[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 69 (Friday, April 19, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E373]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     RECOGNIZING DR. VICTOR ALICEA

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. RITCHIE TORRES

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, April 19, 2024

  Mr. TORRES of New York. Mr. Speaker, Dr. Victor G. Alicea, Ph.D., is 
the founding President of Boricua College. He began his tenure at the 
College in 1974. During his time at Boricua College, he has proven his 
steadfast leadership and commitment to moving the institution forward 
at a time of unprecedented challenge to the health and financial well-
being of colleges and universities across the nation.
  ``The present is the only pathway that connects our past with our 
future,'' Dr. Victor G. Alicea, is often heard to remark. Always 
present in the ``here and now'' Victor Gabriel Alicea has worked 
tirelessly for the education and flourishing of all people of New York 
City. He is the founder and president of Boricua College for the past 
48 years.
  Dr. Victor G. Alicea was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico and spent his 
childhood in New York City's East Harlem ``El Barrio'' and in Harlem. 
Victor Alicea has worked throughout his life combining intellectual 
strength and his vast knowledge of education and human polity with the 
caring he has for people. He has participated and led numerous 
institutes in public administration, group dynamics, community 
organization, health and mental health care services and is a 
practicing social worker, educator, planner, consultant to various 
community development programs and is a psychotherapist in private 
practice.
  One of President Alicea's foremost commitments has been to New York 
City, a city he loves. He has served on Mayor Dinkins's Advisory 
Committee on Appointments. In 1990 Dr. Alicea was appointed Vice 
Chairman of the New York City Planning Commission by Mayor David 
Dinkins, and in July, 1995 was named to a second term by Mayor Rudolph 
Giuliani, finally serving for eleven years. He also served on Mayor 
Giuliani's Special Panel on the Health and Hospitals Corporation, and 
was appointed by Governor Pataki as a Commissioner of the New York 
State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and served as 
Secretary of the Board of Directors of Banana Kelly Community 
Improvement Association, Inc. Currently serves as Member of the Board 
of Trustees of the NYS Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC).
  In 2022, Dr. Alicea completed 48 years as the founding President of 
Universidad Boricua/Boricua College during which time the College has 
grown from one floor in a building in Williamsburg Brooklyn, and 26 
students, to three campus centers with 800 students and 40 full-time 
faculty members, in three buildings including a campus in Manhattan, 
and the recently completed $47 million campus building for the Bronx 
Campus, making it a tri-Borough College, the progression has been from 
graduating three students in 1976 to over fourteen thousand by 2023.
  Dr. Alicea's recent inclusion in City & State's 2023 Higher Education 
Power 100 list is a testament to his unwavering commitment to serving 
our community and advancing education. As the longest-serving president 
of a private college in New York State, Dr. Alicea's legacy is one of 
transformative leadership and a tireless pursuit of excellence.
  There are many more years to come for this colossal intellectual 
giant to serve the people of this great City. Typical of this self-
reflecting man that his greatest pride and pleasure has been how much 
he has learned from the faculty and staff who helped to create the 
College, and the thousands of students and families that have been 
touched by Boricua College.

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