CUNY Dominican Studies Institute

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CUNY Dominican Studies Institute Producing academic knowledge about people of Dominican descent living in the United States.

Join us for a panel celebrating the new publication, Politics in Our Veins (). The book charts the rise of Dominican Ame...
10/19/2026

Join us for a panel celebrating the new publication, Politics in Our Veins (). The book charts the rise of Dominican American political power across the United States, exploring the myriad factors that have contributed to their political success as citizens, activists, and elected officials.

The book’s co-authors Yalidy Matos, Domingo Morel, and Michelle Bueno Vásquez will be in conversation alongside Ramona Hernandez, Raquel Batista, and Cristina Beltrán.

đź“ŤWednesday, October 21, 5:30 - 7:00 pm | 105 East 17th Street

RSVP https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-rise-of-dominican-american-political-power-in-the-united-states-tickets-2002460032863

10/15/2026

A Historic Evening Honoring Two Pioneers of Dominican Medicine!
A resounding success! On October 13, the CUNY Dominican Studies Institute (CUNY DSI) celebrated an extraordinary evening with the premiere of two documentaries honoring Dr. Andrea Evangelina RodrĂ­guez Perozo, the first female physician of the Dominican Republic, and Dr. Juan Manuel Taveras RodrĂ­guez, internationally recognized as the father of modern neuroradiology.
The event brought together medical professionals, scholars, students, and community members for an inspiring evening of historical discovery, intellectual exchange, and Dominican pride.
The documentaries are part of an innovative educational model developed by CUNY DSI, integrating documentary films, school curricula, and children's books to preserve the legacies of Dominican pioneers and introduce their remarkable achievements to new generations.
Our heartfelt gratitude to U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, and Congressman Adriano Espaillat, whose generous support and congressional funding made this innovative educational initiative possible. We are equally grateful to our outstanding institutional partners: Columbia University Irving Medical Center, with special thanks to Sandra Harris, Vice President of Community Affairs and Partnership Engagement, and her dedicated team; The City College of New York; the CUNY School of Medicine; and the Dominican Students Association at CCNY.
We also thank our distinguished panelists for enriching this historic occasion:
Shariff De Los Santos, MD — CEO, Basilica Medical Management
Carmen R. Green, MD — Dean, CUNY School of Medicine
Angel Rosario Jr., MD, MPH — General Surgery Resident, NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia
Juan Tapia-Mendoza, MD — CEO, Pediatría 2000
Alejandro Torres-Hernández, MD — Clinical Assistant Professor of Surgery, NYU Grossman School of Medicine
Above all, thank you to everyone who joined us and helped make this celebration such an extraordinary success!
Their contributions belong not only to Dominican history, but to the history of medicine itself. Together, we are ensuring that their legacies live on for generations to come!

10/13/2026

Meet the Panelists
Alejandro Torres-Hernández, MD
Transplant Surgeon, NYU Langone Health. #
Dr. Torres-Hernández is an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Surgery at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and NYU Langone Health, where he specializes in transplant surgery and hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery. His clinical expertise includes kidney and liver transplantation, as well as general surgery. He earned his medical degree from Drexel University College of Medicine in 2012 and completed his General Surgery residency at NYU Grossman School of Medicine from 2012 to 2020, followed by an Abdominal Transplant Surgery fellowship at Toronto General Hospital from 2020 to 2022. He is board certified by the American Board of Surgery. Dr. Torres-Hernández was born in Brooklyn, NYC.

Tuesday, October 13, 2026 | 6:00–8:00 PM

Columbia University Irving Medical Center
Roy and Diana Vagelos Education Center, Room 401
104 Haven Avenue, New York, NY 10032

👉 Register: https://ticketstripe.com/DominicanPhysicians

Organized by:

CUNY Dominican Studies Institute
Office of Academic and Community Partnerships
Columbia University Irving Medical Center
The City College of New York
CUNY School of Medicine
Dominican Students Association .ccny
Special recognition and appreciation to the U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, and Representative Adriano Espaillat for their support of this cultural initiative.

10/09/2026

A Sneak Peek at the CUNY Cultural Heritage Legacy Initiative (CHLI)!

Meet Juanito, the hero of a children's storybook portraying Dr. Juan Manuel Taveras Rodríguez (1919–2002) as a child. Dr. Taveras Rodríguez (1919–2002), a pioneering Dominican physician, is widely regarded as the father of neuroradiology.
Rather than focusing on his medical achievements, the book introduces young readers to the boy who would one day make history in medicine.

The Extraordinary Juanito/El extraordinario Juanito is part of the CUNY Cultural Heritage Legacy Initiative (CHLI), an innovative educational initiative of the CUNY Dominican Studies Institute that brings Dominican history and cultural heritage into the classroom and beyond through a distinctive three-part educational model.

