Remembering Peter Roman (1941 – 2020): A Hostos Tribute

Preface

One of the most challenging aspects of the Coronavirus pandemic was not being able to grieve the loss of loved ones in the same way as we had in the past:

by coming together and providing comfort to all those who mourn with hugs, speeches, and a few laughs, sharing memories, eating and drinking. Street and subway memorials have sprung up across New York City for the tens of thousands of New Yorkers that COVID-19 has taken from us and virtual memorial services have become a new norm. Hostos Professor Emeritus Peter Roman died from complications following a heart surgery on July 20, 2020. As Interim President Daisy Cocco De Filippis noted in her public remarks announcing his passing, “Dr. Roman was a long-time professor of Political Science at Hostos and a Coordinator of the Social Sciences Unit. He was also one of the founders of the College, and ‘one of its defenders when needed.’ Peter joined the faculty in 1971 and, in 1976, was an active member of the Save Hostos Committee when New York State threatened to close the institution. He retired in 2019 to pursue a variety of editorial and political activities.”

Peter was all heart--his passion for social justice and equality, his love for his wife and children, and the commitment he brought into his classroom for over forty years are evident in the recollections from Hostos colleagues and students, included in this tribute. We are grateful to Touchstone, and we thank you, the contributors, for sharing your memories of our colleague and friend, Dr. Peter Roman. Marcella Bencivenni and Sarah Hoiland, Behavioral and Social Sciences Department.

Uncompromising, unconventional, and fiery, Peter Roman was an outstanding political scientist and educator who inspired and mentored countless numbers of students with his powerful teaching and his activism.

Peter was born on March 16, 1941 in Los Angeles, and as a boy he had a brief run in Hollywood, starring in the film You Gotta Stay Happy (1948), the family TV series The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse (1953), and Tales of the Texas Rangers (1955). Peter later attended the University of California at Berkeley, graduating cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1961. He then studied at Princeton University, earning MA and Ph.D. degrees in Political Science.

Peter began his academic career at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, where he taught from 1967 to 1969. After working briefly as a journalist for The National Guardian in New York he joined Hostos Community College in 1971. One of the first faculty hired in the Behavioral and Social Sciences Department, Peter quickly distinguished himself as a captivating teacher, active unionist, and crusader for

academic freedom and faculty rights. In 1976, when New York State planned to close Hostos, he was active in the Save Hostos Committee, fighting successfully along with students and other faculty to keep the college’s mission alive.

During the late seventies, Peter served as chairperson of the Behavioral and Social Sciences Department and chapter chairperson of the Professional Staff Congress (PSC), the faculty union at CUNY. He then became the coordinator of the Social Sciences Unit, a position he held until 2018, a year before his retirement. Among other notable contributions to the college, he spearheaded the “Social Sciences Speakers Series,” bringing to the campus eminent scholars such as Eric Foner, David Nasaw, David Rosner and Gerald Markowitz, among many others.

A recipient of numerous scholarly awards, including six PSC CUNY Research awards and four CUNY-Caribbean Exchange Program Grants, Professor Roman published People’s Power: Cuba’s Experience with Representative Government in 1999. The book made a strong impact on Cuban studies and comparative government. Offering a candid discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of

Castro’s socialist democracy, Peter compelled readers to look at Cuba in a different way. “This well-researched and written book,” wrote Political Affairs, “will come as a revelation to many readers. People’s Power, based on years of field work and first-hand experience of Cuban elections and the workings of representative bodies, demonstrates that there is a functioning popular democratic political culture as the basis of the Cuban government.” A testament to its influence in the field, the book was reprinted in 2003 by Rowman & Littlefield.

Following the book’s publication, Peter was promoted to Professor and in 2000 became a consortial faculty at the Graduate School of the City University of New York (CUNY Graduate Center). In addition to People’s Power, he co-edited

several special journal issues on Cuba and published numerous articles and reviews in political science periodicals, including “Electing Cuba’s National Assembly Deputies,” for the European Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies (2007); “The Lawmaking Process in Cuba,” for Socialism and Democracy (2005) and “The National Assembly and Political Representation,” in Cuban Socialism in a New Century (University Press of Florida, 2004). His latest, unpublished, research focused on Cuba’s new constitutional and electoral laws.

