIVENESS
Submitted by Director of Assessment, AJ Stachelek, Ed.D.

Reaching New Heights: Academic Degree and General Education Program Assessment 
 
Throughout this past academic year, the Academic Assessment Task Force and the General Education Assessment Task Force have put forth tremendous efforts to systematize the assessment process on all academic fronts. I am so grateful to have such amazing team players, who met with me consistently all semester and worked tirelessly to yield tremendous gains in assessment!

The Academic Assessment Task Force is comprised of Professors Marcella Bencivenni, Catherine Lewis, and Yoel Rodriguez, Acting Assistant Dean Olen Dias, and Senior Director Piotr Kocik. Since Fall 2020, these colleagues have reimagined the Annual Planning and Assessment Report Template (APART) and defined six clear and consistent goals that span all academic departments, better aligning and clarifying the process for department chairs, unit coordinators, and program coordinators. With one-on-one meetings, reviews of the draft of APART templates, and reflecting on how to utilize APART in the Academic Review Process (APR), the members of this task force consistently worked on improving the assessment experience for all those involved in this process. Beyond the substantial effort put in by this team, none of this work would have been possible without the incredible commitment from all faculty involved in this assessment process, especially those in the roles mentioned above. I thank all of you for your hard work on adapting to new processes and embracing this new format by actively engaging in the learning around academic program assessment! 

The General Education Assessment Task Force is comprised of Professors Jacqueline DiSanto and Sarah Hoiland, Associate Dean Ann Mester, and Senior Director Piotr Kocik. Since Fall 2020, these colleagues have reimagined the General Education Pathways assessment process. By providing a clear assessment schedule cycling through learning outcomes in specific Pathways “buckets” and developing a format to report the results of this assessment, this team has already supported faculty across different departments in a combined analysis of outcomes across three “buckets” already! Beyond the substantial effort put in by this team, none of this work would have been possible without the incredible commitment of Professors Andrea Fabrizio, Clarence Robertson, Heidi Bollinger, Jason Buchanan, and Carl Grindley of the English department, Professors Nieves Angulo and James Kennis of the Mathematics department, and Professors Alisa Roost and Maria Subert of the Humanities department. I thank all of you for your hard work on adapting to new processes and embracing this new format by actively engaging in the learning around general education assessment! 

In closing, I also wish to thank those faculty contributing to this work through the assessment within their courses as well. Assessment is integral to student learning, and we will continue to improve and enhance our offerings each academic year as each of us do APART!

I cannot wait to work with these amazing faculty members again, and new faculty as well, in Fall 2021! 
POLICY OF THE WEEK
Submitted by Executive Counsel & Labor Designee Eugene Sohn, Esq.

The City University of New York Policy on Acceptable Use of Computer Resources

I. INTRODUCTION CUNY’s computer resources are dedicated to the support of the University’s mission of education, research and public service. In furtherance of this mission, CUNY respects, upholds and endeavors to safeguard the principles of academic freedom, freedom of expression and freedom of inquiry.

To learn more about the CUNY Computer Use Policy access this link.
GOVERNMENTAL AND EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
Submitted by Eric Radezky, Ph.D., Director of Governmental and External Affairs

Consider Donating Blood – New York City Suffering from Dangerously Low Supply
 
The New York Blood Center (NYBC) has announced a blood shortage emergency. Supplies have dropped below the required minimum of a seven-to-nine-day supply, indicating a critically low level. NYBC is encouraging people of all blood types to donate, especially people with O-negative or B-negative blood types. O-negative is extremely important because it is the “universal donor” blood type and is used in emergency rooms because it can be safely transfused to all patients. 
 
The blood shortage comes at a bad time because the summer months from Memorial Day to Labor Day are the time of year when people are least likely to donate. About one in seven people admitted to a hospital needs a transfusion, including cancer patients, accident, burn and trauma victims, newborn babies and their mothers, transplant recipients, surgery patients, and people who have chronic conditions such as sickle cell disease and thalassemia. The “shelf life” of donated blood is only 42 days, and blood platelets only last for five days. That is why supplies constantly need to be replenished. 
 
