Vito De Simone, PhD
Advisory Council Member
Vito De Simone received his PhD from Rutgers University. He was an Official Interpreter for the Criminal Court of New York, and taught Italian literature at C.W. Post. In 1973, DeSimone founded and was editor of LA FUSTA, a graduate literary journal still published at Rutgers University. In 1997, he was co-signatory of the Programma Ponte Project in Rome, which today is the nationally well-known Ponte Scholarships Program. De Simone was co-founder and president of the Association of Italian American Educators (AIAE). He has produced and hosted more than 225 TV interviews in programs such as “Italian American Writers” and “Issues and Personalities” for Public Access TV Corporation; some of these TV programs can be seen on YouTube at vitodesimone@youtube.com.
In 2003, the President of Italy knighted De Simone as “Cavaliere dell’ Ordine della Stella d’Italia.” He has received some distinguished mentions and awards, including the American Association of Teachers of Italian (AATI), and the New York State Commission for Social Justice of the Order of the Sons of Italy in America. In 2018, De Simone was elected Grand Marshal of Long Island’s Columbus Day Parade and in 2019, was recognized by Public Access Television Corporation as an Outstanding Television Producer.
De Simone is mentioned in Who’s Who in the American Colleges and Universities (1969); Rapporto Italiani Nel Mondo, 2010 by Fondazione Migrantess; and Explores Emigrants Citizens, by Linda Barrett Osborne and Paolo Battaglia (2013), published by the US Library of Congress. He is also mentioned in The Story of My Life by Mario Mignone (2015); I Cavalieri in America by the American Society of the Italian Legions of Merit (2015); Memorie d'un cronista d'assalto by John Cappelli (2017); and La lingua italiana nelle scuole di New York, by Filomena Fuduli Sorrentino (2018).
In 2016, De Simone sold a multi-million dollar real estate company, owned and operated by him and his son, Yuri. He has established the Dr. Vito and Mrs. Carolyn De Simone Endowed Graduate Fellowship for Italian Studies at Rutgers University. De Simone has also funded a second Endowed Fellowship in Italian American Studies at Stony Brook's Center for Italian Studies. He has published scholarly papers, newspaper articles and book reviews, and is a frequent contributor to the online newspaper, La Voce di New York.
De Simone’s memberships include The Order Sons of Italy in America; the National Italian
American Foundation (NIAF); the Association of Italian American Educators (AIAE);
and chair of La Voce di New York's Advisory Board.