Jani Decena-White

M.A. Language and Literacy , City College - CUNY
B.A. English, New York University, School of Arts and Sciences

Classes: Speech, Interpersonal Communications, English I, II, Business, Cultures and Values, Latino Literature, Latin American Literature, African American Literature and Caribbean Women Writers.

Professor Jani Decena-White is passionate about helping students believe in and strengthen the power of their voices whether they are speaking out loud or through their written words. She is a dedicated, student focused, faculty member who meets academic needs by offering support and encouragement while challenging all to push beyond what they think they can do. She joined the HCCC faculty in 1992.

Professor Decena-White served as coordinator in multiple areas over the course of 20+ years. She chaired the inaugural team that created the HCCC Learning Communities and served as coordinator for the program for 5 years. As coordinator for Speech, English and Humanities she was tasked with faculty development, course creation, staffing and scheduling.

Through her advocacy, Prof. Decena-White spearheaded the redevelopment and expansion of the Honors program to include an additional 18 courses, that follow the guidelines of the National Collegiate Honors Council, an HCCC Honors Student Council, a Speaker Series, Student Real Talks, Honors Showcase with both paper and poster sessions as well as Honors Transfer Talks that led to a good number of students transferring to Ivy League universities. In addition, she helped to strengthen ties to local partners like Saint Peter’s University and New Jersey City University with Honors to Honors articulation agreements.

She has presented nationally and internationally on topics as varied as Honors Education, Oral History/Family Narratives, Learning Communities and Caribbean Women Writers. In addition, she has presented at conference events for caregivers at the Veterans Administration Spinal Cord Injury & MS Caregiver Program after having developed and taught a series of Memoir Writing Workshops focused on Writing to Heal.