Trustee Portia Prebys Receives Forum on Education Abroad’s Peter A. Wollitzer Advocacy Award
John Cabot University is pleased to announce that Dr. Portia Anne Prebys, Vice Chair of the JCU Board of Trustees, has received the Forum on Education Abroad’s 2024 Peter A. Wollitzer Advocacy Award. The award was announced at the Forum’s 20th Annual Conference in Boston on March 23.
The Forum on Education Abroad is a non-profit, membership association recognized by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission as the Standards Development Organization (SDO) for the field of education abroad.
The Peter A. Wollitzer Advocacy Award recognizes the exceptional contributions of administrators, faculty, and staff who have challenged and inspired others to understand and support the benefits of education abroad. Through deep, multifaceted, and meaningful service to the field, these individuals have been remarkably effective in promoting the positive impact of education abroad on participants, institutions, and members of the home and host communities, and in advancing The Forum’s mission, vision, and foundational principles.
Dr. Portia Anne Prebys is the Secretary-Treasurer of the Association of American Colleges and University Programs in Italy (AACUPI) and former Director of the Rome Program of Saint Mary’s College, in Notre Dame, Indiana. Prebys was the companion of Italian novelist, poet, essayist, and editor Giorgio Bassani from 1977 until his death in 2000. In 2014, she donated the author’s bequest to the city of Ferrara, a gift that led to the creation of the city’s Center for Bassani Studies, of which Prebys is the curator. She has published widely in English and Italian.
Trustee of the University since 1996, she has been the Vice Chair of the Board since 2017, and is the Chair of the Board’s Academic Affairs Committee. In 2010, the then President of the Italian Republic Giorgio Napolitano awarded her the title of Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic for meritorious service to the nation of Italy in recognition of her contribution to international education.
Says JCU President Franco Pavoncello, “Portia Prebys stands out as an unparalleled advocate of international education. She has dedicated her career to fostering study abroad opportunities for U.S. students, and to the promotion of American higher education overseas. I can imagine no one more deserving of this prestigious recognition.”
