Sean Patrick Lovett
Renaissance Man of the Media

Author, television consultant, professor of communication, award winning radio correspondent, communication consultant, theater director: Sean Patrick Lovett, you are truly a renaissance man of the media. For the last 20 years, you have been Director of the English Language Services at Vatican Radio. Since 2001 you have been the Director of Vatican Radio’s FM Channel One-O-Five Live, and the station’s English and Italian Language sections. This channel is the direct descendant of the radio channel you founded in 2000, the year of the Jubilee in Rome.

Jubileum was Vatican Radio’s first plurilinguistic, multimedial, interactive radio channel. A war correspondent between 1980 and 1986 for both CNN and CNS (Catholic News Service) in Lebanon, South Africa and Northern Ireland, your coverage won you a Silver Medal at the New York Television Festival in 1983. In 1996 the Avex Alliance, a communications research group in Lyons, France, where you teach a course on radio every year, awarded you the Golden Microphone for promoting radiophonic media around the world. You are Professor of Social Communications at the Pontifical Gregorian University for the past 15 years. An accomplished public speaker, you have created specialized interpersonal communications courses which are currently offered in 15 countries around the world, most recently in Zambia, Rumania and Pakistan. You are also a personal media trainer to numerous political and religious personalities, business people and entertainment celebrities. You advise the Vatican Television Center as well as film and television companies and multinationals. In 2006 you co-authored and co-presented the hit television series on Mediaset’s Italia Uno, Frankenstein. In the early nineties you traveled to Calcutta to meet Mother Teresa, and the result of that trip was a best-selling book you co-authored with her, The Best Gift is Love: Meditations by Mother Teresa, published in 1993. With a degree in Theater Direction from the National Academy of Dramatic Art in Rome, you have created and run various theater workshops in this city and have given your voice to innumerable characters in films, cartoons and documentary narrations. By your own self-description, you are Irish by blood, African by birth, Italian by adoption; a rich heritage reflected in your numerous and generous contributions to the world of media and communications. The American University of Rome honors itself by conferring upon you this honorary degree. By virtue of the authority vested in me by the District of Columbia and by the recommendation of the faculty and the Board of Trustees of The American University of Rome, I do hereby confer upon you, Sean Patrick Lovett, the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, Honoris Causa, with all the rights and privileges, immunities and honors thereunto belonging. Robert Marino, Ph.D. President The American University of Rome May 18, 2007

Sylvia Poggioli
Award Winning Journalist and Citizen of the World

As Senior European Correspondent for National Public Radio, you have always maintained your commitment to serving the public to the best of your abilities, with an unfailing commitment to ethics and honesty in news reporting that have gained you international respect, admiration and faith in your credibility. Your journalism career has spanned more than thirty years, from its beginnings in the Italian news agency ANSA in 1971, to your joining the NPR Foreign Desk in 1982, to your award winning coverage of the Bosnian conflict in 1993, to your most recent award in 2004, the WBUR Foreign Correspondent Award, presented to an outstanding public radio foreign correspondent. Your career, and the honors and awards you have received, attest to the standards you have set for journalists worldwide

and the role model you are for women in the field. In appreciation of your excellence in your profession, the awards you have received include an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from the University of Massachusetts, in Boston, in 2006; the Wells Hangen Award for Distinguished Journalism from Brown University in 2002; and in 2000 you received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Brandeis University. You were also part of the NPR team that won the 2000 Overseas Press Club award for the coverage of NATO’s 1999 air war against Yugoslavia. You won two awards in 1994, the National Women’s Political Caucus/Radcliffe College Exceptional Merit Media Award, and the Silver Angel Excellence in the Media Award. In the same year you were elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences for your “distinctive, cultivated and authoritative reports on ‘ethnic cleansing’ in Bosnia.” For your coverage of that tragedy you earned two awards in 1993: the George Foster Peabody Award, and the Edward Weintal Journalism prize. In 1991 you supplemented NPR’s coverage of Operation Desert Storm, the first Gulf War, reporting from London on European reactions to events surrounding the war. As the daughter of Italian anti-fascists who were forced to flee Mussolini’s Italy, your news reporting clearly reflects your strong belief in the importance of, and your adherence to, the principles of a free press in democratic societies. The American University of Rome honors itself by conferring upon you this honorary degree. By virtue of the authority vested in me by the District of Columbia and by the recommendation of the faculty and the Board of Trustees of The American University of Rome, I do hereby confer upon you, Sylvia Poggioli, the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, Honoris Causa, with all the rights and privileges, immunities and honors thereunto belonging. Robert Marino, Ph.D. President The American University of Rome May 18th, 2007

