Assumption President receives Leadership in Education Award

Assumption President Francesco C. Cesareo, Ph.D., received the “Leadership in Education” award at the Italian Heritage Month committee’s 2015 Annual Kickoff event. The annual celebration, held on Oct. 1 in the House of Representatives Chamber at the State House in Boston and presided over by Speaker of the House Robert DeLeo, marked the 16th anniversary of passage of legislation proclaiming October as Italian-American Heritage Month.

The annual event honors members of Massachusetts’s Italian-American community who contribute to the preservation and celebration of Italian culture in the state. The night featured a variety of musical sections, the reading of a proclamation by Governor Charlie Baker, and the presentation of several scholarships and awards. President Cesareo was recognized for being a strong cultural ambassador for Italy, and passing on the Italian culture and language to future generations.

“I am very honored to be chosen for the award because it is a reflection of the value that I place on education, which I inherited from my Italian heritage,” said President Cesareo as he addressed the audience of several hundred from the Speaker’s Rostrum. “Education has always been an important part of Italian culture. This award is a recognition of the values that were taught to me by my parents, which have shaped my educational career.”

“President Cesareo embodies the spirit of Italian-American culture,” said Speaker DeLeo. “Through his work at Assumption he is leading by example and giving back to the greater Worcester community.  I thank President Cesareo for his work in the education sector and congratulate him on this award.”

President Cesareo was the first of his family to be born in the United States; his mother, from the Avellino province, and his father, from the Salerno province, moved from Italy to the U.S. in the early 1950s. President Cesareo, a longtime educator, was installed as Assumption’s 16th president in summer 2007. Since his arrival at Assumption, he has exhibited creative and innovative thinking, which has resulted in new academic programs such as the first-year Tagaste Program, SOPHIA (the Sophomore Initiative at Assumption) and the establishment of a campus in Rome, Italy, which opened in 2013. A Fulbright Scholar, President Cesareo studied at the University of Rome and at the Pontifical Gregorian University.