For each historical figure, CHLI develops three interconnected educational resources: a children's storybook that introduces young readers to the individual; a corresponding school curriculum, developed in collaboration with teachers, that deepens students' understanding of the same historical figure; and a documentary film exploring the individual's life and contributions for a broader audience, including parents and families.

By bringing children, teachers, and parents together around the same historical figure, CHLI creates a shared learning experience that connects the classroom with the home, strengthens cultural identity, and fosters lasting historical memory across generations.

The Extraordinary Juanito/El extraordinario Juanito, written and illustrated by Doris RodrĂ­guez, is part of a bilingual children's book series developed through CHLI. The initiative is made possible by a Congressionally Funded Community Project grant from the U.S. Department of Education, secured with the support of the Hon. Adriano Espaillat, U.S. Representative for New York's 13th Congressional District; the Hon. Kirsten Gillibrand, U.S. Senator from New York; and the Hon. Chuck Schumer, U.S. Senator from New York.

To learn more about the extraordinary lives and legacies of Dr. Juan Manuel Taveras Rodríguez, the father of neuroradiology, and Dr. Evangelina Rodríguez, the first female physician of the Dominican Republic, join us for “A Double-Feature Documentary Premiere Honoring Two Dominican Medical Pioneers.”

Register here: https://ticketstripe.com/DominicanPhysicians?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZnRzaAU19wlleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBwZG9mAmZkaWQWUP-2KVqhdR_phPDxoYsfHF6od3C0QnNydGMGYXBwX2lkDzEyNDAyNDU3NDI4NzQxNAABpxtBB04GCI8hcX-OtbJ0RdsxA-tLa70OPhbVVM5-0KrpUbJXsYHB-6BpOisD_aem_-6gJZYAY_3ASikbr2D63Eg

10/08/2026

In Celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month 🇩🇴
Join us for “Pioneering Dominican Physicians and Medical Innovators: A Documentary Double Feature,” a special program honoring the groundbreaking contributions of two Dominican medical pioneers:

đź©ş Dr. Evangelina RodrĂ­guez
First Female Physician of the Dominican Republic

🧠 Dr. Juan Manuel Taveras
Father of Modern Neuroradiology

đź“… Tuesday, October 13, 2026
đź•  6:00 PM
đź“Ť Columbia University Irving Medical Center
The Roy and Diana Vagelos Education Center
104 Haven Avenue, New York — Room 401

Organized by:
CUNY Dominican Studies Institute
Office of Academic and Community Partnerships
Columbia University Irving Medical Center
The City College of New York
CUNY School of Medicine
Dominican Students Association .ccny

Special recognition and appreciation to U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, and Representative Adriano Espaillat for their support of this cultural initiative.

👉 Register: Please see the event link: https://ticketstripe.com/DominicanPhysicians

DominicanStudies

PUCMM and CUNY Sign Academic and Research Collaboration Agreement.Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic — The Pontificia Uni...
09/28/2026

PUCMM and CUNY Sign Academic and Research Collaboration Agreement.
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic — The Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra (PUCMM) and The City University of New York (CUNY) signed, on Friday, September 11, 2026, an academic and research collaboration agreement aimed at developing training programs, research projects, student and faculty mobility, and joint initiatives with international scope.
The agreement was signed by the rector of PUCMM, Rev. Father Dr. Secilio Espinal, and by Dr. Vincent G. Boudreau, president of CUNY-The City College of New York (CCNY)
The signing took place during Dr. Boudreau’s official visit to the Dominican Republic, accompanied by Dr. Ramona Hernández, director of the Dominican Studies Institute at CUNY. Both also participated as guests of honor at PUCMM’s 79th graduation ceremony in Santo Domingo, held on Saturday, September 12.
The alliance establishes a cooperation framework to advance academic and scientific activities in areas of shared interest. Planned initiatives include joint research in fields such as nanomaterials, micro transistors, and molecular biology; the creation of academic programs for undergraduate students, particularly in engineering; and the promotion of international training experiences.
The agreement also provides for collaboration in teaching and joint student supervision, as well as the organization of seminars, conferences, and special academic programs. It will also facilitate student and faculty exchanges, internships, clinical rotations, and other collaborative initiatives designed to strengthen the academic and research capacities of both institutions
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Academic Visit of PUCMM to the CUNY Dominican Studies Institute (CUNY DSI)Dr. Julissa Pichardo Rosa, Dean of the Faculty...
09/28/2026

Academic Visit of PUCMM to the CUNY Dominican Studies Institute (CUNY DSI)

Dr. Julissa Pichardo Rosa, Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Administrative Sciences at the Pontificia Universidad CatĂłlica Madre y Maestra (PUCMM), paid an institutional visit to the CUNY Dominican Studies Institute (CUNY DSI) in New York City.

