The City University of New York is commemorating National Hispanic Heritage Month with a series of events highlighting CUNY’s historic relationship with the Latino communities of New York, defined by a mutual longstanding commitment to success.
Home to institutions that emerged from the imperative to provide high-quality, affordable higher education to underserved parts of the city, CUNY counts the most Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) in New York State —16 in all, as well as one college that is an emerging HSI — and boasts an enrollment that is nearly one-third Hispanic. CUNY’s research centers include the Center for Puerto Rican Studies (Centro) at Hunter College, the CUNY Dominican Studies Institute at The City College of New York, and the CUNY Mexican Studies Institute, at Lehman College.
“The theme for National Hispanic Heritage Month this year, ‘Esperanza: A Celebration of Hispanic Heritage and Hope,’ aptly distills CUNY’s relationship with the Latino communities of New York,” said CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez. “CUNY is home to several of the nation’s premier research centers on the Latinx experience in the United States, institutions in which Hispanic heritage and culture are preserved and contextualized and where vigorous scholarship is linked to social action. Our campuses are drivers of recovery from disaster and unprecedented challenges like COVID-19. CUNY is proud to be the leader in New York for serving Latinos in higher education and will continue to be a place of esperanza for many generations of Hispanic New Yorkers.”
CUNY campuses are drivers of recovery from disaster and unprecedented challenges like COVID-19. In the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, Hostos Community College provided shelter and other assistance to Puerto Rican families who were displaced by the devastation as hundreds of students from the CUNY Service Corps traveled to Puerto Rico to aid the recovery and 255 displaced college students from Puerto Rico attended CUNY at the in-state tuition rate.
For Hispanic Heritage Month, an annual observance that runs from September 15 to October 15, CUNY colleges are hosting an array of programs and events. Some highlights below including a screening of “In the Heights,” a poetry festival and a look at Day of the Dead traditions:
September 21
HACU/Google BOLD Information Session
Queens College, 2 p.m. – 3 p.m.
The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities and Google are co-hosting a webinar to promote available internships and full-time opportunities with Google. Students please register for the webinar and learn about the roles that Google has to offer.
September 28
Panel: Health, health care, health disparities among Latinx populations
Lehman College, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
The CUNY Institute for Health Equity (CIHE) is collaborating with CUNY’s Dominican Studies Institute, CENTRO, CUNY’s Mexican Studies Institute and Lehman’s Department of Latin American and Latino Studies to host a Speakers Series for students CUNY-wide highlighting scientists, scholars and leaders from Hispanic or Latino backgrounds at the forefront of critical research and key organizations in the U.S. All events will be virtual; please RSVP here. In this panel, Judith Aponte, associate professor at Hunter College’s School of Nursing and associate director of scientific research at CIHE, and Maria Isabel Roldós, CIHE director and an associate professor of Health Services Administration at Lehman College, lead a discussion about health disparities in Latinx communities. The panel will include researchers, providers and students.
September 30
A Trip Around Las Americas
Baruch College,12:30 p.m.
An opportunity to introduce students to the similarities and differences in the many countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. Let’s travel via Zoom and learn more about the countries’ culture, traditions, food, music and rich history. RSVP here.
October 7
Movie Screening: “In the Heights”
Queensborough Community College, 6 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Virtual showing of this year’s blockbuster film “In the Heights” from the creator of “Hamilton” and the director of “Crazy Rich Asians,” starring Anthony Ramos, Corey Hawkins, Leslie Grace, Melissa Barrera and Jimmy Smits. A post-movie conversation will be moderated by Queensborough Professor Monica Rossi Miller. Co-sponsored by the Office of Student Activities, QCC Student Government and the Foreign Language Society. Please register here
October 12
Celebration and Scholarship Award Ceremony
Hostos Community College, 3:30 p.m.
Sponsored by the office of Associate Dean of Community Relations Ana García Reyes, the ceremony will honor Dr. Ramon Tallaj, Founder and Chairman of the Board of SOMOS Community Health Care Services; Dr. Anderson Torres, President and CEO of RAIN Community Services; Journalist Ramon Mercedes, President of Prensa y Comunidad Hispana; Sarah Aponte, Chief Librarian of the CUNY Dominican Studies Institute. Student Scholarship Recipients will be announced.
Panel: Latinx Scholars and Research
Lehman College, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
(Part of Speakers Series. All events will be virtual. Please RSVP here.)
This panel, chaired by Lehman President Fernando Delgado and Dr. Juan DelaCruz, associate professor of economics and business and director of the CUNY Mexican Studies Institute, will explore the professional trajectories of Latinx scholars and how their scholarship impacts communities and populations.
October 14
Celebrating the Day of the Dead
Queensborough Community College, 5 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Join us in a virtual talk about the singularities of the Day of the Dead celebration in Puebla, Mexico, by Mexican-born Rocío Carranza-Brito, Ph.D. Candidate in Hispanic Sociolinguistics at The CUNY Graduate Center and a Research Assistant for the CUNY Initiative on Immigration and Education (CUNY-IIE) program. Co-sponsored by the Office of Student Activities, QCC Student Government and the Foreign Language Society. Please register here
October 13, 14, 15
The Americas Poetry Festival of New York 2021
City College of New York
The Americas Poetry Festival of New York 2021 celebrates its eighth edition with a hybrid format allowing for in-person and remote participation. The three-day festival celebrates the rich literary and cultural diversity of the Americas and will feature poets from the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Chile, México, Ecuador and Latinx authors from the US. The venues are City College Downtown’s Center for Worker Education; Walt Whitman Birthplace State Historic Site and Interpretive Center; Consulate of Argentina in New York; and Instituto Cervantes NY. For more information, please contact CCNY Professor Carlos Aguasaco at caguasaco@ccny.cuny.edu.
The City University of New York is the nation’s largest urban public university, a transformative engine of social mobility that is a critical component of the lifeblood of New York City. Founded in 1847 as the nation’s first free public institution of higher education, CUNY today has seven community colleges, 11 senior colleges and seven graduate or professional institutions spread across New York City’s five boroughs, serving over 260,000 undergraduate and graduate students and awarding 55,000 degrees each year. CUNY’s mix of quality and affordability propels almost six times as many low-income students into the middle class and beyond as all the Ivy League colleges combined. More than 80 percent of the University’s graduates stay in New York, contributing to all aspects of the city’s economic, civic and cultural life and diversifying the city’s workforce in every sector. CUNY’s graduates and faculty have received many prestigious honors, including 13 Nobel Prizes and 26 MacArthur “Genius” Grants. The University’s historic mission continues to this day: provide a first-rate public education to all students, regardless of means or background.
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