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Mercy faculty, staff, students and community partners gathered on April 4 at a special event hosted by Excelencia in Education (Excelencia) at the Skylark in Manhattan celebrating Mercy College and University at Albany, SUNY as the first in New York and the Northeast to earn the Seal of Excelencia, a national certification for intentionally serving Latino students. Representatives from the University of Albany, including President Havidán Rodríguez, and Presidents from Latino Student Success from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut were also present, as well as New York Secretary of State Robert J. Rodriguez. 

“Mercy College is proud to be the first private college in the country, and the first Hispanic-Serving Institution in New York State to receive the prestigious Seal of Excelencia. We are committed to serving and supporting our students intentionally, by creating the conditions that maximize their educational success and their flourishing as human beings,” said Mercy College President Tim Hall. 

“At this moment in New York and throughout the country, it is vital to engage and propel the vibrant and growing Latino community to meet America’s workforce and civic leader needs and ensure our country’s bright future. We want people to know the colleges and universities exhibiting national leadership through their work with Excelencia and each other in common cause to enroll and graduate more Latinos students and all students,” said Excelencia Co-founder and President Sarita Brown.

Mercy College is the largest, private non-profit Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) in New York, celebrating 25 years as an HSI this year. Forty-four percent of Mercy’s undergraduate student population is Hispanic, a number that has grown 10% in the past seven years. The College has invested in several transformational strategies to serve Hispanic students and position them to succeed, including its PACT personal mentoring program, which was designated a 2020 Example of Excelencia finalist. Since the advent of the PACT program, retention and graduation rates of Latino students at Mercy have seen remarkable improvement. Mercy recently issued more than 500 bachelor’s degrees to graduating Hispanic students, the fourth most in the continental U.S. among private HSIs. 

There are 30 institutions that have earned the Seal of Excelencia for demonstrating, through data, practice, and leadership, that its institutional practices serving Latino students are measurable, intentional, and effective. These institutions, which now include Mercy College and University at Albany, SUNY, are trendsetters in higher education. 

New York Secretary of State Rodriguez said, “For almost 20 years, Excelencia in Education has taken the responsibility of chronicling the impact of higher education for Latinos in American universities and colleges. Institutions now face the reality of having a high number of Latino students looking for a college degree. Our Latino community knows that higher education is a way to learn and move up in a society in which a career allows people to support a family and live a better life." 

“Seal of Excelencia certified colleges and universities are not just enrolling Latino students, they are intentionally serving them,” said Deborah Santiago, Co-founder and CEO of Excelencia in Education. “The University of Albany and Mercy College are holding themselves to a higher standard for accelerating Latino, and all, students’ educational success, and are thus at the forefront of transforming higher education.” 

To read the Excelencia in Education press release spotlighting the special event, please click .