Colleagues, friends, students and alumni will honor President Wilfredo Nieves with a Farewell Retirement Dinner to be held Thursday, May 17th, from 5:00 to 8 p.m. at the Gershon Fox Ballroom, 960 Main Street, next door to the campus.
President Nieves with Ira Rubenzahl, Capital’s 3rd President and President Emeritus of Springfield Technical Community College, at the 2017 Changing Lives Gala.
Dr. Nieves, Capital Community College’s 5th President, is retiring in June capping 18 years as a community college president in Connecticut, eight of them at Capital.
Dr. Nieves came to Capital in July 2010 after serving as President of Middlesex Community College in Middletown.
The Chair of the Hartford Consortium for Higher Education, President Nieves has been active in the community and region with service on the boards National Coalition of Advocates for Students, the Middlesex United Way, Capital Workforce Partners, the Community Renewal Team, the Hartford Stage, Leadership Greater Hartford, Latino Community Services, the Village for Family and Children and the Bradley Home. He serves as a Director for Liberty Bank and its Foundation, a corporator for Hartford Hospital and also the Middlesex Health System, Inc. and he is a Past President of the Middletown Rotary Club. He was recognized by the Middlesex United Way and awarded its highest and most prestigious volunteer award, the Community Service Award.
In higher education, Nieves has been a Commissioner for the New England Association of Schools and Colleges and has served as an evaluator for it as well as for the Commission on Higher Education for the Middle States Association. He has been a Director on the Board of the American Association of Community Colleges and has chaired the Commission on Diversity, Inclusion and Equity, the Committee on Directors and Membership Services and the Committee on Program Initiatives and Workforce Training.
In a letter last month to members of the CCC Foundation & Advisory Council announcing his retirement President Nieves praised the board for its support:
Capital is fortunate to have a group of community leaders serving on the Foundation who understand the value of community colleges and who are willing to go to bat for this college and its students. Though my time in a formal role at Capital is short, it’s important for me and all who care about the community college mission to stay involved and engaged. I intend to do so and I urge you to continue to support the college in fulfilling the Foundation’s mission of “creating access and changing lives.”
“These last eight years at Capital have been some of the most rewarding in my more than 46 years in public education,” wrote Nieves reflecting on his Capital years. “The downtown campus, through the outstanding efforts of members of the Capital community, has come into its own with new programs of distinction and expanding opportunities for experiential learning in business, culture and community service. It’s been a privilege to lead our dedicated faculty and staff here through their many successes and innovations despite fiscal challenges that continue to threaten our ability to provide accessible pathways.”
Batting lead off at a Pope Park softball outing
President Nieves received his doctorate of education in Counseling Psychology from Rutgers the State University of New Jersey. He holds a Master of Arts degree in Guidance and Master of Education degree in Applied Human Development from Columbia University. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics from Keane University of New Jersey. Wilfredo is married to Iris Rivas-Nieves and has two sons, Adrian who also resides in Middletown and Davian who is a fifth grader at Farm Hill Elementary School.
@ Capital Community College 