In addition to his CUNY affiliation, Peter Roman was an associate member of the Columbia University Latin American Seminar and had served on the editorial board of the journal Socialism and Democracy since 1985. Between 1979 and 1988, he was an editorial associate at the Institute for Theoretical History and was also a frequent guest on the Canadian radio program “The Cuban Hour” and on public radio programs in New York City and Colorado.

A popular and well respected instructor, Professor Roman regularly taught

American government at Hostos and developed a new course on the Comparative Political Systems of Latin America, inviting diplomats and scholars of Latin America as guests to the class. Among the most impressive events he helped organize was the campus visit, on May 9, 2013, of Rodolfo Reyes Rodriguez, the Cuban Ambassador to the United Nations, who spoke to students, faculty and staff in a packed A-Atrium about Cuba’s history, the U.S., and the island’s future.

Peter believed it is important that students learn and understand the historical significance and relevance of world events that are often not readily available and worked relentlessly to facilitate an open dialogue and learning both inside and outside the classroom.

Peter chaired the search committee that hired me at Hostos in 2004. I remember a strange mix of emotions on the day of my interview. As a (then) young woman, born and raised in Italy--a country obsessed with “fare bella figura” (literally make a good public impression) --I had spent a lot of time not only prepping for the interview, but also shopping for the proper dress. When I arrived at Hostos, I was initially taken aback by the construction on the first-floor of the B-building, the Behavioral and Social Sciences’ old and messy conference room (with lots of

broken chairs!), and this man, Peter Roman, with the thickest eyebrows I had ever seen, showing not even the most remote concern for formal conventions and for keeping up appearances. After my initial shock, I felt a great relief and sense of exhilaration for the opportunity I was afforded to work in a place where I could be just me, where I would be appreciated for my professionalism and my ideas, rather than my appearances. I almost never wore a suit again at Hostos, and as I got to know Peter I came to see what some considered his shortcomings--his bluntness, his contempt for bureaucratic formalities, and his unconventional leadership style-

-as his true assets. Peter was a person who spoke little but was resolute in his decisions, uncompromising and relentless. When I became the Social Sciences Unit Coordinator, Peter did not explain what I had to do on CunyFirst, how to approve

e-PARs or how to fill templates, but he made my job easy because over the years he had put together a wonderful team of full-time and part-time instructors--a small community of scholars--committed to serve Hostos students with the same passion and dedication he had shown for forty years. The remembrances that follow here are a testament to his important legacy. Thank you, Peter.

Marcella Bencivenni, Behavioral and Social Sciences Department

I owe a great deal of gratitude to Peter Roman. He saved my professional life—and more. In 1969, I stumbled upon Peter, who, with his wife Gail, had moved to Park Slope, Brooklyn (what at that time was a lower-rent district), on the same block where my wife and I were living. We quickly discovered that we were involved,

up to our necks, with “the movement.” In addition to the civil rights and anti- war movements, Peter and I shared, deeply, a belief in the centrality of the labor movement as the prime means of achieving social justice. At that time, I was

working at what was then called Newark College of Engineering. Peter, working as a reporter for The National Guardian (later named The Guardian), was assigned to cover the Newark Teachers Union’s second, and equally militant, strike. In a supportive role, I had been involved with this complex struggle and offered to introduce Peter to the officers and the on-the-ground leaders of this prolonged strike. Ultimately, Peter wrote important articles and the teachers won the strike. The cost, however, was great. Over two-hundred teachers and one supporter were sentenced to prison for terms ranging from ten days to more than one year for defying a court writ forbidding the strike. That jail term and my “encouragement” of a month-long student strike in response to the murder of four nonviolent peace protesters in Kent State University in Ohio cost me my job.

In the summer of 1972, I was preparing to return to my previous position as a case worker in the NYC Department of Social Services in the South Bronx when I received a call from Peter informing me that a position had opened in the Social Sciences Department which he chaired at Hostos Community College.

