Support the Center for Italian Studies: Empower Students and Strengthen Community Connections
Italian language teaching candidates Ludovica Sophia Costanzo and Emily Bayer preparing for workshops for students and teachers at R.C. Murphy Middle School in Stony Brook (left) and the Bronx High School of Science (right) with children's book author Valentina Rizzi and educators Antonella Veracchi and Michela Tonelli from the Palazzo Esposizioni Roma, November 2025.
Give the gift of language! We invite you to support the vibrant and growing community of students, faculty and enthusiasts of Italian language and culture at Stony Brook University. Your generous donation to the Center for Italian Studies will provide critical financial support for students, expand outreach to local schools and fund dynamic public programs in Italian language, arts and history. Together, we can empower students and strengthen community connections.
Your Gift Makes a Difference
When you donate to the Center for Italian Studies, you are directly supporting students like Ludovica and Emily, who are on their way to becoming future educators. You are also expanding our efforts to bring Italian language and culture to learners of all ages in our region. Your support provides:
- Scholarships for students in the Italian programs, ensuring that financial barriers don’t limit potential. This year, the Center has granted nine need- and merit-based awards to Stony Brook University students.
- Educational resources and books for local schools to enrich Italian language instruction, foster a global perspective and deepen students’ appreciation for Italy’s rich cultural heritage.
- Professional development workshops for teachers to demonstrate innovative teaching methods, language immersion activities and techniques to integrate Italian into diverse classrooms.
- Dynamic and engaging public programs on Italian and Italian American culture, from film screenings and lectures on Italian art, heritage preservation, gardening and family history to our second annual workshop series with the Osher Lifelong Learning Center (OLLI).
- Access to Italian language instruction for all ages, from our after-school children’s partnership program with Per Tutti (ages 3–12+) to our popular online language program for adults.
Give today and help us bolster the future of Italian Studies at Stony Brook University and beyond. Your gift not only supports the next generation of Italian teachers and scholars but also enriches the lives of children and members of our local community.
From left to right: Scholarship and award recipients Kevin Cayotopa-Pena, Ludovica Sophia Costanzo, Emily Bayer, and Valeria Jin, four SBU Italian language students, who were honored at the Center's Holiday Gathering and Award Ceremony in December 2025.
Remembering Joseph Tursi
Professor Emeritus Joseph A. Tursi was a respected leader in our campus community, serving as Chair of the Department of French and Italian and Director of the Foreign Language Teacher Training Program. His commitment extended beyond academia as he also chaired the Suffolk County Human Rights Commission. Co-author of a widely used Italian language textbook, he mentored countless teachers and inspired generations of undergraduate and graduate students. To honor his legacy, we are raising funds to establish the Joseph A. Tursi Scholarship, which will support students pursuing Italian Studies at Stony Brook University, providing them with the resources and opportunities to advance their education and careers.
To learn more about Dr. Tursi's long career and devotion to teaching Italian, visit his obituary.
Please contact us directly if you would like to support the scholarship fund in honor of Joseph Tursi.
Remembering Dina Malgeri
On September 22, 2024, Dina G. Malgeri died peacefully in the North End of Boston. She was the long-term Director of the Malden Public Library, where she worked for 40+ years until her retirement in 2013. Malgeri was also an avid supporter of the Center for Italian Studies.
In 2016, she connected with the Center in her search for ways to memorialize her parents and their Italian cultural heritage and immigration history. She found that the Center’s mission most closely addressed her desire to support a better understanding of Italy and Italian Americans. Malgeri established The Francesco P. and Dina D'Alto Malgeri Endowment in Italian Culture to support programming in literature, the visual arts, and the study of early Italian immigration to the United States.
To learn more about Dina Malgeri's long and storied career and her affinity for libraries and learning, visit the tribute to her in the Boston Globe.
If you would like to make a donation in memory of Dina Malgeri, please consider giving to the Francesco P. and Dina D'Alto Malgeri Endowment in Italian Culture.