Donating blood is easy and only takes about an hour. Find a donor location here. Most healthy adults are eligible to donate and the city’s blood supply relies exclusively on the generosity of volunteer blood donors. You may donate if you are at least 17 years old (16 years old with written consent from parent or legal guardian), weigh at least 110 pounds, and are in good health. Donors over age 76 must have a letter from a physician. Please bring a photo ID, eat well and drink plenty of fluids before donating. 
 
Contact NYBC at 1-800-933-2566 or visit www.nybc.org for more information.
HOSTOS REOPENING UPDATE: WEEK OF MAY 10, 2021
Submitted by Esther Rodríguez-Chardavoyne, Senior Vice President of Administration and Finance and Interim Vice President of Student Development and Enrollment Management 

Campus Reopening: Frequently Asked Questions

We recognize that many members of our campus community still have questions about reopening, and people are often wondering about the same things. It’s important to us that everyone has accessible information as we prepare for Fall 2021. Starting with this week, we’ll be sharing a few frequently asked questions (FAQs) here.

You can also learn about what we’re doing to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in campus buildings through the Hostos “Ready” page. Details shared under COVID-19: Protecting Our Community on Campusare updated as they change. FAQs will also be posted on our website.

If there are details you would like to see included on our website, let us know so we can consider adding them! Please send feedback to our COVID-19 Communications email address (covid19@hostos.cuny.edu).

This week’s FAQs: Testing & Vaccines

Question: I heard CUNY will have mandatory COVID-19 testing for people who are unvaccinated or do not share proof of vaccination. How will that work?

Answer:
The University is currently determining the specific operational details for COVID-19 testing on CUNY campuses this fall. We will share this information with the college community once Central Office provides it to us.

Question: Will vaccines be required?

Answer:
Students: Vaccines will be required for students who come on campus beginning Fall 2021. However, we are waiting for details from CUNY Central Office. This mandate was announced on May 10 by Governor Cuomo: “All SUNY and CUNY schools will require vaccinations for all in-person students beginning Fall 2021. This requirement is subject to the FDA providing a full approval for the vaccine, beyond the current emergency use authorization.” (Source: NYS Coronavirus Update email dated May 10, 2021.)

Faculty and staff: We are waiting to hear information about vaccination requirements for employees. We will share this information with the college community once Central Office provides it to us or an announcement is made by the Governor of New York.
REPORT ON THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COUNCIL’S ROUNDTABLE SESSION
Submitted by Acting Dean of Institutional Advancement Susan Pinamonti

Fostering Collaborations between Hostos Departments and Corporate Partners

On May 6, 2021, the Hostos Community Advisory Council hosted its fourth virtual roundtable discussion to explore issues around fostering collaborations between the College and corporations. This session was co-moderated by Acting Dean of Institutional Advancement Susan Pinamonti and Barretto Bay Strategies’ Principal Paul Lipson. We thank all of the leaders who participated in this session and extend our gratitude and appreciation to Paul Lipson for sharing his expertise and insights with us.

Thirteen leaders from Hostos and the community participated in this discussion. Attendees were presented with a variety of hypothetical collaboration scenarios and were asked to select and justify those opportunities which they felt would be beneficial to the College community. Each of the hypothetical scenarios elicited provocative viewpoints. Attendees spoke about issues such as being a good citizen of the Borough, leveraging institutional standing, creating strategic alignments, exploring corporate sector trajectories, and negotiating for meaningful impact. They also spoke about community reinvestment, institutional capacity, assessment, and more. Consensus was elusive, as this exercise demonstrated that collaborative partnerships are not one dimensional, nor or they purely transactional. It also elucidated the many considerations that need to be carefully weighed when entering into partnerships, for the sake of both parties.