Peter had begun teaching at Hostos in September 1971, the second year Hostos began offering classes. At Hostos, he was like a fish in water, uniquely suited for the job. He had attended Princeton, where he concentrated in Latin American Studies. During a two-year stay in Chile he learned Spanish fluently and he became a socialist. At that time, Hostos was a bilingual college, a school where students who knew little or no English could begin their studies in Spanish while learning English. Hostos was as close to being a bilingual college as any other institution of higher learning in the United States. Peter’s fluency in Spanish and his knowledge of Latin American history enabled him to teach courses relevant to Hostos’ students in Spanish.

Prior to becoming the Professional Staff Congress (PSC) Chapter Chair, Peter played a major role in saving the lives of Chilean refugees by working with the Hostos administration to arrange commitments of employment, which enabled them to obtain visas. Outside of Hostos, he helped obtain work permits for at least one Brazilian refugee. Peter also played the key role in obtaining an appointment at Hostos for Dr. Herbert Aptheker, the renowned African-American historian and the literary executor of his close colleague, W. E. B. Du Bois, who because of his political views and activities had been barred from academia.

Peter consistently supported the campaigns of the five-year long movement (1973 to 1978) to Save Hostos, which was threatened with closure during New York City’s financial crisis. He wrote letters on behalf of this struggle to public officials and twice had letters published in The New York Times. He lobbied, and of course he could always be seen in the ranks of the luchadores (those who struggle). Peter helped to bring Hostos’ cause to wider audiences necessary for the magnificent victory of saving the college. He is one of the giants responsible for what was for

that period the most successful mass movement in New York City.

From the Fall 1978 to 1984, Peter served two terms as the PSC Chair. From that position, he negotiated an agreement with then President Flora Edwards to limit enrollment to twenty students in all developmental courses, and won battles to save the jobs of individuals who had been treated unfairly by the administration.

Subsequently, Peter played a leading role on academic committees, groups advocating for our college, the union, and Leftist organizations such as the Hostos Solidarity Coalition that brought together the fight against apartheid, support for Nicaragua, and the struggle for social justice here in America.

Over time, Peter’s major energies shifted to lecturing and publishing about Cuba. In so doing, he became a recognized scholar/spokesperson for Cuba’s democratic features found in their workers’ communal and occupational experiences that were unavailable to their counterparts in “democratic” countries. For many years, he maintained an especially close relationship, both as a contributor and a member of its board, with the journal Socialism and Democracy.

If Peter had written his own obituary, he would have put all that has been noted above after talking about his family--His wife Gail, his daughter Hannah and son Karl.

Peter Roman put his life to good purpose. He would have loved to have heard a song that in years gone by was sung at the wakes of people’s heroes: “To you beloved comrade we give you our vow—the fight will go on.” If we do not know its melody, we can hear it in our hearts.

-The late Gerald Meyer, Behavioral and Social Sciences Department (June 5 1940 - November 10, 2021) --Rest in Power, Jerry

I can well remember when I first arrived at the college how Peter made himself available and how much I loved the cross-fertilization of ideas we shared, spending countless hours discussing Cuba, Puerto Rico, Marxism, and internationalist global perspectives. I loved his blatant honesty and straight-shooter style, which he often accompanied with a funny quip. Peter practiced what he preached, championing (as a former Behavioral and Social Sciences Department Chair and Social Science Unit Coordinator) workers’ rights at the college and always being quick to defend any faculty against the administration when he felt they had gotten the short end

of the stick. He invited an array of influential speakers to his classes to share world experiences, even our former Hostos President now Chancellor, Felix Matos Rodriguez. I am glad I got to share how important he was to me personally before he retired. As is often the case when dear friends pass, we reflect on the love we had for them and all we never got to say. I thought in my contemplative moments

how, if I could contact him in my prayers, I would quip, “Peter I know you’re an atheist but, you see, I knew you would end up dancing with the angels in a socialist heaven. Will miss you. Rest in peace, dear friend.”

