Albertus Magnus College Earns Another CASE Best in District Award
Engagement of First Generation Families Helped Pave Way for College’s Hispanic Serving Institution Recognition
Ana Lucia Gutierrez Gomez '24
New Haven, Conn., November 9, 2023 – Albertus Magnus College is delighted to announce that it has been recognized with a Best of CASE District 1 Award. This is the fourth time in four years the College has been honored in this way. The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) is a global non-profit, dedicated to those who champion education to transform lives and society. This year, Albertus was named Best of District 1 in the Engagement of a Targeted Constituency category for Albertus Magnus College Supports First Gen Family Decisions -- its tactical efforts to become a Federal Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). Last month, that recognition came to fruition as Albertus achieved HSI status, becoming the first Catholic college in New England to do so.
HSI is a federal designation for not-for-profit, degree-granting institutions with a full-time equivalent (FTE) undergraduate student enrollment that is at least 25% Hispanic. In March 2020, the College endorsed the Albertus 2025: Lighting the Way to a Second Century strategic plan, articulating a commitment to achieve Hispanic Serving Institution status. This fall, 26% of the undergraduate FTE enrollment is from Hispanic backgrounds, adding to its status of being New England’s most diverse Catholic college.
The entry was chosen from a competitive field for its creative, innovative, and inspirational idea. A special congratulations goes out to members of the Communications and Marketing and Admissions teams including Media Communications Specialist Sarah Barr and Ana Lucia Gutierrez Gomez ’24 – whose inspiring story about being Latinx is her superpower was featured in Lateenz magazine, published by Hispanic Outlook for Higher Education.
“Albertus is very proud of its diverse campus community and that pride is reflected in our authentic outreach and our storytelling,” said Albertus Vice President for Marketing and Community Relations Andrea Kovacs. “This project reflects a campus-wide collaboration and to have earned this award at the time that the College achieved the strategic milestone of HSI designation is quite an additional honor.”
Albertus’ Communications and Marketing team continues to attract accolades. In December 2022, this initiative earned the College a Silver Mercury Award from the Public Relations Society of America, Greater Connecticut Chapter (PRSA-CT).
About Albertus Magnus College
Albertus Magnus College, founded in 1925, is a coeducational Catholic College in the Dominican tradition. As New England's most diverse Catholic College, Albertus' values and liberal arts-based education is recognized by external rankings such as US News & World Report, Money Magazine, and The Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education, and has been named a Top 10 Military Friendly School. For seven consecutive years, graduating classes at Albertus have achieved post-graduate employment and graduate school success at a rate of at least 95%. The College has an enrollment of approximately 1,300 students across its traditional undergraduate, accelerated adult undergraduate, and 11 graduate programs. Proud to enroll a student body where more than half of its students come from minority backgrounds with nearly the same percentage of undergraduates receiving Federal Pell Grants and being first generation college goers, Albertus is known for its innovative curricular offerings, recently launching new Bachelor’s degree programs in Game and Computer Arts, General Health Sciences, Interdisciplinary Studies, Project Management, Public Health, Social Media, and Supply Chain Management; among its graduate programs is the State of Connecticut's only Master of Arts in Art Therapy and Counseling program. Just two years from its historic 100th Anniversary Year, the College is implementing its Albertus 2025: Lighting the Way to a Second Century strategic plan, which articulates an inspiring, bold vision to "be a destination liberal arts-based college, distinguished in its interdisciplinary and experiential approach to education, rooted in Dominican values, that prepares students for lifelong civic engagement and success." To learn more, please visit albertus.edu.