SUNY's Hispanic Leadership Institute Celebrates 5 Years

Claudia Hernández, chief of staff to the UAlbany president, speaks at the Hispanic Leadership Institute's 5 Year Celebration at UAlbany's ETEC building on Thursday, Sept. 29. (Photos by Patrick Dodson)
President Havidán Rodríguez addresses the HLI anniversary gathering.
Jonathan Harkavy, executive director of the NYS Assembly Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force, presents a proclamation to President Rodríguez and SUNY Interim Chancellor Deborah Stanley.
SUNY's Hispanic Leadership Institute, led by President Havidán Rodríguez, held a 5-year celebration at UAlbany's ETEC building on Thursday, Sept. 29.
The HLI celebration included panel discussions, music and food.
SUNY Oneonta President Alberto J.F. Cardelle was one of many speakers at the HLI celebration.
President Rodríguez and Claudia Hernández are joined by past and current HLI fellows, including UAlbany's Jeanette Altarriba, Karla Jaime-Benitez, Giza Lopes, Jerusalem Rivera-Wilson, Carmen Serano and Elizabeth Vasquéz.

ALBANY, N.Y. (Oct. 4, 2022) — Scores of supporters and alumni of the SUNY Hispanic Leadership Institute gathered at UAlbany’s ETEC building last week to celebrate the HLI’s fifth anniversary cultivating SUNY’s next generation of leaders.

Since it was founded in 2017 with the strong support of the NYS Puerto Rican-Hispanic Task Force, the six-month HLI program has graduated 51 fellows from five cohorts representing professional staff and faculty from 27 SUNY campuses and system administration. The fellows also represent more than a dozen countries.

SUNY Interim Chancellor Deborah F. Stanley was among those on hand for Thursday’s celebration.

The HLI is a joint initiative of the SUNY SAIL Institute and the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and seeks to increase pathways to success for Hispanic or Latinx rising stars across the SUNY system.

With the financial and administrative support of New York State and SUNY, the HLI has flourished in that mission, providing its fellows with impactful mentoring, skill development and networking opportunities. Since Jan. 1, 2020, UAlbany President Havidán Rodríguez has been the HLI’s executive director.

“The diversity in culture, language, background, history, and perspectives that these fellows bring to their institutions, to SUNY, and to New York State is extraordinary,” Rodríguez said Thursday. “We should all recognize, celebrate and embrace the diversity and richness of this Latino and Latina community in our institutions.”