-Howard Jordan, Behavioral and Social Sciences Department

Peter was a good friend to me. He was very supportive and he valued good teaching and maintaining good relationships with the students. The students enjoyed his classes and appreciated his passion for his subject. Even though I am in a different unit, I could tell that he was a great coordinator and was fully supportive and proud of the faculty in his unit. Peter had ideals which he fought for; I remember when he advocated for Julio in the audiovisual department and helped save his position from being cut. I am deeply saddened by his loss.

-Amy Ramson, Behavioral and Social Sciences Department

I came to Hostos in 2009 as an adjunct professor of history, trying to gather my bearings as an instructor at a new institution. Besides my friends Ernest Ialongo and Marcella Bencivenni, another person who took an interest in making sure that I had a good start and experience at Hostos was Peter Roman. Peter asked me about how I was adjusting at Hostos and helped make sure I had the things I needed in order to be an effective instructor.

The longer I remained at Hostos, the more we got to know one another, and when I transitioned to being a full-time member of the faculty, Peter was as much a champion for my success as every other member of the Social Sciences Unit. Peter supported me and all of his colleagues because he believed in what we were doing inside the classroom and in our research.

I also got the pleasure of hearing how much Peter’s students respected and adored him as a member of the Honor’s Committee during Honor’s Course Presentations whenever Peter taught his famous Political Systems of Latin America course. The passion with which he and his students described what they were learning was inspiring. He used his many friendships and political connections to introduce his students to diplomats,consuls, and leading scholars of Latin America from all over the country and world. These students, and his own continuous research, kept Peter engaged in the political struggles he cared about, and with the students he cared about just as much, if not more.

Peter Roman was a formidable advocate for the people and issues he cared about. His leadership of the Social Sciences Unit was an incredible model to experience and be mentored under. I am thankful that Peter was in my life.

-Kristopher Burrell, Behavioral and Social Sciences Department

Many years ago, English wanted to pass a special topics shell—a course that could

be taught whenever and by whomever and about whatever. It would have standard assignment types and grading policies and reading requirements and so on, but the prof teaching it could basically teach their own special area of interest without the hassle and permanence of passing every new idea right on up to the Chancellor. So we spent about a year drafting the syllabus and after all the usual CWCC stuff, we presented it in Senate. And Peter Roman stood up--actually he was almost always standing up--and said: “so you could teach a course on the speeches of George Bush?” And everyone in the senate laughed. And laughed. And laughed. And instead of calling him on it, and saying, “yes, and that’s not actually a bad idea, Peter, we should teach a class on political speeches” we all got discombobulated and flustered and upset and the course failed spectacularly. I probably even voted against it. Afterwards, a bunch of people were mad at Peter for about two years maybe longer. I thought it was as funny as hell though. The course eventually passed. We even prepared a special “Peter Roman Defense” just to be certain. No actual harm done. And besides, Peter was right. We could teach a course about any text worth considered analysis. Not only could but should. That’s how I remember Peter. Right and funny.

-Carl James Grindley, English Department

Peter and I developed a lasting fondness for one another because when I first started at Hostos in 2012, I had to teach at 8:00 a.m. and we were usually the only two full- timers around at that time. We kidded each other and looked out for one another even after that first semester. Besides that, he was a great resource for all of us and so focused on our students. I will miss him greatly.

-Kate Wolfe, Behavioral and Social Sciences Department

Peter was such a huge figure, it doesn’t really seem possible that he is gone--and perhaps he never really will be. His powerful influence lives on in the spirit of the department. I am able to say this, even though I had very few personal interactions with Peter, so I am not able to say anything more specific. Perhaps this in itself is a tribute to how huge a figure he was and how pervasive the influence of his strong personality and outstanding scholarship

were. It was a privilege to have known him and to be a part of the department he

left to us.

