The Hudson County Latin American Chamber of Commerce honored Hudson County Community College President Dr. Christopher Reber with their Partner in Education and leadership award last night.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“I’ve had the honor of serving as president of a truly surreal community college: We take the word community in our title very seriously. Our mission is about serving our community and providing life changing opportunity,” he said during his acceptance speech at The Fiesta in Wood-Ridge.
“The vast majority of our students are the first in their families to attend higher education … We think it’s not inappropriate that we see the Statue of Liberty from our campus as a metaphor for our college’s mission. We don’t choose our students, they choose us, and we are committed to providing educational opportunity for all citizens of Hudson County.”
He also thanked the members of the HCCC Latino Advisory Council for their efforts, noting that 56 percent of their students are Latino, calling HCCC “a proud, Hispanic serving institution,” which drew applause from the crowd.
Overall, he was one of 11 honorees, which also included Assemblywoman-elect Jessica Ramirez (D-32), as well as Rev. Bolivar Flores, the vice president of the Jersey City-based Coalition of Latino Pastors and Ministers.
Reber is the sixth president of HCCC and has served in the post since July 1st, 2018 and has worked in higher education for over four decades.
