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By Sandra Guzman
Felix Matos Rodríguez, a native of Puerto Rico, will become the first person of color to lead the University of New York City in a 172-year career when he takes office Wednesday.
Matos Rodríguez has been nationally recognized for significantly improving the retention and completion rate of college education at institutions he has previously headed. He is currently President of Queens College, part of CUNY, the largest urban public university system in the country.
"A historic first is a combination of two feelings, one is a source of incredible pride, a collective pride," Matos Rodríguez told NBC News. "Another is the incredible pressure you always have, you want to do it right for the right reasons, [as] a professional but also for the community you represent. "
Founded in 1847, CUNY resembles a sprawling planetary village. It has 25 campuses spread across the five boroughs of New York City and has 275,000 students. Thirty-five percent of the students were born outside the United States; nearly 40% speak one of 174 languages; and their families come from more than 200 countries.
"This is a very significant appointment, I can not think of any other responsible for Hispanic education responsible for such a large system," said Antonio R. Flores, executive director of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities. "His name has national implications – for students, faculty, staff, and the community at large."
In addition to its size, CUNY has always served as an educational gateway to the middle class for non-privileged students; it was called the poor man's Harvard. And at a time when university costs are skyrocketing across the country, it's still its main mission.
"I challenge anyone to beat high quality university education with the affordability afforded by CUNY," urged Matos Rodríguez, also highlighting the obstacles facing enrollees.
"If we do not retain the students, they will not graduate," he said. "We saw the difference of having support."
Two years ago, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a program offering New York students free classes at municipal or state universities if their families earn less than $ 125,000 a year and if students complete certain programs. conditions. Currently, about 60% of CUNY students receive free national and federal financial assistance and tax credits.
Stimulate the completion of university studies, diversity
Even with tuition assistance, college completion is not easy for students who need to balance school with full-time jobs and their families. Nearly half of CUNY's students come from households earning less than $ 20,000.
One of the goals of Matos Rodriguez is to ensure that enrolled students stay in school. This is especially important for color students; only 20% of Latinos in the labor force hold a bachelor's degree, compared with 40% of non-Latino whites.
It was his mission for five years at Queens College. Under his leadership, several studies revealed that Queens College was one of the best colleges to lift students out of poverty – from fifth to last fifth of the country's income distribution. In 2018, The Chronicle of Higher Education ranked the school 11th among US universities in terms of bottom-up social and economic mobility.
Previously, as president of Hostos Community College in the Bronx, Matos Rodríguez had increased retention rates in colleges from 57% to 68% in the predominantly Latino institution and doubled fundraising efforts.
It has also increased diversity. During his tenure at Queens College, 48% of recruited teachers came from under-served communities and half of his cabinet members are now people of color.
These figures are more reflective of CUNY students: Latinos represent nearly 24%, Blacks 26% and Asians / Pacific Islanders 20% of students.
Matos Rodríguez plans to scale up the ASAP (Accelerated Study in Associate Programs), a nationally recognized program, which has seen more than half of students enrolled in associate degrees graduate in three years. The program assists students in all areas, from free transportation to mentoring and peer groups.
"When they have a community where they can talk about the stress of school, a place that helps them overcome difficulties and a little money to get to school, it goes a long way," did he declare.
A scholarly trajectory
The married father of two teenagers was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico. An only child, he has described himself as a passionate reader and a history buff surrounded by strong and intelligent women. Her paternal grandmother, Margarita Castro, was a teacher and the first in her family to earn a university degree. his mother also studied to become a teacher.
Matos Rodríguez earned a degree in Latin American Studies with Distinction from Yale University. He then obtained his PhD in History from Columbia University.
Awarded researcher on the history of women in the Caribbean, he wrote "Women and Urban Life in the Nineteenth Century in San Juan, PR 1820-1862" and has published several books, including "A Nation of Women: A Primitive feminist expresses, "About Luisa Capetillo, Puerto Rican rebellious feminist thinker, arrested in Cuba for wearing pants in 1915.
After teaching at Northeastern University, Boston College and the Universidad InterAmericana in Puerto Rico, he was recruited in 2000 to head the Puerto Rican Studies Center at Hunter College, part of CUNY. He also became a tenured professor in the Department of Studies on Blacks and Puerto Ricans / Latinos.
"What most people do not think is that I have worked in three of the five boroughs (in New York) and that our campuses play an important role as institutions of the world." And anchoring in the communities where they are, "he explained. "I've added this perspective to the role that CUNY has in the city."
He also served as cabinet secretary of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Family Services Department from 2006 to 2008, administering a $ 2 billion budget.
"It allows me to understand some of the families we serve among students," he said.
A 'chancident & # 39;
Matos Rodríguez jokes that for the month of May, he will be the only educator in the country to wear the unique title of chancident – chancellor and president.
Queens College students gave him this humorous nickname after insisting on the CUNY board of directors to allow him to finish his term as president of the college until the end of the graduation ceremony of the college. Queens College.
"The beginning is the most important ceremony, the most beautiful, the most beautiful and the most inspiring of all university campuses," he said. "It's the only time we all come together as a community – family, loved ones, students and stakeholders – to celebrate what the students have accomplished. I would never miss graduation for anything in the world. "
Build on an inheritance
Matos Rodríguez takes command of a gigantic system including many stakeholders, including unions, students, staff, faculty, as well as the Mayor of New York City and the Governor of the State . He is facing a teachers' union advocating for higher salaries for adjunct professors, as well as aging infrastructure and reduced public funds.
The supporters of the new Chancellor are convinced that he will be able to juggle with the different entities.
"Dr. Matos Rodríguez is an innovator who has held key positions as a professor and president of community and senior colleges and maintains relationships in the political, philanthropic and corporate fields, which are essential to the extent that public universities support them. more and more about public and private partnerships. "" Said Lorraine Cortez-Vazquez, CUNY Board Member and Senior Advisor to New York City Mayor Bill DiBlasio.
The demographics of the city have changed, CUNY too. Nine of its colleges, for example, are institutions serving Hispanics, which means that over a quarter of the student population is Latino.
But the story of the representation of communities of color among the student body and CUNY staff is long and loaded.
During the 1960s and 1970s, advocates in Puerto Rico regularly sought access to higher education opportunities for South Bronx residents. Their calls resulted in the opening of Hostos Community College, named after the Puerto Rican intellectual, educator and revolutionary Eugenio Maria de Hostos.
When the two-year community college opened in 1970, it became the only bilingual college in the country to provide superior access to a diverse and underserved population.
Celina Sotomayor, mother of Judge Sonia Sotomayor of the Supreme Court, was among her first graduates. She graduated as a nurse in 1973 while her daughter was in high school. In 2009, Judge Sotomayor returned to the newly sworn senior court position to deliver her first opening address in her mother's court.
As a training historian, Matos Rodriguez values the role that history has played in the formation of CUNY and how this story shaped his own life.
"I am aware that it is not an individual feat," he said of his appointment as Chancellor. "There is a pattern of spaces that Puerto Ricans and other colored communities have fought to create and that CUNY has embraced and nurtured," he said.
Antonio Flores of HACU said that the repercussions of the appointment of Matos Rodríguez had a direct impact on the institution and beyond.
"This can be very beneficial for a system, especially with respect to program changes, especially in the humanities," said Flores.
The appointment of Matos Rodriguez could have an impact on the academic talents attracted by the school, as well as on recruitment.
Currently, only 4% of university presidents and chancellors are Latinos, which highlights the importance of Matos Rodriguez's new role as head of the largest urban public university system in the country.
"We hope that other university boards across the country will take note of the historic act of CUNY's board of directors," Flores said.
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