Like so many things that were intended to happen in 2021, the 10^th Anniversary celebration of the HCCC North Hudson Campus was put on hold until now.

On Monday, April 25, 2022, at 11 a.m., Hudson County Community College will commemorate the North Hudson Campus 10^th Anniversary by naming the building’s towering Entrance Atrium for one of the those who made the HCCC North Hudson Campus possible – Congressman Albio Sires. The dedication program will include remarks from HCCC President, Dr. Christopher M. Reber; HCCC Board of Trustees Chair, William J. Netchert, Esq.; Union City Mayor and New Jersey State Senator, Brian P. Stack; Hudson County Executive, Thomas A. DeGise; and Congressman Sires.

“It is altogether fitting that this space be named for Congressman Sires,” Dr. Reber stated. “Yes, he was responsible for obtaining the funding for this building. Perhaps more importantly, his public service record demonstrates that he shares the experience of so many HCCC students by navigating challenges, achieving excellence, and serving others. At the age of eleven, Congressman Sires emigrated to the United States with his family from Cuba, learned English, attended Saint Peter’s College on a basketball scholarship, earned his master’s degree, and dedicated his life to serving the people of his adopted home – Hudson County.”

Chairman Netchert said that before entering public service, the Congressman was a teacher and a business owner. He first served as Mayor of West New York for 12 years. As the New Jersey Assembly Speaker, he created the STARS (Student Tuition Assistance Reward Scholarship) and STARS II programs, which offer full county and state college tuition scholarships to thousands of students. He was also responsible for the passing of a $760 million public education bill.  

“Albio Sires provided the impetus for building this North Hudson Campus. He and his Hudson County colleagues in the Assembly and Senate advocated a full HCCC campus, not just a satellite facility, right here where many of our students reside,” Mr. Netchert said.

The magnificent, seven-story HCCC North Hudson Campus is replete with lecture halls, classrooms and labs all outfitted with up-to-the-minute technologies. The campus includes an Enrollment Center; Bookstore; Community Education Office; outdoor courtyard with seating and tables; Student Lounge/Cyber Café; 2,400 square-foot Multipurpose Room; 3,600 square-foot Learning Resource Center and Library; Art Studio; and a bridge walkway that provides secure, direct access to the New Jersey Transit Bergenline Avenue Transportation Center.

Students can complete 19 academic programs at the HCCC North Hudson Campus, including Associate in Science degrees in Accounting, Business Administration, Criminal Justice, Criminal Justice-Homeland Security, and Environmental Studies; Associate in Arts degrees in Business, Elementary/Secondary, Education-Elementary/Secondary (Liberal Arts), English, History, Liberal Arts (General), Psychology (Liberal Arts), Sociology, and Special Education; Associate in Applied Science degrees in Early Childhood Education (Liberal Arts) and Health Sciences; Digital Art and Design Proficiency Certificate; Early Childhood Education Child Development Associate (CDA) Coursework; and Infant/Toddler CDA Professional Development.

“The North Hudson Campus Atrium, with its soaring ceiling, is filled with light. In naming this space for Albio Sires, it will forever commemorate the hope, promise, and light he brought and continues to bring to so many Hudson County residents,” Dr. Reber said.

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About Hudson County Community College

Hudson County Community College serves more than 18,000 credit and non-credit students annually. The College offers nearly 80 degree and certificate programs, including award-winning English as a Second Language, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), Culinary Arts/Hospitality Management, Nursing and Health Sciences, and Fine and Performing Arts. The HCCC Culinary/Hospitality Management program was ranked number six in the U.S. by Best Choice Schools. Over 94% of HCCC Nursing program graduates passed the NCLEX the first time out, placing the program’s graduates in the top tier of two- and four-year nursing programs nationwide. In 2017, the Equality of Opportunity Project ranked HCCC in the top 5% of 2,200 U.S. higher education institutions for social and economic mobility.

HCCC has partnerships with every major four-year college and university in the greater New Jersey-New York area and beyond, accommodating seamless transfer of credits for further undergraduate and graduate education.

The College’s commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion has been recognized with the 2021 Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) Northeast Region Equity Award; and the “INSIGHT Into Diversity” 2021 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award honoring HCCC as one of nine community colleges nationally to be named “Top Colleges for Diversity.” HCCC is a finalist this year for the American Association of Community Colleges’ (AACC) “Advancing Diversity Award of Excellence.”