Hostos Community College

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Eugenio María de Hostos Community College
Other name
Hostos Community College
TypePublic community college
Established1968; 57 years ago (1968)
Parent institution
City University of New York
EndowmentUS$2.2 million
PresidentDaisy Cocco De Filippis
ProvostAndrea Fabrizio
Academic staff
499 (210 full-time faculty)
Students7,387
Address
500 Grand Concourse
,
The Bronx, New York City
,
New York
,
10451
,
United States

40°49′3″N 73°55′38″W / 40.81750°N 73.92722°W / 40.81750; -73.92722
Campusurban
LanguageEnglish and Spanish
Sporting affiliations
City University of New York Athletic Conference
MascotCaiman
Sportshostosathletics.com
Websitehostos.cuny.edu
Map

Eugenio María de Hostos Community College of The City University of New York is a public community college in the South Bronx, New York City. It is part of the City University of New York (CUNY) system and was created by an act of the Board of Higher Education in 1968 in response to demands from the Hispanic/Puerto Rican community, which was urging for the establishment of a college to serve the people of the South Bronx. At the time it opened, it was considered the only bilingual education college in the region; this policy became more limited after 1997, but the college still offers many courses in Spanish.[1][2][3][4] In 1970, the college admitted its first class of 623 students at the site of a former tire factory.[5] Several years later, the college moved to a larger site nearby at 149th Street and Grand Concourse. The college also operates a location at the prow building of the Bronx Terminal Market.[6]

The Save Hostos Movement

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It shows the crowd of people that come together to support the Save Hostos Movement, holding the Puerto Rican flag and different slogans

In October 1975, CUNY was in a fiscal crisis and the city proposed closing or merging several public institutions including Hostos, John Jay, and Richmond (which later merged with Staten Island Community College (SICC) to become the College of Staten Island).[7] In the 1975-76 school year, there were rumors that Hostos Community College might be closed. In response, a small group of professors, counselors, and students formed a committee to plan how to save the college. They mobilized a large group to save Hostos.[1] This included Gerald Meyers, a historian of New York City Politics became a professor at Hostos in 1972. Meyers was the Chapter Chair for the Save Hostos Committee, which consisted of various sub-committees. Their roles in the Save Hostos Movement included letter writing, petitioning, voter registration, and community outreach. Ramón Jiménez, was a Lawyer and professor at Hostos led the community coalition to save Hostos. Jiménez's actions to save Hostos were disruptive and militant, for instance taking over Hostos and Grand Concourse. His actions were key to successfully keeping Hostos open.[8]

Academics

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Atrium of 450 Grand Concourse, Building C
Pedestrian walkway over the Grand Concourse connecting two halves of the Hostos campus.

Hostos is the first institution of higher education on the mainland to be named after a Puerto Rican, Eugenio María de Hostos, an educator, writer, and patriot.[9] A large proportion (approximately 60 percent) of the student population is Hispanic, thus many of the courses at Hostos are offered in Spanish, and the college also provides extensive English and ESL instruction to students.

The Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture is a performing arts center contained within the college campus. It consists of a museum-grade art gallery, a 367-seat Repertory Theater, and a 900-seat Main Theater, presenting artists of national and international renown. It has been showcasing theater, dance and music artists for 33 years, with the mission "to be a cultural force in the Bronx and throughout the New York metropolitan area."

Departments and academic programs

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The college is composed of 10 different academic departments offering 27 associate-level degrees. Hostos is notable for being the first and only CUNY campus offering a degree in Game Design.[10] The campus also features a $1.05 million-dollar live recording studio, which is used by the media design programs.[11]

  • Allied Health
  • Behavioral and Social Sciences
  • Business
  • Education
  • English
  • Humanities
  • Language & Cognition
  • Library
  • Mathematics
  • Natural Sciences

Student profile

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Demographics of student body (Fall 2018)[12]
Undergraduate
American Indian & Alaskan Native 0.4%
Asian & Pacific Islander 2.2%
Black Non-Hispanic 21.2%
Hispanic 57.2%
Other/Unknown 17.6%
White Non-Hispanic 1.3%

