Leading Italian American studies scholar Carla Simonini, PhD, has been named the inaugural Paul and Ann Rubino Professor in Italian American Studies (IAS) in Loyola University Chicago’s College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), effective August 15, 2018. The endowed professorship was established to build a premier IAS program among only a handful of programs in the country. The program will be housed within CAS, and Simonini will join the faculty of the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures.

Simonini has served as a member of Youngstown State University’s full-time faculty since 2010 and has presented and published numerous works and articles on Italian American identity, Italian American Literature, and Italian women writers.