-Karen Steinmayer, Behavioral and Social Sciences Department

Peter would often try to run me over as he pushed the wheeled television and DVD player around the 3rd floor of the B-Building. A luddite in some ways, Peter did not request a smart classroom but preferred to wheel the apparatus around the building. Donning a bright yellow raincoat, he would also try to hit me with his bicycle, laughing as he headed to or from the elevator. His antics were not limited to the cart or his bicycle in the corridors; he often created a ruckus during departmental meetings as he ate his pizza, bushy eyebrows moving up and down as he quipped. On occasion, he would point at an open seat next to him when I walked in with a

mischievous smirk.

During Peter’s last year teaching, my schedule shifted and I was newly able to take up on his departmental invitations to his 8:00 a.m. Latin American Politics Honors class. I was stunned by the graduate-level seminars with world renowned scholars. We shared a few students and Hostos alumna Denise Herrera said of Professor Roman, “He was a powerful and revolutionary professor! May his soul Rest in Peace.” Another Hostos alumna, Isatou Batchilly, said, “He was one of the best professors at Hostos, and he inspired me a lot. May he continue to sleep in peace.”

When Peter retired, I missed him but we kept in touch and got together on a

few occasions. Peter and Gail invited my son and I to a vegetarian feast at their apartment early in 2019. Peter was in his element with his dog, his books, the love of his life, Gail, red wine, and friends around a dinner table. Peter and Gail regaled us with their love story, strikes, and of course, politics and Trump supporters.

Retirement suited Peter and they were gearing up for a trip to Germany to visit their daughter. Plans to meet at their summer home over the summer didn’t come to fruition but we met at the Auschwitz Exhibit at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in November 2019. Peter’s museum style fit mine--we read every single thing and stopped to stare at every photo and exhibit while Gail was close by adding bits of Peter’s family history. Their daughter Hannah was far ahead of us. We walked and talked for over four hours. He told me the story of his father’s narrow escape from a concentration camp and how his mother managed to get him out, saving his life. Plans for our next museum excursion in March were halted because of COVID-19, but we continued to exchange emails (of course Peter wanted to know the outcome of the BSS election) until several went unanswered. I didn’t call the landline

when he didn’t respond to my emails because I thought his non-response was an indication that he did not want to be a guest speaker in my Zoom class to describe his activism at Hostos or attend a Zoom event I was organizing and I respected Peter’s tacit understanding of the power of people in a room.

Peter’s legacy and imprint at Hostos is huge and I cannot begin to pay tribute to his role as a founding faculty member, activist, scholar, professor, colleague, and friend. I will miss Peter dearly and treasure the time we had together and continue

to assign Peter’s 1976 letter to then-New York Governor Carey. His message then is more relevant than ever today. Rest in Power, Professor Emeritus, Dr. Peter Roman.

-Sarah L. Hoiland, Behavioral and Social Sciences Department

I would see Peter in the hallway always with his bicycle wearing a T-shirt. He told me once about writing a letter that was published in the New York Times during the first critical days of the college’s life. He was not a man who spoke much of himself. He was humble and courageous. Later I found out from other people how illustrious his career was, how many great and smart people he knew, and I was

amazed. This humble man in a T-shirt with a bicycle knew the whole world and was a big part of it. God bless Peter Roman. He told me a story once. At Hostos we value our elders and I was honored to be his witness. From when he was young.

He was a witness. 1968. The peace brother. Did Bobby have dreams? Did he hear voices? Did they say something like: You saw what we did to your brother? You want the same thing? Then go for it, kid. We got a bullet with your name on it”?

It was the ex footballer Giant Rosey Grier who took him aside at a football stadium in Michigan, who said, “Bobby, quit playing, man. You see all those people out there.” They were standing on the wings of a stage that looked out on the football field and it was windy and the wind was blowing in the faces of everyone waiting to see the dead president’s brother and what was going to happen and what he was going to say, like the wind was blowing in the face of the whole damn country, these people want a Kennedy, football Giant Roosevelt Grier said.

“You mean they want a martyr?” Bobby laughed nervously.

Later, RFK waded into the crowd like the people were a great ocean. He walked in like that movie where at the end Montgomery Clift walks into the ocean. He got wet, with their sweat and his own, mingled together in something like an act of

love. He disappeared into the crowd, so that he was no longer one man, so that I am

you, and you are me.

