JCU Dedicates Caroline Critelli Guarini Campus
JCU President Franco Pavoncello and Chairman of the Board Hon. Frank J. Guarini dedicate the Caroline Critelli Guarini Campus
On Monday, September 25, 2017, John Cabot University President Franco Pavoncello dedicated the Caroline Critelli Guarini Campus, located in Piazza Belli. The first University-owned property, the new building represents the permanence of John Cabot University in Rome’s Trastevere neighborhood.
The campus was named for Caroline Critelli Guarini (1900 – 2001), mother of the Chairman of the JCU Board of Trustees, Hon. Frank J. Guarini. “Today we honor Caroline Critelli Guarini, a woman of outstanding qualities: concerned citizen, lover of the arts, dedicated mother, enterprising woman, proud Italian-American,” explained JCU President Franco Pavoncello.
Speaking to Trustees, faculty, staff, students, and friends, President Pavoncello said, “On the 45th anniversary of JCU’s founding, we finally see the rooting of our University in the Eternal City, as we plant the glorious flag of the American liberal arts tradition in higher education by the Tiber river.”
The renovation of the building, which was carried out by the AeV architecture studio, was made possible by the generosity of the Hon. Guarini, who recently donated three million dollars to the University, the largest single donation in JCU history. Since joining the Board of Trustees in 1995, Mr. Guarini has shown unwavering support of the University, including the donation that allowed JCU to establish the Guarini Institute for Public Affairs in 2005.
The Caroline Critelli Guarini Campus
Built in 1907, the 1600 square-meter (17,222 square feet) building features three original frescos by Giovanni Battista Conti. In addition to classrooms and a physics laboratory, the facility will host executive offices and a computer lab, and will be home to JCU’s recently inaugurated Master of Arts in Art History, the MA in the history of art based entirely in Rome offered by a US-accredited university.
“This is a very moving moment for me,” said Mr. Guarini, “since this building is a symbol of my mother’s strong ties to Italy. I am very grateful to John Cabot University, especially President Franco Pavoncello, for this wonderful opportunity to recognize my mother and all that she achieved throughout her long and fruitful life.”