Participants acknowledged the numerous beneficial opportunities that corporate partnerships can facilitate for students, internal constituents and community members. Examples of these included financial contributions, in-kind donations, pro bono services, student mentorships, paid internships, job placements, and experiential opportunities. Attendees also spoke about corporate entities benefitting from the College’s community standing, its talent pool, promotional opportunities and more. It’s a win-win, right? Well, yes, it certainly can be…when values align.

Partnerships often have transactional components, but truly impactful institutional partnerships require more. They require looking at the big picture and asking questions around reputation, impact and longevity. They require looking at issues around branding, industry prospects, capacity and scale. But the takeaway from this roundtable discussion was that the most important requirement is values alignment. On this one point, all attendees concurred.

Though there is no one size fits all approach, Hostos can further collaborative corporate partnerships by first exploring values alignment. We will identify one or two sectors with a prominent community presence and broker discussions with one or two corporate entities from each sector. Sector identification will be informed by environmental scanning. Conversations will be centered around creating impactful opportunities for students that align with their areas of academic concentration, such as mentorships, paid internships, and job placements, and the value that these arrangements will add to corporate productivity, culture and community standing. Though some of the particular details differ, similar themes emerged from other Community Advisory Council roundtable sessions. Identifying these commonalities between groups will help to further strengthen a strategic, cohesive and values-driven institutional approach.
NEWS FROM THE OFFICE OF ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
Spotlight on Our Hostos Faculty
 
The Office of Academic Affairs congratulates Professor Tram Nguyen from the English Department and Professor Moise Koffi from the Mathematics Department. They have been selected by CUNY Central to serve as CUNY Mindset Fellows in May-June 2021. They along with four other Mindset Fellows were selected based on their great contributions in the Motivating Learners Course in January, and we expect them to continue to be leaders on their campuses and CUNY to promote growth mindset, purpose and relevance, and sense of belonging. Professors Nguyen and Koffi belong to the second cohort of CUNY Mindset Fellows, whose primary tasks are to design and lead the kick-off event of the mindset mini-course on June 11, 2021 and facilitate discussions among the course participants through June 24.
Honoring Our Hostos Student Scholars on May 25, 2021 at 6 p.m.
 
The Senate Scholarship and Awards Committee (SSAC) and the Office of Academic Affairs will host the 37th annual Honors Convocation virtually on the Hostos YouTube channel and is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Tuesday, May 25. The virtual ceremony will include remarks from the Interim President and Acting Provost. The ceremony honors the valedictorian, salutatorian, Scholastic Achievement students (students graduating with cumulative 3.7 GPA or higher), Dean’s List students, General Academic Excellence Fund recipients, as well as departmental and special program award recipients. Participating in this event is an amazing way to support and congratulate our highest achieving Hostos students. We look forward to celebrating and honoring our Hostos student scholars! The Hostos YouTube channel link will become available on May 25 on the link below. Last year was the first ever virtual Convocation. The ceremony video producer is Ms. Rocio Rayo, program coordinator for Hostos Lincoln Academy in the Office of School College Partnerships. Last year’s ceremony is accessible here.
NEWS FROM THE DIVISION OF STUDENT DEVELOPMENT AND ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENT
Hostos Community College To Celebrate 2021 Graduating Class With Digital Commencement Ceremony (Recurring notice)
 
Graduation Information
All are welcome to join the Hostos Community College 2021 digital commencement ceremony on Friday, May 28, 2021. at 2 p.m. on Hostos’ YouTube.
NEWS FROM THE DIVISION OF CONTINUING EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
The Division of Continuing Education and Workforce Development (CEWD) was awarded $193,000 from New York City’s Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) to continue the Train and Earn Career Pathways Program. CEWD has been piloting and testing a comprehensive model inclusive of student support, career and transition to employment, as well as other college services, while completing an occupational training course. The DYCD Train and Earn Career Pathways Program is a psycho-educational model focused on transition planning and creating stepping stone pathways that pave the way to college and/or employment for the nontraditional emerging adult, 18 to 29 years old. Up to thirty-six (36) students will participate in our Intro to Careers in Healthcare Seminar, a bridge to the occupational training courses available to all students in CEWD.