That first speech, levitated the high school stadium, showed the way. From then on Kennedy campaigned as if he were a pop star, as if he were the fifth Beatle. A couple times playfully he pushed his wave of hair down over his eyes that way so he looked like John Lennon. He played the Hollywood Bowl. RFK’s dangerous

game inspired adoring crowds that tore off pieces of his clothing and inspired death threats. The motorcade sped through downtown Los Angeles amidst the washed- up detritus of an entire civilization, he ducked a rock that cracked the windshield of the car. He collapsed from exhaustion in San Diego and was carried off like a child in the arms of Rosey Grier. He won in California because of a high turnout in the black and Latino neighborhoods and because he got the vote of the kids, the disillusioned, and the unwashed, who said they would never vote in an election that included Nixon or George Wallace, but came out for a Kennedy. He went even beyond his brother and became the first rock n roll candidate. He came out strong against the war. He was the peace brother.

Sometime past midnight, he went to the stage of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles and waved to an adoring throng of Americans. They waved posters with his face. They passed out postcards. He waved and went to meet with reporters. He was led through the kitchen where a man with two names that were the same shot him in the brain. After all that Peter Roman said, “God Bless America.” I say God

Bless Peter Roman.

-The late Andrew Hubner, English Department (16 October 1962 – August 10,

2022).

Sometimes it takes many years to learn about our colleagues outside of the College. I learned that Peter was a lover of nature as well as a home builder. When I was a Visiting Professor at Bard College at Simons Rock in Great Barrington, he and his wife invited my family and I to their country house deep in the Berkshire summer woods. We swapped stories and Peter shared details about how he had built his house over the years from the ground up. Their rural retreat was cozy, warm, and full of books far removed from any evidence of technology or vestiges of city life. On that perfect day we all enjoyed a vegetarian feast (mostly picked from their garden), went swimming in the adjacent pond along with his dog (a special member of the family), and hiked along the dirt road that was very much off the radar. I know we learned a lot about each other that day.

-Linda Anderson, Behavioral and Social Sciences Department

What do you say about a professor and a man who embodied much of the good of

this world?

Professor Roman took pride in his political convictions while encouraging healthy discourse on topics among his students. He encouraged growth through the introduction of sometimes controversial political theories such as communism, socialism and other ideologies.

Before his class my knowledge of politics was limited, to say the least. Even so, I felt I knew where I stood in my convictions for representation in a democratic government. This is not to say that his beliefs changed where I stood/stand, but it enlightened and broadened my understanding of politics and government and allowed me to grow. I was able to appreciate and somewhat relate to unpopular

ideologies largely rejected by much of the elitist society, which continues to shape us through media and culture. His wealth of knowledge and experience made his class engaging, alluring, and simply put, a joy.

It may sound cliché, but Professor Roman believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself--so much so, that he honored me with a request to tutor his students after I had moved on from his classes.

It is truly with a heavy heart that I write this, as I credit him with making me love the study of political institutions and the laws that govern us. Many of my perspectives on politics were shaped all those years ago in the classroom of Professor Roman from the convictions I carried in and built upon to the plethora

of knowledge he added. Although I know his faith lied in a more just and inclusive

form of government, I know he is at least content with the democratic removal of

the previous administration for one that is a little more fair and balanced.

Rest In Peace dear Professor

-Angie Cadle Sinatra, Hostos Alumna

Many years ago, I was at my first senate meeting and getting a cup of coffee when I heard, “Hi, what is your name?” This man welcomed me and we sat down and started to chat. He told me he taught political science. That was the beginning of a wonderful friendship. I came to find out his name was Peter Roman. I found him to be warm, kind, and someone who cared about his students and stood by his word. Over the years, students would come to me to enter the radiology program and I was told that their Writing Intensive class in political science was the best class they ever took. They said Professor Roman was engaging, fun, and hard work--they learned a lot.

