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Dear Members of the NJCU Familia,

Today marks the beginning of National Hispanic Heritage Month, a particularly significant time at our university when we celebrate the integral role that the Hispanic community plays here at �鶹��ý. This year’s theme “Latinos: Driving Prosperity, Power, and Progress in America” offers us the opportunity to celebrate and champion the story of our community and how it drives prosperity, power, and progress on our campus, our state, and our country.

We are proud of our roots as the oldest minority and Hispanic-serving public university in the State of �鶹��ý. In the most diverse city in the country, NJCU mirrors the community it serves — a community from all over the world, with the resolve and resolute persistence of a heritage built on family and a spirit that is emboldened by its rich diversity and vibrancy. The Hispanic community is not a monolith. It’s a fusion of history, art, culture, diverse beliefs, and global experiences that traces its roots to indigenous civilizations shaped by the African diaspora and Asian migrations tied to the remnants of European colonialism. 

Enshrined in a collective experience, as rhythmic and melodic as salsa, merengue, cumbia, bachata, tango, and reggaeton, our community’s story reverberates the promise of our Nation’s founding ideals. Our stories and experiences enrich our stages and screens, propel our athletic spectacles, and unleash our art, science, ingenuity, and service.

On a campus where we are proudly home to the largest percentage of Hispanic/Latino/a students of any public university in our state and where about 60% of our students identify as first generation, this month-long annual celebration, from September 15 to October 15, is a recognition of the contributions that those of us bound by a rich heritage have made to the history of the United States, and the daily impact Hispanics make on the culture, economy, and prosperity of our nation.

For the first time this year, I have the privilege to serve as a president of a university where Hispanics have left an undeniably vital mark on an institution that is nearly 100 years old. It is a source of pers