Maria Trusa, Chief Executive Officer of Formé Medical Center & Urgent Care, and Mercy College President Tim Hall
On Thursday, October 7, Mercy College President Tim Hall hosted a reception on the College’s Dobbs Ferry Campus in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month.
During his remarks, Hall expressed Mercy College’s dedication to ensuring the success of Hispanic students, who account for a large percentage of its student body. The College is New York’s largest Hispanic-serving, private not-for-profit college, with Hispanics amounting to more than 38% of the College’s overall student enrollment. 53% of the incoming, first-time, full-time freshman class over the most recent three years identify as Hispanic, and the College’s most recent freshman bachelor’s degree seeking cohort shows an increase of almost 250% in new Hispanic first-time, full-time students over fall 2008.
Attended by the College’s community partners – local nonprofit, business and government leaders – as well as Mercy students, alumni, faculty and staff, the program also included remarks by School of Education Assistant Professor Victoria Núñez, student and Mercy Scholar Adriana Flores ’25 and the event’s featured speaker Maria Trusa, Chief Executive Officer of Formé Medical Center & Urgent Care.
Mercy College Executive Director of Media and Innovation Edie Magnus emceed, while Mercy College student Maria Garcia ’22 closed the program by reciting the poem “Yo Misma Fui Mi Ruta” by Puerto Rican poet Julia De Burgos.
“At Mercy we are overwhelmingly concerned with inclusive success and equity,” said Hall. “It’s not good enough to organize ourselves in ways that contribute to the success of a few when it’s possible to organize our structures and our teaching in ways that contribute to the success of all our students.”
Attendees enjoyed music by the band The Michael Carro Trio, headed by Grammy-nominated Cuban musician Michael Carro.
To view a video of Maria Trusa's remarks, please click here.