Required Reading for Italian-Americans...

Sicilian Culture: News & Views

Endowed Chairs Are The Big Story
By Dominic Candeloro, Fra Noi

February 2002 - - Italian American studies are experiencing a boomlet that can become a  full-fledged revolution if the IA public understands and what is going on and responds quickly and enthusiastically. I refer to Joey Stella's article about UNICO's endowed professorships and Frank Cannata's letter to Fra Noi sharing the credit with OSIA and other organizations. This is BIG and it could put Italian Americans over the top in their quest to preserve Italian AMERICAN culture.

Here's how it works. Colleges and universities are the major repositories for learning. With the explosion of information in our society there is a lot of competition for what gets researched and taught. How can Italian American culture (spanning just 200 years and including a small percentage of the population of the US) find a place in this chaos?

It is a time-honored practice for wealthy individuals, motivated groups, and the government to influence university research and teaching by donating large sums of money to create endowed professorships dedicated to a field of special interest to the donor. For example, a million dollars donated as an endowment (never to be spent) at a 5% dividend would generate $50,000 per year. That $50,000 would be used by the university independently to hire personnel to carry on the research and teaching of Italian American studies in perpetuity. That's right, at least one person could research, write, and teach the next generation of scholars who could carry on the process FOREVER. While there are some details like inflation that have to be addressed down the line, that's it!

In addition to money, though, we need understanding, moral support by the larger community, AND patronage by the younger generation of IA students.

Listed below is a brief profile of the IA programs that have come to my attention. I welcome additions and corrections.

SUNY Stony Brook on Long Island has a very active program led by Fred Gardaphe' and Mary Jo Bona who teach IA history and literature to hundreds of students each year. The new Alfonse D'Amato endowed chair of IA studies will soon be added to this program.

The John D. Calandra Institute led by Joseph Scelsa has been functioning in the CUNY system for the past 15 years, providing course work and counseling.

Queens College Professor Philip Cannistraro devotes full time to teaching, writing and has produced a remarkable exhibit on the history of Italians in New York.

Hebert Lehman College in the CUNY system has a program led by Anthony LaRuffa that offers an IA studies major.

The Emiliana Noether Endowed Chair of Italians studies at the University of Connecticut is held by John Davis and organizers have enhanced the program with the Aldo De Domincis graduate fellowship specifically in Italian AMERICAN studies.

At Holy Cross University Father Vincent Lampomarda has been teaching Italian American studies for many years and Seton Hall University has the Geraldine Motta Chair of Italian studies. William Connell focuses on Italian studies that include a course on Italian American history.

At John Carroll University, near Cleveland, the Bishop Anthony M. Pilla IA studies program is led by Santa Crasciani whose courses focus on history, literature, religion, and women writers.

The New Jersey legislature has recently passed a bill to fund a small program to promote teaching about Italian American culture. Montclair State University in New Jersey is in the process of raising some $1.25 million to support an endowed chair.

In California, Cal State at Chico, Long Beach, and Northridge have Italian American Studies programs. Eugenio Frongia teaches everything from Dante to the Renaissance to film to Italian American history. At Long Beach Carlo Chiarenza holds the Graziadio Chair for Italian studies focuses on modern Italian history within and outside of Europe. The chair is currently endowed at $1.2 million. The Northride endowment supports the work of students planning to teach Italian at the K-12 level.

The Italian Studies program at Florida Atlantic University, chaired by Anthony Tamburri focuses on comparative literature and multi-ethnic approaches.

Of course, great works continues to be done at the Immigration History Research Center by Rudolph Vecoli. Archives are the life blood of research and the new center includes extensive Italian American holdings. The University has determined to endow a professorship in Vecoli's name and there is a plan to appoint a curator of Italian American materials.

I've left out dozens of universities at which Italianists do IA studies in addition to their main work. There are some issues about the distinction between "Italians Studies" and "Italian AMERICAN" studies. But you get the idea: We have a good start. If IA leaders and the rank and file would follow the lead of UNICO and aggressively continue to expand the endowed chair campaign, in the future our past will be secure.

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