On the evening of December 9, 2021, the sound of cheers from Cornell faculty and staff, family and friends and community members with music by Sally Ramírez and Alex Specker, filled Cornell’s Statler Hotel Taylor room. The Latina/o Studies program hosted a retirement celebration for Professors Pilar Parra and Héctor Vélez to honor their years of teaching, commitment and contributions to the Latina/o/x and Cornell community.
There was no shortage of food, wine, and recollections. The evening began with a welcome by Vilma Santiago-Irizarry, Director of Latina/o studies and Professor of Latina/o Studies/Anthropology. Pilar’s appreciation speech, read by Corrina Noel, a lecturer in Latina/o studies in the College of Arts & Sciences and College of Human Ecology detailed Pilar’s professional journey at Cornell.
When Pilar arrived at Cornell in 1993, she allocated her time to teach others about health within marginalized populations in the Division of Nutritional Sciences. After being recruited to teach a course on Latine health by the Hispanic American Studies Program (former name of LSP) in 1995, she has educated generations of Cornell students on the role of immigration, acculturation, and poverty in the health status of minority populations. Her accolades include grants provided by the National Institute for Mental Health, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Social Science Research Council, and has published on health related issues.
With a focus on disease and risk prevention and a particular emphasis on applied research to design and test interventions to achieve long-term health behavior change, her contributions to the local and global community have been immensely impactful. Grateful that working with LSP has opened doors for her, Pilar also notes how LSP opened social doors, too; “engaging with the Latino community at Cornell through the Latino Living Center, a Latina sorority (Lambda Pi Chi) and many [other] student organizations” are invaluable experiences that supplemented her career.
Meanwhile, Vélez’s appreciation speech was read by Eric Rosario, a member of the class of 1991 and Senior Development Officer of Alumni Affairs & Development in the College of Arts & Sciences, explaining his involvement and professional development within Cornell’s Latina/o Studies Program.
Arriving from NYC in 1971, Vélez sought to continue his work helping those struggling with drug addiction in East Harlem while understanding the role that both race and society play when getting access to resources. Receiving an M.A.'75 and Ph.D. '83 in Sociology from Cornell University, he taught “Latinos in the U.S.” for 44 years; he educated rising generations on the intersectionality between Latino Americans and America itself.
His involvement with the Latino community at Cornell led to the founding of the Hispanic American Studies Program (1987), later renamed the Latina/o Studies Program (2015) that we know today. Vélez has served as Acting Director of LSP twice and up until his retirement from Cornell, was a Faculty Fellow at the Latino Living Center since its founding in1994 (which is fitting, as he was present at the Day Hall takeover).
He stayed involved within the student community despite his academic success; as a graduate student at Cornell, he was one of five co-organizers of the Caribbean Student Association that later became La Asociación Latina (LAL). Vélez has also served as an advisor for several student organizations such as Sabor Latino Dance Ensemble, Quisqueya, Puerto Rico Student Association, Central American Student Association, Ecuadorian Student Association, and Lambda Upsilon Lambda (LUL). Vélez was a professor in Ithaca College's Department of Sociology, served as Chair, and was one of the founders of the Center for the Study of Culture, Race, and Ethnicity before retiring in 2007. Last but not least, Vélez, his wife Josie, along with several other community members founded the Latino Civic Association of Tompkins County.
The event was a celebration of Pilar and Héctor's lifetime achievements with serenades, toasts, endless food, and to end the evening a performance by Cornell's Sabor Latino Dance Ensemble. Although Pilar and Héctor are no longer teaching, they left behind an invaluable legacy of encouraging students from all generations to think critically about privilege, intersectionality and to balance academia with the community.