President’s Address
to the 2007 Graduating Class

Dear Graduates,

You have heard inspiring words by the faculty representative, by your own Valedictorian, and by our distinguished guests. My own charge to you begins by reexamining the fundamentals of this institution, its mission. What drives our dedicated faculty and staff each day of our working lives? And what are the measures of success?

The mission we have set for ourselves is to educate young men and women in the best American tradition. To include, with a strong major concentration, a broad liberal arts curriculum. To nurture the language, communication and critical-thinking skills that will enable you to continue to learn throughout your working lives and continue to adapt to our ever more-quickly changing world.

Our mission is that and more.

We wanted you to obtain an intellectually deeper appreciation of this incredible city of Rome and to use its resources to understand how different strands of knowledge are interrelated in the real world.

We strove to prepare you to lead ethical lives and, above all, to provide an environment that empowered you and prepared you “to live and work across cultures.” This last goal is fundamental and is one of the many things that sets us apart as a unique institution of higher learning.

Well, have we succeeded??

Any one who spends even half an hour talking with you, who examines your already impressive achievements, will say, Yes, the world needs more men and women like you, citizens of the world who are ready to enter and succeed in our ever more international, ever more intercultural, ever more complex world so deeply in need of people who can bridge the gulfs that separate our human families.

I look around me today and I see in you, the Class of 2007, our mission wonderfully fulfilled. Therefore, I now ask you to stand and receive your degrees:

By the authority vested in me by the District of Columbia and the Board of Trustees of The American University of Rome, I do herby confer individually onto each of you the mentioned degree with all the rights and privileges, immunities and honors thereto pertaining.

And now, with your degree conferred, please move your tassels from right to left.

Congratulations!!

Robert Marino, Ph.D.
President
The American University of Rome
May 18, 2007

2007 Spring Concert in Celebration of
the 2007 Graduating Class of
The American University of Rome

On Wednesday, May 16, 2007, The American University of Rome hosted a wonderful evening concert and reception in honor of the 2007 Graduating Class.

The concert featured songs of the Amazing Grace Gospel Choir, directed by Maestro and AUR Adjunct Professor of Music, Timothy Martin. Their rich repertoire included traditional spirituals to contemporary gospel, and even featured a surprise African-American dance performance. During the intermission, Dr. Marino, the President of The American University of Rome, presented a slideshow of the graduates over their final year at AUR and congratulated them on their success.

The event was held in the grand concert hall of the Goethe Institute near Piazza Fiume to accommodate the full choir of thirty signers and six musicians and the large audience of graduates and their families, faculty, staff and friends of the University. A welcome cocktail reception preceded the concert in the gardens of the Goethe Institute.

 

“Libraries: The Multiple Voices”
Incontro con Leslie Burger, ALA President

On April 27th, the American University of Rome hosted a meeting of approximately 40 librarians in the Auditorium with special guest speaker Leslie Burger, president of the American Library Association. The topic of discussion was the various roles that libraries play in communities, and how the offerings and services of libraries need to be continually altered as society changes. Burger particularly pointed out with reference to her “theme” while in presidency, “Libraries Transform Communities”, that libraries should be innovative in order to respond to the needs of their users. In this way, libraries need not wait for changes in surrounding communities to take place for changes to be implemented internally; rather, libraries have the “voice” to guide change and to be creative models for culture.

Other lecturers present that morning were: Angela Trezza (CNI, UNESCO), Myra Michele Brown (Information Resource Officer Mediterranean Europe, U.S. Embassy Rome), Giuliana Pietroboni (Direttore Dipartimento Politiche Culturali Provincia di Roma), Igino Poggiali (Presidente dell’Istituzione Biblioteche di Roma), and Stefano Parise (Coordinatore Commissione Nazionale Biblioteche Pubbliche AIB).