Occasionally, Peter would call me and follow up on one of the students who took his class and got into the radiology program. I remember one time I informed him one of “our” students was not doing well. He tracked down the student and spoke to him and followed up. The story does not end there. At graduation, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Peter shaking the young man’s hand and overheard him tell the student how proud he was of him.

Peter Roman will be missed by many. Rest in peace, my friend.

-Charles Drago, Office of Academic Affairs

When I think of Peter, I think of his strong commitment to justice and fairness for the faculty. When I think of Peter, I think also of Jerry Meyer. Together with Jerry, Peter was a strong force in the early days of the college. He continued his passion and questioning and provoking all during his years at Hostos. His commitment extended beyond Hostos walls. Again, he and Jerry Meyer, co-founders of the Hostos Solidarity Coalition, raised our consciousness to Nicaragua, racism

and imperialism while keeping the mission of Hostos alive and strong. They marched, spoke, and demanded that Hostos remain open and receive the resources necessary to empower our students.

Peter also had a wonderful sense of humor. How many times, I sat next to him at meetings and laughed at his comments. He was also very caring.

Thank you, Peter, for your commitment to Hostos. May you rest in peace knowing that you gave so much to make Hostos a strong presence in the South Bronx community.

-Sandy Figueroa, Business Department

Peter was my initial official contact at the college, and was instrumental for

everything that I experienced at Hostos since that first moment in the fall of 2008. He reached out to me just before the beginning of the school year to inform me that a position was available as an instructor. I took the position and worked on my dissertation that year. At the time, Peter noted that if I defended by the end of the spring, I would be eligible for an open tenure-track line. I finished, and true to his word I was hired as an assistant professor beginning in fall 2009. Thereafter,

I took over for Peter as representative of the Social Sciences Unit in the Senate, and that got me started on college governance, leading to my chairing the Senate today. Finally, as a Unit Coordinator, and defender of his faculty, faculty prerogatives, and academic freedom, Peter set an example of what I wanted in a college leader, and set me on the path to now chairing the Behavioral & Social Sciences Department. It is simply inconceivable to imagine Hostos Community College as the place it is today without the efforts Peter Roman put into his

students, his unit, the Hostos Senate, the College, and the PSC. He set an example

for all of us.

-Ernest Ialongo, Behavioral and Social Sciences Department

I met Peter in 2009 when he interviewed me for an adjunct position in Economics at Hostos. I still remember him entering room B-319, walking quickly and pushing a television cart. Little did I know that over the next ten years this image would become a familiar scene in our college. You could see him everywhere after his early morning classes pushing that cart! I still remember that what surprised me in our initial conversations was his bluntness and his passion

when expressing his ideas to others regardless of their position at the college. I would learn over the years that beneath his gruff exterior was a supportive, loyal colleague who was loyal to those he cared about.

Peter was an outspoken advocate of Hostos and was passionate about Cuba and Latin American politics, all topics we had in common. Ten years have passed since we met, and I will always be grateful to Peter for giving me my start at Hostos and providing me with unwavering support over the years we have worked together. Peter fervently believed in Hostos’ positive contribution to

its students and the community at large and I am thankful that he imparted that passion to me. I remember the last time I saw him and his wife Gail at the Latin American seminar at Columbia University last year. We sat next to each other; we shared a subway; we debated. He was a little slower with his movements, but he was the same strong and good-naturedly stubborn person with whom you would rarely win an argument!

-N. Michel Hernández Valdés-Portela, Behavioral and Social Sciences Department

Gerald Meyer Collection. Hostos Archives and Special Collections/ The City University of New York. With special thanks to William Casari, Library Department, for submitting the photograph for this tribute.

“Hostos United for 500. “CUNY Digital History Archive, accessed February 13,

2021,

https://cdha.cuny.edu/items/show/6282.

“I like teaching here. I like living in New York. I am from California. Students ask me why I am here. I have a job and I really love the job. It gives me an opportunity to do what I like to do--and they pay me for it!”

Hostos50 Oral History Collective, Peter Roman’s Interview with Soldanela Rivera, accessed February 11, 2021, https://www.hostos.cuny.edu/hostos50.

Photograph submitted by Marcella Bencivenni.