During her visit, Dean Pichardo Rosa was welcomed by Dr. Ramona Hernández, Director of CUNY DSI, and Martha A. Borish, Director of Special Projects, who introduced her to the Institute’s institutional work and initiatives.

As part of the visit, Dean Pichardo Rosa had the opportunity to learn more about CUNY DSI’s research projects and educational initiatives, as well as its library and historical archives, which preserve and safeguard the history and legacy of the Dominican community in the United States. She also met with members of the Archives and Library team, who shared information about the documentary, photographic, and bibliographic collections that preserve the memory and historical legacy of the Dominican diaspora.

The visit reaffirms the academic collaboration between PUCMM and the CUNY Dominican Studies Institute, fostering knowledge exchange, the preservation of Dominican historical heritage, and the advancement of research on the Dominican diaspora in the United States.

Recognizing her contributions to the Dominican experience in the United States and beyond, Ramona Hernández has been nam...
09/28/2026

Recognizing her contributions to the Dominican experience in the United States and beyond, Ramona Hernández has been named as one of City & State magazine’s 2026 Latino Trailblazers.

The first female director of the CUNY Dominican Studies Institute and a distinguished professor of sociology, Hernández has been nationally and internationally recognized for her service, scholarship and teaching. The author of pioneering texts in the areas of migration, labor, and Dominican studies, her work examines how Dominicans navigate daily life in the U.S., especially in comparison to other ethnic and Latino groups with whom they share immigrant spaces.

Hernández has conducted annual research studies on issues such as the relationship between education, employment and income in the Dominican community, as well as on U.S.-born Dominicans’ and Dominican immigrants’ compliance with public health recommendations related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under her leadership, CUNY DSI has distinguished itself as a world-class research institute devoted to studying the people of Dominican descent in the United States and other parts of the world. The nation’s first such institute, CUNY DSI is home to a research unit, a Dominican library, and Dominican archives. The Institute’s work has resulted in a number of historical discoveries, like the identification of the first Dominican immigrant to settle in New York City.

Recently, CUNY DSI received a gift of a collection of almost 500 historical items, including maps of the island of Hispaniola and its environs, some dating back as far as the 16th century.

Earlier this year, CUNY DSI became the new headquarters of the Inter-University Program for Latino Research, the first national consortium dedicated to Latino research in the U.S., and Hernández was appointed as the organization’s executive director.

“I am deeply honored to be recognized among the 2026 Latino Trailblazers. I see this recognition as an affirmation of the collective work we have undertaken at the CUNY Dominican Studies Institute at CCNY to document, preserve, and share the history and contributions of Dominicans and Latinos. Creating knowledge about the good our people have done is also a way of building the foundation from which future generations can emerge empowered and proud of the legacies they embody, and mindful of their responsibility to carry those legacies forward.”

— Dr. Ramona Hernández, Director, CUNY Dominican Studies Institute

Read the full story on CCNY News.
https://www.ccny.cuny.edu/.../city-state-cites-cuny-dsi...

See the full https://www.cityandstateny.com/.../2026-latino.../415902/ See less
— at The City College of New York.

08/28/2026

Big news from the CUNY archives!

For the first time, CUNY’s central archivists have completed a comprehensive survey of archives across the entire University, documenting the extraordinary collections that preserve the histories of CUNY, New York City, and the communities we serve.

We are especially proud that CUNY’s announcement highlights several collections and projects of the CUNY Dominican Studies Institute, recognizing the important role our Dominican Archives plays in preserving and making accessible the historical record of Dominicans in New York and the United States.

CUNY DSI has worked to find, rescue, preserve, and bring to light histories that might otherwise be lost. Seeing this work recognized as part of CUNY’s larger archival legacy is especially meaningful to us.

Dominican history is New York history.

Joseph A. Gonzalez (center), donor of The Joseph A. Gonzalez and Ralph E. Magnus Collection, showing our Chief Archivist Sarah Hopley (right) and our Director of Special Project Martha Borish a selection of the recently donated collection of nearly 500 rare historical artifacts—including the first modern map of the Dominican Republic and a rare 1528 Map of La Española.

Through CUNY’s announcement, you will discover the remarkable archival treasures being preserved across the University.

To read CUNY’s announcement click here. https://www.cuny.edu/news/cuny-completes-first-ever-survey-of-extensive-archival-collections-across-26-campuses/

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The City College Of New York, North Academic Center, 160 Convent Avenue (Enter At 137th St And Amsterdam Avenue)
New York, NY
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