A reception was provided by the sponsor of the event, AMICUS (Amicus Library Services).

Income-vs. Consumption-Based Estimates of Poverty: Evidence from Rural India after Liberalization

On April 17th, Marco Cavalcante, a consultant at the United Nations World Food Programme, addressed the AUR community as part of the Distinguished Lecture Series about poverty and adequate methods to measure it. A person is considered to be poor if his or her income level falls below some minimum level necessary to meet basic needs. Most of the world’s poor live in South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and East Asia. Almost half of the world’s poor live in just two countries – China and India.

Cavalcante suggested that measuring poverty through consumption may not capture the real trend of economic wealth. It is possible to have income decline, and still an increase in consumption to occur. Through the results of field work in three villages in rural Tamil Nadu, India, it is shown that the agricultural crisis has adversely affected income of people; regardless of this fact, consumption expenditure has increased. Hence, these conclusions highlight the criticism that exists towards the consumption-based methodologies to measure poverty. Also mentioned was that despite an official decline in poverty, India still faces serious problems related to food security. For further discussion on this topic, see Cavalcante’s PowerPoint Presentation.

AUR Professor Speaks at Pontifical University

On Friday 30th April Prof. Breda C. Ennis presented a paper at the Pontificia Universita della Santa Croce in Rome.
The paper was entitled “Contemporary Art and Artists – Beauty in Art in the context of problems relating to the Teaching of Art”.
This paper was presented during a Conference entitled Poetica & Cristianesimo – Mimesi, Verita, Fiction (Ripensare l’arte . Sulla scia della Poetica di Aristotle.) The Conference was organized by the Faculties of Philosophy and Communications. Professor Ennis’s paper was selected from a large number of Abstracts presented to the committee. She spoke about her work as an artist and her experiences teaching art in The American University of Rome.

 

AUR Trustees Give Generously in 2006-07

Gifts from individual Trustees of The American University of Rome rose substantially this year, in no small part due to the exceptional generosity of trustees Gabriel Battista and Carmen Romeo.

In March 2007, Gabriel Battista pledged $ 100,000 to advance our Communication program. Most of the funds will be allocated for a new facility to be named The Gabriel and Debra Battista Multimedia Laboratory, in the recently-acquired building on Via Carini 23. The remaining funds will be used to strengthen the infrastructure of the Communication Department and to expand faculty development activities over the next three years. Mr. Battista’s gift will enable AUR to operate a substantially expanded and upgraded multimedia laboratory, thus raising the profile of Communication as a flagship program of the University.

Last fall, the Chair of the Alumni Affairs and Development Committee, Carmen Romeo, challenged the Board to substantially increase their annual giving by pledging to increase his own gift in proportion to new funds contributed by other trustees. As a result of this challenge, annual giving by trustees, which had doubled from traditional levels last year, has doubled again for the current fiscal year.

President Marino joins the AUR community in expressing gratitude to the trustees for their vision and generous support to further the mission of the University.

Business Speaker Series
Dr. Sumiter Broca Singh
“Economic Growth in India: An Analytical Narrative”
by Giulia Rizza

Dr. Sumiter Broca Singh, senior FAO economist, shared his analysis of prospects for growth and development in his home country of India, during a lecture at AUR on March 27. His lecture was the third in the Spring Business Speakers Series, sponsored by the Department of Business Studies. Dr. Broca’s research focuses on the economic impact of malnutrition and on agricultural development and trade. He currently advises the Director General of FAO on food policy, through his work with FAO’s Global

Studies Perspective Unit. During his lively presentation, the economist provided the AUR community with insight into India’s growth and development over time. Between 1950 and 1981, India’s GDP growth rate was 3.4% due to the country’s closed economy. Development and economic progress were stagnant as manufacturers were forced to sell domestically with no potential for growth and, consequently, no incentive to invest. With reforms enacted in 1991, however, economic growth grew to 6.2%, the rate of investment increased, strong FDI inflows were present, and ample foreign exchange reserves were available. According to Dr. Broca, the positive results of the 1991 reforms have allowed net national product to increase drastically in recent years. Despite these positive outlooks for India’s future, Dr. Broca said that problems such as inequality, food and poverty insecurity, illiteracy and political instability and disparity still remain, driving the need for innovative and sustainable approaches to growth and development.