Total student enrollment at Hostos in Fall 2018 was 7,340 predominantly full-time students.[12] Around 67% of the student population is female and about 33% male, with an average student age of 25 years old.[12]

Athletics

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Hostos Community College teams participate as a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). The Caimans are a member of the community college section of the City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC), who's the most recent new member since the 2002–03 season. Men's sports include basketball and soccer; while women's sports include basketball and volleyball. In 2020, Hostos Athletics announced their entry into the Esports league of the NJCAA starting with the 2020–2021 season.[13]

Early College Program

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Hostos Community College is affiliated with Hostos Lincoln Academy of Science, a middle school and high school with an early college program, as part of the Early College Initiative at CUNY.[14] It serves students grades 6 to 12, along with special education services.[15] The school is a collaboration between the New York City Department of Education and City University of New York.[16] High school students at the school enter the program during the summer prior to the start their tenth grade year and can earn up to 60 credits in order to graduate with a high school diploma and associates degree.[17] The school was originally located on campus, but was moved to a school building near Melrose, which is shared by a few other schools, due to spacing issues.[18]

An on-campus banner showing Eugenio María de Hostos and José Martí.

Notable faculty

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References

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  1. ^ a b Jiménez, Ramón (Spring 2003). "Hostos Community College: Battle of the Seventies" (PDF). Centro Journal. 15 (1): 98–111.
  2. ^ Lara-Bonilla, Inmaculada (2016). "Crafting a Latina/o Higher Education Rights Discourse in New York: The Founding and "Saving" of Eugenio María de Hostos Community College". New York History. 97 (2): 187–228. ISSN 0146-437X.
  3. ^ Meléndez, Edwin (2004). Communities and Workforce Development. W.E. Upjohn Institute. ISBN 978-0-88099-317-3.
  4. ^ Fishman, Joshua A. (2001-01-01). Can Threatened Languages be Saved?: Reversing Language Shift, Revisited : a 21st Century Perspective. Multilingual Matters. p. 69. ISBN 978-1-85359-492-2.
  5. ^ Kadinsky, Sergey Gracios Hostos Forgotten NY August 3, 2024
  6. ^ "Campus Map". Hostos Community College.
  7. ^ Phillips-Fein, Kim (2017). Fear city: New York's fiscal crisis and the rise of austerity politics (1st ed.). New York: Metropolitan Books. p. 245. ISBN 978-1-250-16007-2.
  8. ^ Phillips-Fein, Kim (2017). Fear city: New York's fiscal crisis and the rise of austerity politics (First ed.). New York: Metropolitan Books. p. 245. ISBN 978-1-250-16007-2.
  9. ^ "Hostos is the first college in the United States named after a Puerto Rican". Hostos Community College.
  10. ^ "Academic Programs". The City University of New York. Retrieved 2019-05-08.
  11. ^ Rocchio, Patrick (20 May 2011). "Hostos Community College opens $1.05 million recording studio". New York Post.
  12. ^ a b c "Student Profile for Fall 2018 Term" (PDF).
  13. ^ "Hostos Athletics Announces Addition of Esports for Fall 2020". Hostos Community College Athletics. August 25, 2020.
  14. ^ "Our Schools – Early College Initiative".
  15. ^ "Hostos Lincoln Academy on NYCDoE page".
  16. ^ "About Us - Hostos-Lincoln Academy of Science". www.hostoslincoln.org.
  17. ^ "Hostos Early College Initiative". Hostos Early College Initiative.
  18. ^ Lestch, Corinne (9 September 2012). "Engaging students is key to Hostos-Lincoln Science's success". New York Daily News.
  19. ^ "Hostos Community College Educator Cynthia Jones Earns National Honor As 2014 New York State Professor Of The Year". CUNY. November 20, 2014.
  20. ^ Wall, Patrick (November 29, 2012). "Bronx Media and Gaming Guru Named New York State Professor of the Year". DNAInfo. Archived from the original on 2020-06-11. Retrieved 2020-05-26.
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