Faculty

Dr. Santa Casciani, Director

Dr. Santa Casciani was born in Castelnuovo, a village in commune of San Pio delle Camere in the province of L'Aquila in the region of Abruzzo. She immigrated to the United States with her family in 1969 and settled in Rochester, New York where she remained until 1987. She holds an AAS in Marketing from Monroe Community College; a BA in Italian and English from John Fisher College in Rochester, NY; an MA in Italian from The Ohio State University; and a Ph.D. in Italian from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

At John Carroll University, she is Associate Professor of Italian in the Department of Classical and Modern Languages and Cultures and has directed the Bishop Pilla Program since the fall of 1999. She has published articles on a wide variety of topics on Italian and Italian American literature and pedagogy. She is co-editor of a collection of essays called Word, Image, Number: Communications in the Middle Ages by the Società Internazionale per lo Studio del Medioevo Latino in the Micrologus' Library Series.

She is co-translator and co-editor of The Fiore (and Detto d'Amore): A Late 13th Century Italian Translation of the Roman de la Rose (University of Notre Dame Press, 2000). Professor Casciani has received numerous grants and was a fellow at The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation/American Council of Learned Societies during academic year 1998-1999.

Mrs. Giuseppina Mileti, Coordinator

Mrs. Giuseppina Mileti was born in Scido, a town in the province of Reggio Calabria in the region of Calabria. She received her M.A. in foreign languages from the University of Bari, Italy. She went on to teach English in middle schools and high schools in Italy. In 1978, she moved to Cleveland where she began teaching and tutoring Italian to students of all ages. She also interpreted for private individuals, law firms, and businesses and became the official Italian interpreter for the Cleveland Clinic Foundation.

In 1995, Mrs. Mileti started teaching Italian language courses at John Carroll University, in addition to Italian culture courses. She started the JCU Italian Club, for which she is the moderator, working closely with the students to help plan cultural, recreational, and service activities and events. In 1999, she began working for the Bishop Anthony M. Pilla Program in Italian American Studies. Now, as the coordinator of the program, she develops and teaches enrichment courses and organizes related educational trips to Italy every year. She works as a liaison between the Bishop Pilla Program and the Italian American community of northeast Ohio by helping the director coordinate the program’s lectures, fundraisers, and social events. She is also a point of reference for students of Italian seeking scholarships from Italian American organizations at the local and national level.

Mary Beth Brooks, Secretary to the Bishop Pilla Program in Italian American Studies and the Institute of Catholic Studies

Mary Beth Brooks came to John Carroll University in June of 1995 and began working with the Center of Community Service. After three years she became the secretary to the Cardinal Suenens Center and The Institute of Catholic Studies. In 2000 she was hired as the part time secretary to the Bishop Pilla Program in Italian American Studies and The Institute of Catholic Studies.

Mrs. Brooks is a widow with three grown children and two grandchildren. She says she loves working with students, especially those who are studying abroad, or who are involved in the work-study program.