John Cabot University Hosts Annual Ambassadors Lunch

On Thursday, May 25, 2017, John Cabot University welcomed ambassadors and cultural attachés to the Secchia Terrace in the Guarini Campus for the annual Ambassadors Lunch. Guests included representatives from Israel, Serbia, Brazil, Morocco, South Korea, and Egypt, among others. Also present were JCU Trustees Kenneth R. White and William Cavendish,  faculty members, and student club leaders.

Ambassadors Lunch

John Cabot University President Franco Pavoncello welcomed the guests, saying he was “delighted and honored to celebrate another successful year.” He then described the numbers of JCU’s growth in recent times. The Class of 2017, with 206 graduates, JCU’s largest in history and twice the size of that of only four years ago. The University now has the largest student body in its history, with over 1300 degree seeking students, and will launch its first Master’s program in the Fall, the M.A. in Art History. President Pavoncello also announced the purchase of the University’s first property in Rome, the Belli building, and the $3 million donation from the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Frank J. Guarini. This generous gift is by far the largest single donation in JCU history.

Ambassadors Lunch

President Pavoncello highlighted the reasons for the University’s success. He commended the the students for their commitment to maintaining a free exchange of cultures, ideas, and values. He also congratulated the “stellar faculty” which promotes critical thinking and intellectual growth within the JCU community. President Pavoncello concluded by stating the need to foster and strengthen the free exchange of values and ideas, especially in troubled times during which the merits and consequences of globalization are put into question. “Innovation, collaboration and human knowledge are an unstoppable trend of our time. And this is exactly what our students do,” he said.

Student Government President Katherine Kehoe

Katherine Kehoe, President of Student Government, spoke next. Coming from Portland, Oregon, Katherine had her first real experience of a multicultural environment at John Cabot University. She praised one of her first classes, Comparative Politics with Professor Michael Driessen, where the diverse student body compared the governments of their respective countries. “The greatest lesson I got from that moment was not only one in politics, but one in open-mindedness and respect. These are the values that allowed us to have that conversation, and the core values of JCU at large,” she said.