“We are thrilled to continue our partnership with DYCD,” expressed Evelyn Fernández-Ketcham, Executive Director of Workforce Development. “For over six years now DYCD has supported Hostos in the development and carrying out of a service model that helps emerging adults secure an industry recognized credential and the potential to transition to college.”

For more information on the Train and Earn Career Pathways Program as well as other free educational opportunities available through CEWD, please visit: https://www.hostos.cuny.edu/Administrative-Offices/Division-of-Continuing-Education-Workforce-Develop/Workforce-Development/No-Cost-Programs
NEWS FROM THE DIVISION OF INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT
Support the Hostos 20.21 Class Campaign and Student Success

The Hostos 20.21 Class Campaign, culminating at the College’s Spring Commencement Ceremony in May 2021, invites you to celebrate our newest graduates while enabling student success. Gifts of $20.21 or more will make a significant, collective impact on our students, helping them to persist and earn their degrees. Hostos equips its students to carve their own pathways and launch their futures – and now the next generation of Caimans is preparing to soon go forth and achieve their goals.

Support the Hostos 20.21 Class Campaign, our growing alumni family, and student success by making your $20.21 gift today!

BRAVO NEWS
Hostos student and Kaplan Scholar Boinzemwende Jarmila Roxane Ouango will serve as a summer intern at the Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, NY. The internship is made possible by the U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) which recently contributed $17.3 million to fund internship and research projects and to provide access to DOE’s National Laboratories.
 
Ms. Ouango’s field of research will be Engineering Technology.
 
The DOE funding provides internships for 804 undergraduate and 90 community college students, 20 percent of whom come from minority-serving institutions like Hostos, via the Community College Internships (CCI) program. CCI seeks to encourage community college students to enter technical careers by furnishing technical training experiences at DOE laboratories.
 
In December 2020 Ms. Ouango was one of three Hostos students chosen to receive Kaplan Scholarships. The Kaplan Educational Foundation seeks to eliminate barriers to education for overlooked and underserved students and develop them as leaders for the American workforce and their communities. 
 
Congratulations to Ms. Ouango!
VIRTUAL EVENTS
Office of Educational Technology (Recurring Notice) 
EdTech has developed a series of workshops which offer resources to help students familiarize themselves with Blackboard and other technologies used for online learning. To enroll for an instructor-led online workshops, click here.

The 51st Virtual Dental Hygiene Pinning and Candle Lighting Ceremony
Monday, May 24, 2021 at 10 a.m.

Honors Convocation | Save the Date
May 25, 2021| 6 p.m. | Hostos' YouTube channel 

Spring 2021 Commencement Ceremony
Office of the President | Friday, May 28 | 2 p.m.
Live streamed on via the Hostos YouTube channel

Virtual Career Fair for Recent Graduates
Career Services Office | Wednesday, June 9 | 12-4 p.m.
Meet employers with internships and job opportunities. Connect individually or in a group live video chat.
ABOUT EL SEMANARIO HOSTOSIANO/THE HOSTOS WEEKLY
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.
Next week’s release will be our last for Academic Year 2020/2021.
We thank you for the generous support of over 30 weekly bulletins.
For inclusion in the Hostos Weekly, please send your items to:
publicrelations@hostos.cuny.edu at least two weeks ahead of publication.
Please keep submissions to no more than two paragraphs of written content and note,
we are unable to add attachments to our publication.
 
Look for the Hostos Weekly each Friday.

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Office of the President | Office of Communications | 718-518-4300 | publicrelations@hostos.cuny.edu