Daisy Cocco De Filippis to Lead Hostos Community College in The Bronx, New York

The board of trustees of the City University of New York has named Daisy Cocco De Filippis as interim president of Hostos Community College. She will begin her new job on August 1,

Hostos Community College in The Bronx enrolls more than 7,300 students, according to the latest data supplied to the U.S. Department of Education. Women make up 67 percent of the student body.

Since 2008, Dr. De Filippis has been the president of Naugatuck Valley Community College in Waterbury, Connecticut. From 2002 to 2008, she served as provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Hostos Community College. She spent the first 20 years of her academic career at CUNY’s York College, starting as an adjunct lecturer, rising to tenured professor of Spanish and associate dean for academic affairs.

“My heart is filled with gratitude for the invitation to come home to CUNY and Hostos Community College,” Dr. De Fillipis said. “Hostos is a bridge of opportunity over the Grand Concourse that gives hope to one of the nation’s poorest communities. For 50 years it has embraced the challenge of its mission of increasing access, equity and quality. I look forward to working with talented and innovative faculty and staff on behalf of students as we bounce back from COVID-19.”

A native of the Dominican Republic, Dr. De Fillipis earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Queens College, a campus of the CUNY system. She earned a master’s degree in Spanish literature and a Ph.D. in Spanish at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.