Italiano
Dr. Ganugi was recognized by USF for her extraordinary efforts in international leadership and accomplishments.
Tampa, FL – FUA and Palazzi founder and president Gabriella Ganugi was the recipient of the President’s Global Leadership Award at the graduation commencement ceremony of the University of South Florida. Along with fellow recipient Sir Steve Smith of the University of Exeter, England, Dr. Ganugi was recognized for her extraordinary efforts in international leadership and accomplishments. The award is USF’s highest recognition and was conferred by University President Judy Genshaft during the May 4-5 commencement ceremony in Tampa, Florida.
The recognition is a result of a long-standing and growing collaboration between USF and Palazzi/FUA as a cooperative initiative to provide quality, sustainable opportunities for international studies in Florence, Italy. In the past two years, over 140 USF students have benefited from the institutional relationship. A particularly significant aspect of the programs offered in Florence that has distinguished FUA is the presence of the institution’s experiential learning centers such as Ganzo, Fly, Fedora, Corridoio Fiorentino and F_AIR, each closely integrated to FUA academic departments and open to the local community in order to foster cultural integration and interchange between the FUA student body and the city of Florence.
By Entela Balliu
Special to USF News
TAMPA, Fla. (May 3, 2012) — Two champions of international higher education — one a U.K. academic recognized by Queen Elizabeth II for exemplary accomplishments in international leadership and global relations, and the other an architect and “extraordinary female entrepreneur” from Florence, Italy — are this year’s President’s Global Leadership Award recipients at the University of South Florida.
Professor Sir Steve Smith, since 2002 the vice-chancellor and chief executive of the University of Exeter, U.K., and Gabriella Ganugi, founder of Palazzi Florence Association for International Education, and will be recognized by USF President Judy Genshaft during spring commencement exercises May 4-5 on the Tampa campus.
A local Tuscan girl who grew up to found an academic consortium of higher learning institutions in the historic center of Florence, Italy, Ganugi earned Educator of the Year honors from the Association of Italian American Educators (AIAE) in 2010, on the heels of a special award from the Florence Chamber of Commerce for extraordinary female entrepreneurs.
In addition to her extensive lecturing, writing and publishing schedule (she is the author of 16 books on Italian cuisine), Ganugi is the creator of Ganzo, Fly, Fedora and FAIR, the cultural association cum restaurant cum gallery run by students and faculty of the Apicius International School of Hospitality in Florence, which she also founded.
Hailed as the culmination of cultural crossovers, culinary innovation, and open spaces for artistic events in the region regarded as the birthplace of the Renaissance, Ganzo is where modern day students, native Florentines and members of international communities throughout Florence meet to “go beyond classroom learning by promoting … interaction with the convergence of the multicultural societies in the city of Florence” and “to redefine the idea of sustainability by rethinking how services and structures enhance local economies and culture through a respectful balance of technology, innovation, and tradition.”
Through Dr. Ganugi’s leadership, USF has had a long-standing relationship with Palazzi Florence Association for International Education, sending more than 140 USF students to study at Palazzi during the past two years.