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Professor Palana’s Work Chosen by
World Food Programme
By Michelle Spaulding

Professor Kristen Palana’s animated video was recently chosen by The World Food Programme (WFP) to be used as their 2007 campaign to end child hunger. Professor Palana heard about a contest towards the end of the Fall 2006 semester that asked multimedia artists around the world to create their own commercials and submit them for the opportunity to be shown on television as well as the internet as an official advertisement for WFP.

Professor Palana, who founded the non-profit, charity driven website www.aurashouse.com, enjoys helping people and was excited to do the project. However, she only had three weeks until the deadline and had to prepare her students (and herself) for final exams. Professor Palana had a dream about the video and was then able to complete it in three short weekends. Aside from having her video used as the 2007 WFP campaign, Professor Palana will also visit a feeding center in Africa on May 13th. The feeding centers (which are located in Malawi, Tanzania, and Kenya) are often run through schools and raise awareness about child hunger. Professor Palana is extending her work with WFP to her classroom. When she met with representatives from the Programme they asked her if she would create commercials for their “Walk the World” campaign, which encourages people from all over the world to arrange walks in their cities to raise awareness about WFP and child hunger. Professor Palana turned to her Introduction to the Television Commercial class (COM 306) and made it a class project to create commercials for the campaign. If chosen, the commercials will also be shown on television and the internet. The excitement hasn’t ended for Professor Palana, as her WFP video has also been recently chosen as an Editor’s Pick on YouTube. Shown on the YouTube homepage, this has resulted in more awareness for The World Food Programme and a great increase in the amount of times the video is viewed each day. To view Professor Palana’s video, visit www.fighthunger.org

 

AUR Grows with a New Building
By Michelle Spaulding

AUR has just taken possession of an additional building, located on Via Carini, 100 meters from the main campus. The new facility is part of a plan to meet the University’s constantly growing student body. The Communications department multimedia lab, as well as the Arts & Humanities department and some other faculty offices will be moving into the building after minor renovations are made. Students from Philadelphia University that come to AUR to study architecture and fashion will use the building as well. Moving these offices and classrooms into the new building will create more space in Building B on AUR’s main campus and in Evans Hall. The free space in Evans Hall will become AUR’s new library; the entire building being devoted to library services and student

study space. After moving the multimedia lab, the library, and a few faculty offices out of Building B, the entire building will be solely comprised of classrooms. The old library space will become classrooms complete with computers. The University plans to start renovations in the Carini building in May, and follow with Building B and Evans Hall during the summer. The goal is to have the buildings complete, and the facilities available at the start of the Fall 2007 semester.

Seminar held on Project Minerva EC:
A prototype for library websites
By Giulia Rizza

Through Franziska Wallner, AUR librarian, and the Italian Library Association, AUR was the host of a seminar on professional updating of library websites on February 16, 2007.

The lecturers of the seminar were Pier Luigi Feliciati and Maria Teresa Natale from MIBAC, “l’osservatorio tecnologico per i beni e le attività culturali” At the seminar, Project Minerva, now enlarged to Minerva EC, was presented to approximately 70 Italian librarians. It is the “Ministerial Network for Valorizing Activities in Digitisation, and eContentplus – Supporting the European Digital Library” and is part of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage. Its main objective is to supply a useful tool to plan and develop cultural websites. This specific seminar was aimed at providing website insight to libraries, focusing on emphasizing the central contents of websites and their quality and accessibility.

Following the workshop, the Italian Library Association provided a reception.

For more information on Minerva EC, visit: http://www.minervaeurope.org/about/minervaec.htm.

Harvard National Model United Nations (HNMUN) Convention in Boston
By Alessandro Batazzi

Rome, Italy - On February 14, a group of 13 AUR students and two professors attended the Harvard National Model United Nations (HNMUN) in Boston, Massachusetts. This was a great accomplishment for The American University of Rome, as it was the first time that the school participated in such an event.

The HNMUN is a yearly convention, organized by Harvard University, where about 200 universities meet to simulate the diplomatic activities of the United Nations. Each university is assigned a country to represent in all those committees that the nation is a member of in real life. This year there were almost 2500 students, 190 nations, and 13 UN Committees.

