The International Studies Institute in Florence is pleased to inform its community that Stefano Baldassarri has been named the new Program Director of the Institute.

Baldassarri received his Ph.D. from Yale University in Italian Literature & Renaissance Studies in 1999 and is the author of over 40 scholarly essays and 12 books. He joined the ISI team in 2003 as a professor of Italian Renaissance studies and taught a number of popular courses, including Italian literature (Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio) and Life in Renaissance Florence. In 2011, he became Academic Director of the Institute, using his expertise to bring a new level of depth and innovation to the academic offerings.

“I take this new appointment as an extraordinary opportunity to learn by further collaborating with our academic partners and the outstanding ISI Florence staff. As international educators we are in the privileged position to improve every day and share such benefits with colleagues and students from all over the world.”

With the new appointment, the Institute will also undergo some administrative restructuring to better manage its continued growth and wide variety of academic offerings. The Institute is also pleased to announce that Caterina Brogi has been promoted to Assistant Director for Academic Affairs and US Institutional Relations, and Nienke Scholten now holds the position of Assistant Director for Administrative and Financial Affairs.