thePULSEMeet Assumption’s Professor Richard Bonanno
January 2006 –
Part of what makes Central MA so unique is its abundance of colleges and universities. And at each institution, there are professors, instructors, and coaches who go above and beyond simply dispensing academic fact inside the classroom; this special breed of educator becomes mentor, role model, and inspiration. It is these individuals that we will be honoring in Focus on Faculty.
Living with a bunch of rowdy undergrads might be most people’s nightmare, but for Richard Bonanno, a professor at Assumption College, it’s a choice he’s glad he made. For the last semester, Bonanno has been participating in the school’s Faculty in Residence program, living right alongside students in their residence halls. Despite the occasional antics in his hall, Bonanno said the experience has been rewarding. Assumption as a whole is benefiting from Bonanno’s presence as well. Because of his work, the Italian program has flourished, seeing an increase in “both enrollment and breadth of curriculum.” Outside of the classroom, he’s been continuing his research on Nick La Rocca, the self-proclaimed inventor of jazz, and the influence of Sicilian-Americans on jazz in New Orleans. He hopes his experience living in Milan for several years and his enthusiasm about his work will change students’ perception of other cultures as well as of their own. Bonanno will continue living with his students for the next year and half. He’s also going to be busy working on restructuring the Faculty in Residence program so that it attracts more participation from faculty and staff. But when he’s not helping better Assumption, Bonanno will continue his research on Italian-Americans influence on jazz music throughout next year.
“One thing I’d like to get students to do is to understand different perspectives and through these new perspectives understand where they fit and what our country is about. I want to encourage them to understand what our place in the world is.”
If there is a professor at your college whom you would like to see featured in this column, please contact the Editor at ldean@pagioinc.com.
