CUNY has the most Hispanic-serving institutions in the state of New York, according to a report from Excelencia.

Chancellor Félix Matos Rodríguez released a statement about the relationship between CUNY and its Hispanic student body.

“We are beyond proud that Excelencia has identified many of our colleges and programs in its report for promoting Latino retention, college access and degree completion,” said Matos Rodriguez. “With CUNY colleges leading most of Excelencia’s rankings in the state for most degrees and certificates awarded to Latinos and for highest enrollment figures — CUNY is the undisputed leader in New York for serving Latinos in higher education.”

Excelenica’s report highlighted other categories where CUNY schools dominated. Some of the schools where the Hispanic body earns the most degrees includes Borough of Manhattan Community College — which leads with 1,862 degrees earned by students of Hispanic background — followed by John Jay College at No. 2, and then LaGuardia Community College, Lehman and Bronx Community College.

A statement was released by BMCC President, Anthony Munroe, in which he expressed the importance of providing mobility for the Latinx community.

“BMCC is honored to be a part of this important celebration recognizing the contributions of Hispanic Serving Institutions. Serving Latinx students is central to advancing our mission of promoting equity, diversity and inclusion, and to our status as a Hispanic-Serving Institution,” Munroe said. “Our effort of ensuring socioeconomic mobility for the Latinx community is vital to enhancing the fabric of New York state and our society.”

In a survey conducted by The Ticker, corporate communications major Jacqueline Cabrera, who is of Ecuadorian background and the first in her family to attend college, said that she is happy that Baruch is part of a system that provides its Hispanic students a high-quality college education.

She also praised the school for its promotion of social mobility.

“It brings me genuine happiness that Baruch is one of the leading institutions to provide Hispanics a college education but to be also an institution that promotes social mobility and it makes me happy to think that other families can be proud of the journey that they took to get here so their children get a high-quality education,” Cabrera said. “I can only hope these statistics spread to other college institutions.”

Journalism major Rene Salazar, who is of Mexican descent, told The Ticker that she wasn’t surprised by the recent news, but she does find it comforting to be surrounded by students who look like her.

“I’m honestly not surprised that CUNY has the most Hispanic serving institutions in the state,” Salazar said. “As a student of Hispanic background, it is super comforting to see people who look like you and that share the same culture. I’m not saying that in order to have a sense of community I need to have people of the same cultural background around me but there are times where it is helpful.”

Nearly 50 % of the 34 Hispanic-serving institutions listed are CUNY institutions.