2014 Annual Gala

HOSTOS’ “THE ART OF GIVING GALA” A HUGE SUCCESS

Giving our students the best chance to achieve their dreams has become somewhat of an art form at Eugenio María de Hostos Community College.
 
It was with that spirit in mind that Hostos held the 2014 “Art of Giving Gala.” This extraordinary event on May 2 was the perfect occasion to give thanks to the people who support the College’s educational mission, while celebrating and showcasing our amazing students.
 
Hostos President Félix V. Matos Rodríguez hosted the event with Mistress of Ceremonies, María Vasallo, an Hostos student and Barnes & Noble Scholarship recipient. 
 
“You, our donors, our sponsors, our friends – you change lives, you help to make Hostos the amazing college that it is,” expressed President Matos Rodríguez.
 
While the final numbers are still being tallied, so far this wonderful event has raised $465,000 for student scholarships and programs.
 
The Art of Giving Gala celebrated several important civic leaders and members of the Hostos’ extended family who have supported the College throughout the years: Marlene Cintrón, President of The Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation, was awarded the Community Empowerment Lifetime Achievement Award; Jay Hershenson, CUNY Senior Vice Chancellor for University Relations and Secretary of the Board of Trustees of CUNY, was awarded the Education Lifetime Achievement Award; Luis A. Ubiñas, Philanthropist and Policy Advocate, was awarded the President’s Medal, the highest honor the College bestows to an individual; and Adam Weinstein, President and CEO of Phipps Houses Group, was recognized as Hostos’ Person of the Year.
 
One of the evening’s highlights was Chancellor Emeritus Matthew Goldstein’s introduction of “Jay,” prior to him receiving the Education Lifetime Achievement Award. All honorees talked about the incredible impact Hostos has had in the South Bronx and how much the College has grown since its inception in 1968.
 
Also to honor Senior Vice Chancellor Jay Hershenson, Goldstein announced he was starting the “Jay Fund.” Chancellor Emeritus Goldstein pledged the first $10,000 to this new scholarship fund aimed at assisting Hostos students who are also “DREAMers.”
 
Students played a big role at this year’s event, which featured live performances from the Hostos Repertory Company’s production of “Welcome to Arroyo’s” and readings of poems about Eugenio María de Hostos by students Nicolás Meza, Shaniqua Freeman and Abdel Salah from Professor Thelma Ithier-Sterling’s Public Speaking class. Additional presentations included the short-film, "And Suddenly A Chora,” a visual interpretation of the term, “chora,” produced by Professor Sarah Sandman and created by her Hostos Design Lab students at the Arts, Letters & Numbers festival last summer in Averill Park, New York. The final video presentation was by 2012 New York State Professor of the Year Rees Shad, about his media students participating in this year’s National Wildlife Federation’s National Convention in Baltimore.
 
Visual art students Amara Dioubate and Lee Jacob Hilado also played a prominent role at this year’s Gala. They turned the welcoming entrance hall into an art studio as they made original paintings.
 
Hostos’ Office for Institutional Advancement also implemented new and innovative fundraising projects, including an online auction to complement the live auction, in addition to a text-to-pledge campaign for a NASA educational program that will allow Hostos students to study at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) at Columbia University and NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, Alabama.
 
President Matos Rodríguez also thanked special guests including José Sánchez-Kinghorn, Chairperson of the Hostos Foundation Board and all the Board members.
 
Several CUNY family members also lent their support, including Vice Chair Philip Alfonso Berry; Trustees Rita DiMartino and Hugo Morales,  Vice Chancellor Ginger Waters, Associate Vice Chancellor Andrea Shapiro Davis, and Dean Carlos Flynn, among other University staff.  Also in attendance was President Diane B. Call of Queensborough Community College and other members of the CUNY colleges. 


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