A sixth-generation Italian American with a profound connection to her roots, Carla Simonini, Ph.D., arrives in Chicago next month to lead Loyola University’s Italian-American Studies program. Complimenti! It took five years, a massive fund-raising campaign that netted $500,000 and a historic commitment by Loyola University of Chicago, but our metropolis finally has an Italian-American studies program to call its own. Though the program is based at Loyola, which matched the $500,000 to create a $1 million endowment, organizers say it also belongs to the local Italian-American community, which will be invited to participate through a variety of outreach efforts. These …
Read More »Veterans museum pays tribute to Anthony Fornelli
The Italian American Veterans Museum presented founder and Chairman Anthony Fornelli with a Lifetime Achievement Award at a testimonial dinner on June 8 at the Donald E. Stevens Convention Center in Rosemont. During a career that has spanned more than six decades, Fornelli has served at various levels of government; presided over half a dozen non-profits; raised or donated millions of dollars for charity; and earned nearly a dozen local, national and international honors. The son of Gennaro, who hailed from Naples, and Madelyn, who “hailed from Calabria by way of Des Moines, Iowa,” Tony grew up on Chicago’s West …
Read More »Loyola endowed chair nears its goal
Past UNICO National President Tony Fornelli; the Rev. Thomas Regan, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences; Past UNICO National President Mike Veselka; local historian Dominic Candeloro; and Art Lurigio, associate dean for faculty at Loyola’s College of Arts and Sciences, celebrate the first installment of UNICO National’s $25,000 pledge toward the fundraising drive to create an endowed chair of Italian American Studies at Loyola University in Chicago. The drive is only $65,000 shy of its $500,000 goal. http://luc.edu/italianamerican/
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