The American University of Rome was representing the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, a very controversial country on the international scene. Yet, all the students said that they were happy and honored to represent Colonel Muammar al-Gathafi’s country. It gave all of them the possibility of studying a country very different from what they were used to; a country different in its ideas, its principles, and its political structure.

As an Arab country trying to play an important role in the Africa Union, and one whose role in the international scene is evolving and increasing in importance, Libya was very interesting to represent. “It is a country so close to us, yet so far”, said Professor Thomassen.

This evolution of Libya’s role was noticed in the committees, where other countries of the African Union eagerly looked for the Jamahiriya’s support, often with a touch of jealousy.

The group obtained great accomplishments in all the committees. In the Disarmament and Security Committee, Mehtab Dere and Jeremy Barnes managed to have the United States of America to agree to start working towards a nuclear free zone in the Middle East. In the Special Political and Decolonization Committee, Derrick Fiedler and Alessandro Batazzi had Iraq agree to the creation of a second chamber to their Parliament, one inspired by the Libyan model, involving the creation of local people’s congresses. In the Social Humanitarian and Cultural Committee, Donna Doyle and Adam Linell fought for the coming together of the AU, just like Gathafi would. And these are just some among the many.

To the joy of all the delegation, the name of The American University of Rome was seen on the screen, at the award ceremony, as Pasquale Napolitano received an honorable mention in his committee, Caesar’s Rome. In this special commission, there was a revival of the Roman Empire’s Senate.

Professor Bjørn Thomassen, one of the two Academic Advisors, together with Ambassador Parker Borg, was very enthusiastic of the outcome of the experience. “It is an extremely positive learning experience, and at the same time very fun. We learned more in those four days, and in the preparation we underwent before the trip, than we could have possibly done in a normal classroom course. It was clear to me, that what we learned related to several of the courses we teach at AUR, and to our core values. The experience brought a practical and real world dimension to the classroom activity”, said Professor Thomassen.

Another key figure in the organization of the expedition was Mehtab Dere, President of the International Relations Club and Head Delegate. On the experience, Mr. Dere said the following, “It was a great group. Everyone worked really hard, and there was a lot of mutual support”.

From this delegation of 13, only three students will go again next year, as all the rest are graduating in May. These are Giles Smith, Irene Greaves, and Alessandro Batazzi. “We walked into this year’s convention blind”, said Giles Smith, “Now we know the rules of the game, and a clear understanding of what is expected from the delegations no matter what country is being represented”. Irene Greaves continued, saying how “We look forward to next year, and we hope to learn and have fun just as much. And go home with more awards”.

The AUR was represented by the following students: Derrick Fiedler, Mehtab Dere, Jeremy Barnes, Giles Smith, Alessandro Batazzi, Vladamir Atanasov, Michael Park, Donna Coyle, Irene Greaves, Klaus Heiss, Adam Linnell, Pasquale Napolitano, and Sal Salpietro. Professor Bjørn Thomassen and Diplomat in Residence, Ambassador Parker Borg accompanied the students and provided valuable support.

Pasquale Napolitano wins Honorable Mention Award at Harvard National Model United Nations (HNMUN) Convention in Boston
By Giulia Rizza

As part of AUR’s role at this year’s model UN convention in Boston from February 15, 2007 to February 18, 2007, Pasquale Napolitano, president of AUR’s student government and president of AUR’s culture club, was commended on his efforts in representing “Caesar’s Rome”. Pasquale was in charge of leading the “Continual Crisis Committee” throughout the convention. The committee acted as Caesar’s personal cabinet in advising the dictator on various issues. Pasquale, himself, represented Marcus Tullius Cicero and he shows great enthusiasm and honor in having been able to imitate such an important historical leader. The group encountered such issues as colonization to reforming the Senate and assassination. Part of the program included developing a resolution which, for Pasquale’s committee, was civil wars. Civil wars were unanimously agreed upon and the winners were chosen to be co-consuls for one year and at the end of the year, free elections would then take place.

With over 2,000 students attending the Harvard National Model UN Convention this past weekend, Pasquale Napolitano is extremely thrilled and honored to have been recognized and to have had this opportunity to put into action “The Classics” which he has continually studied at AUR. “It was an honor to be a part of such a good group of people”, says Pasquale, regarding the diverse group of students present at the convention and their varied levels of preparation and experience. Pasquale particularly found interesting performing speeches and funeral eulogies and, overall, the ease with which people came together to discuss their respective issues.

