Naugatuck Valley Community College President Daisy Cocco De Filippis, Ph.D. was honored on Friday, May 5 at Eugenio María de Hostos Community College Community College with an “Educator of the Year Award” from the Hostos Community College Foundation in recognition of her dedication and perseverance to advancing the communities where De Filippis has worked.

"You have distinguished yourself as an educator, administrator, author and citizen of the world...and made a positive and lasting impression on the College," said Hostos President David Gomez, Ed.D. in his nomination letter to President De Filippis. Prior to serving as President at NVCC, President De Filippis served as provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Hostos which is located in Bronx, NY, and part of the City University of New York (CUNY) system.

“What a magical place Hostos is! A place that endeavors each and every day to live up to the words of our beloved man of the Americas, Don Eugenio María de Hostos.” said President De Filippis “Today more than ever, some of his teachings resonate with our communities: Teach the people to reason, examine political processes with a critical mind; communities and students learn when they begin to understand the immediate political, economic, historical, and cultural reality of communities and how they move forward or are held back, and of course, science and women, the right of women to own their minds and to have access to scientific knowledge. Eugenio María de Hostos would have been proud of the work being done here today by so many women and men, who engage with a generous heart in touch with a thinking mind. It does not get better.”

Since 2008, President Daisy Cocco De Filippis, Ph.D., has served as President of Naugatuck Valley Community College.  Under her guidance, student retention has steadily risen, enrollment has increased, graduation awards have grown, and a thriving expanded campus in Danbury was developed. Last year, NVCC was named one of the top 25 community colleges nationwide in advancing opportunities for low-income students. She holds a Ph.D. in Spanish language and a M. Phil. in Spanish literature from the Graduate School and University Center of CUNY, an M.A. in Spanish literature, a B.A. in Spanish and English literatures from Queens College, CUNY, and an Honorary Doctorate in Humanities from the University of Santo Domingo (UASD) in recognition of her contribution to Dominican, Caribbean, and Dominican Diaspora literature. She serves on the Board of Directors and as the Chair of the Governance Committee for the United Way of Greater Waterbury, the Board of Directors for the Waterbury Regional Chamber, the Connecticut Technical High School System Board, Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty’s STEM Education Advisory Board, the advisory board of the Dominican Studies Institute at the City College, CUNY, and on the Board of the Dominican Studies Association. A regular panelist at the Higher Education Resource Services (HERS) Wellesley Conference, she provides leadership and career advice to approximately sixty women each spring.