The George L. Graziadio Center for Italian Studies at California State University, Long Beach is proud to announce that their Chair, Dr. Clorinda Donato will be this year’s recipient of the Education Award from the Western Foundation of the Order Sons of Italy in America during their 10th Humanitarian and Leadership Gala on September 22, 2012 at the Doubletree Hotel in Santa Ana.
The Western Foundation of the Order Sons of Italy in America honors and celebrates individuals who have demonstrated extraordinary achievement and Dr. Clorinda Donato is no exception. She earned her PhD from UCLA in Romance Languages, Literatures and Linguistics and has served California State University, Long Beach for 24 years as professor of French and Italian, and as the Chair of the Department of Romance, German, Russian Languages and Literatures. She was instrumental in helping save the Italian program at CSULB in the 1990’s with the help of the community and especially Commendatore Frank J. De Santis who secured the founding gift from Henry Salvatori as well as the naming gift from George L. Graziadio to endow a the Chair in Italian Studies at CSULB.
Dr. Donato’s resume is a shining example of her expertise in the field of eighteenth and nineteenth century literature, in particular, the history of encyclopedic knowledge and its compilation and gender studies, fields in which she has published over 50 articles and four edited collections. She, along with her colleagues Dr. Claire Martin and Dr. Markus Muller, have earned CSULB the honor and prestige of being awarded a National Endowment for Humanities $100,000 grant for their work in “Italian and French for Spanish Speakers”.
This grant gives CSULB the necessary funds to implement new, innovative courses based on the Intercomprehension method, recognized in Europe, which gives students with a knowledge of one romance language the ability to learn and comprehend another romance language at an accelerated pace. Dr. Donato and her colleagues have also been able to train local colleges and high schools in this method.
Among the participants is San Pedro High School Italian teacher and Language Department Head, Ida Lanza. Thanks to this program, San Pedro High School will expand their Italian courses to include Italian for Spanish Speakers. The collaborative project was recently featured on KPCC (Pasadena City College) radio by renowned journalist, Adolfo Guzman-Lopez.
Dr. Donato exudes a passion for Italian as it is her cultural background. Her inspiration to fight for Italian derives from the memory of her father and the generations of immigrants and Italian Americans who could not study Italian at universities and high schools in this country. Her work has been influential in the creation of the BA program in Italian Studies and the Single-Subject Credential in Italian at CSULB, which is now the credential program for Italian in the State of California.
She is deeply committed to her students, who admire and respect her for the knowledge and warmth she conveys in and out of the classroom. She is known to say “students first” and truly means that as she is always available for advisement, writing letters of recommendation, assisting students with the writing and editing of papers for scholarships, grants and the presentation of their academic work. She has also established new linkages with Italian universities and consistently helps students find suitable study abroad programs in Italy.
Dr. Donato’s numerous awards and recognitions include the CSULB Distinguished Faculty Scholarly Achievement Award (1999), the Prix De Felice from the University of Lausanne (2000), the “Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques” by the French Government (2005), the American Society for Eighteenth Century Studies Innovation in Teaching Award (2008) and The George L. Graziadio Chair of Italian Studies at CSULB (2010), and Corresponding Member of the Accademia Roveretana degli Agiati (2012).
The Education Award from the Western Foundation of OSIA will culminate a lifelong devotion to the promotion of Italian and Italian American Studies. None of these accomplishments would have been possible without the love and support of her devoted husband, Dr. Sergio Guarro and her children, Marcello, Adriana and Gianluca. Please join us in congratulating this extraordinary woman and proud Italian American.
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