Dr. Daisy Cocco De Filippis
Interim President
Hostos Community College
Dr. Cocco De Filippis is delighted to return to Hostos Community College where she had previously served as Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs just in time to welcome the Fall 2020 academic semester.
Dr. Cocco De Filippis served as President of Naugatuck Valley Community College from July 2008 retiring on August 1, 2020 as President Emerita. The hallmark of her presidency is a shared vision of community, student-centeredness, collaboration and civic engagement. Under her guidance student retention rose steadily as did the numbers of awards, both associate degrees and certificates awarded. Her leadership saw the expansion of the Waterbury campus, renovation of Founders Hall and the campus improvement project, as well as the establishment of an Advanced Manufacturing Technology Center. In response to the needs of a growing immigrant population, NVCC created a campus in the downtown of the City of Danbury, accredited by the New England Commission for Higher Education to offer degree and certificate programs. The arts flourished as well as the college hosted four Fulbright Scholars-in-Residence in support of the creation of an International Center for the Arts at NVCC.
From January 2002 to July 2008, Dr. Cocco De Filippis served as Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at Hostos Community College. Under her leadership Academic Affairs oversaw the creation of the Hostos Academic Learning Center, the expansion of non-credit offerings, the successful application of a Title V grant designed to foment faculty and student development opportunities and the enhancement of the Office of Institutional Research. Four engineering programs, transferable and designed in partnership with The City College Grove School of Engineering, growing the number of degree offerings from 14 to 27, underscoring the need for access to be supported by multiple opportunities. There was as well a significant growth of intellectual opportunities outside of the classroom for students, faculty, staff and community members by means of coffee and conversations with the Provost, college-wide meetings, conferences, poetry readings and Veladas Hostosianas.
Dr. Cocco De Filippis holds a Ph.D. in Latin American Literature, an M. Phil in Spanish literature from the Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York, an M.A. in Spanish literature and a B.A. summa cum laude in Spanish and English literatures from Queens College, CUNY. A published author and literary critic, her scholarly work is recognized internationally as pioneering the field of Dominican women studies and Dominican authors in the U.S. In 2016, she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in the Humanities by the University of Santo Domingo (UASD), the oldest university in the Americas, in recognition of her contributions to Dominican, Caribbean and Dominican Diaspora literatures. In May 2017, President Cocco De Filippis was honored by Hostos Community College as Educator of the Year at their annual Scholarship Benefit. She was inducted as a member of the Connecticut’s Immigrant Heritage Hall of Fame in September 2018, as was honored by Malta House of Care as one of their 2019 Wonder Women.
Dr. Cocco De Filippis has served on the board of multiple educational and community organizations, as well as Commissioner for the New England Commission for Higher Education.