JoAnne Ruvoli, former fellow of the “Cultures in Transnational Perspectives” Mellon Postdoctoral Program in the Humanities at UCLA, passed away unexpectedly on March 15, 2018. Diagnosed in December with a severe strain of leukemia, JoAnne was completing a second round of chemo, reportedly feeling tired but hopeful about full recovery. 

JoAnne Ruvoli was a brilliant scholar, teacher and creative thinker. She received her Ph.D. in English and multi-ethnic literature from the University of Illinois at Chicago, with an Interdepartmental Concentration in Gender and Women’s Studies. Her dissertation, entitled “Framing Ethnicity: Storytelling in Italian American Novels,” was co-directed by Chris Messenger and Mary Jo Bona. JoAnn also had an M.A. in English from Loyola University in Chicago, and previously earned her B.A. in English from Northwestern University.