In a powerful display of cultural heritage and academic synergy, New Jersey City University (NJCU) recently transformed its Harborside Campus into a focal point for the Cuban American experience. The university hosted a landmark centennial celebration of Miami’s Freedom Tower, an event that underscored the deep ties between the “Ellis Island of the South” and the vibrant Cuban community of Hudson County.
The gala, held in the Skyline Room, offered a symbolic backdrop: guests looked across the Hudson River to New York’s own “Freedom Tower” (One World Trade Center) while honoring the 100-year legacy of its Miami namesake.
The evening reached its pinnacle when NJCU President Andrés Acebo bestowed the university’s prestigious Presidential Medallion upon two transformative leaders:
-
Madeline Pumariega: President of Miami Dade College (MDC) and a national advocate for Latino educational achievement.
-
Pablo Pino (NJCU ’91): Vice Chair of the Miami Dade College Foundation and a distinguished NJCU alumnus.
These individuals represent only the ninth and tenth recipients of the medallion since 2014, an honor reserved for those who have made monumental contributions to the community and the mission of higher education.
“Every one of those reviews represents a family that trusted us with one of the biggest transitions of their life,” Acebo said, bridging the history of the exile community with the modern mission of institutions like NJCU and MDC.
Completed in 1925, Miami’s Freedom Tower served as a processing center for hundreds of thousands of Cuban exiles in the 1960s. After a recent $30 million restoration completed in late 2025, the Mediterranean Revival landmark now serves as a museum and cultural center under the stewardship of Miami Dade College.
For many in the room—including those from Hudson County, which hosts the second-largest Cuban American population in the U.S. outside of Florida—the tower remains a sacred symbol of arriving “frightened and uncertain” and leaving with a foothold in the American dream.
The event was co-hosted by the Cuban American Alliance for Leadership and Education (CAALE), a nonprofit dedicated to grooming the next generation of professionals.
Beyond the nostalgia, the gathering served as a high-level networking summit for leaders of two of the most diverse higher-education institutions in the country. With Miami Dade College enrolling over 163,000 students annually, the partnership with NJCU signals a unified front in expanding educational access for Latino students across the East Coast.