AUR fields its first men’s basketball team

Alberto Oliverio to lead a conference in AUR’s Auditorium at 2pm on March 7, 2007
on 'Brain, Mind and Colours'

Dr. Alberto Oliverio chairs the Department of Psychobiology at Rome's University La Sapienza, and is an eminent, internationally known scientist. One of his most recent books, 'Le Età della Mente' ('The Ages of the Mind'), was written together with his wife Anna Oliverio Ferraris, another famous Italian Childhood Neuropsychiatrist. The book has turned out to be a best-seller thanks to its scientifically innovative approach, its plain language, and its accessibility for well-educated reader.

The conference was organized by the class of New Trends in Evolutionary Biology, taught by Dr. P. Crocchiolo of the Mathematics and the Sciences Department.

AUR at the Harvard National Model United Nations

The AUR will be represented at the fifty-third session of Harvard National Model United Nations (HNMUN) which will take place from Thursday, February 15, through Sunday, February 18, 2007, at the historic Park Plaza Hotel in downtown Boston.

The HNMUN is a simulation at the highest level, each year drawing over 2,500 college students from dozens of countries around the world to tackle a diversity of issues in international relations. HNMUN is dedicated to experiential education through debate, diplomacy, and compromise. Through preparation for and participation in the simulation, students develop expertise in research, writing, public speaking, and the art of negotiation as they fight for the interests of countries they represent on their international interests on every conceivable topic relevant in today’s global community.

The AUR has been given Libya as the country whose interests and viewpoints its delegation must represent and defend. Certainly a challenge! The AUR is represented with the following students: Derrick Fiedler, Mehtab Dere, Jeremy Barnes, Giles Smith, Alessandro Batazzi, Vladamir Atanasov, Damjan Djokic, Michael Park, Donna Coyle, Irene Greaves, Klaus Heiss, Adam Linnell, Pasquale Napolitano, Sal Salpietro. Professor Bjørn Thomassen and Diplomat in Residence, Professor Parker Borg will accompany the students. Wish us good luck!

Professor Ennis Exhibits in Belgium

The 19th of March 2007 will be an important day for The American University of Rome and Professor Breda C. Ennis – Professor of Fine Arts, Artist, and Director of The Pyramid Art Studio. Prof. Ennis has been chosen to give a personal exhibition – which will continue until the 30th of May, as the launching event of the celebrations for the 400th Anniversary of several historic events of Irish Interest, including the Flight of the Earls, from Donegal in Ireland to Continental Europe in 1607 and the foundation of St. Anthony’s College, the Irish College in Louvain. This exhibition will be held in The Louvain Institute for Ireland in Leuven, Belgium and it will be inaugurated by Ireland’s Head of State, President Mary McAleese. It is anticipated that H.M. Albert II, King of the Belgians will visit the Institute. The catalogue will have an introduction by the Irish Ambassador to Belgium, H.E. Brian Nason and a comment will also be written by Ambassador

AUR Students Study Abroad

glad to be here, I am meeting a lot of people from all over the world and the country is fantastic; I have never seen such an organized city. Everything is amazingly clean. We have taken some trips. The Temples, Parks, Pagodas and Monuments are the most incredible things I have ever seen...!!!I love it more and more every day!!! For New Year’s Eve I was in the street with all the locals, I have never seen a such an organized New Year’s celebration. The fireworks were fantastic …professor it was great!”

After the one-month course in Shanghai, Alexandra will move to Nanjing for a Spring semester of business and culture courses at Nanjing University. She is one of more two dozen students who have taken advantage of the wide array of study abroad opportunities offered by AUR through its AURA (AUR-Abroad) program, in the two short years since the program was launched. Fourteen have participated in the China program alone. Ecuador is the second most popular destination, followed by Spain and England. Made possible through the cooperation and support of partner school The College of Staten Island and its Center for International Studies, the AURA program offers AUR resident students a chance to study not only in China, but in Ecuador, England, Spain, Denmark, Greece, South Africa, and Vietnam, as well as in New York City, at CSI (a CUNY institution).