Citation for Ambassador Ronald P. Spogli’s
Doctor of Humane Letters, Honoris Causa

16 May 2008: Ambassador Ronald Spogli, diplomat, entrepreneur, mentor, academic leader, philanthropist: your career and achievements as a player on the international stage are exemplary.

Ambassador Spogli accepts his honorary degree from President Marino

You are a highly distinguished ambassador, who has worked relentlessly to promote transatlantic relations between Italy and the United States, focusing on the cultural, historical and democratic values which frame the two countries’ common heritage. You have made economic development the focus of your work here, establishing a legacy of service addressing the areas where our beloved home country can best impact the lives of the citizens of our host country.
The grandson of an Italian, you were born in Los Angeles, California. After receiving your degree in History from Stanford University, you obtained an MBA from the Harvard Business School. You then founded Freeman Spogli & Co., one of the leading private equity investors in the United States, and served on the board of directors of over twenty different companies.
Appointed Ambassador to Italy, the personal representative of the President of the United States, you returned to a country you already knew quite well. You had, in fact, lived in Florence in 1968 as an exchange student and had worked in Milan on an important research project investigating internal migrations in Italy.

In more recent years, you have dedicated much time and energy to promoting cultural and educational exchanges between the U.S. and Italy. And as a political representative of the American Government you have entertained strong diplomatic relations with the Italian State contributing to the management of critical international issues such as terrorism, the Iraqi war and the Afghanistan crisis.
You are personally committed to international education and international relations, as the many projects you have undertaken demonstrate. Since 2001, you have been a member of Stanford's Overseas Studies Council. Through your generous personal philanthropy you endowed Stanford University, establishing up to 10 interdisciplinary professorships in international studies throughout the university. Continuing in this commitment, you have endowed two university positions: The Gesué and Helen Spogli Professorship in Italian Studies and The Spogli Family Overseas Studies Director position at their Florence campus. In 2002, you were appointed to the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship board by President George W. Bush.
The American University of Rome honors itself by conferring upon you this honorary degree, recognizing your high achievements in advancing Italian-American relations. Therefore, by the authority vested in me by the Board of Trustees and by the Senate of The American University of Rome, by Education Licensure Commission of the District of Columbia, by the State of Delaware Department of Education, I do hereby confer upon you, Ronald P. Spogli, the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters Honoris Causa.