Distinguished Service Award, K-12 Division: Cristina Modica (by Virginia Picchietti)
The AATI is happy to announce that Prof.ssa Cristina Modica is this year’s recipient of the Distinguished Service Award in the K-12 category. Prof.ssa Modica is an Italian teacher at Maine Township High School South in Park Ridge, Illinois, and an Adjunct Professor of Italian at College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois (USA). A member of the AATI since 2001, she has held several official positions: she has served as Vice President National Contest Chair. She is working with the President on the post-pandemic relaunch of the AATI Midwest Chapter and is currently its Secretary (2023-present). Since 2022, she has served on the National Association’s International Conference Committee as one of two K-12 representatives.
Lyn Scolaro, AATI President Marina Melita, and Cristina Modica
Prof.ssa Modica’s involvement in AP Italian and in the development of Italian pedagogy is equally significant. She serves on the Development Committee of the AP Italian Language and Culture Exam and on the AP Standards and Task Committee. She has presented papers on teaching and learning strategies at several AATI conferences. She has also developed and recreated the Italian curriculum for her district's Italian program and led workshops for world language teachers from high schools in her area.
Of her service to the AATI, a colleague notes that “Cristina has significantly contributed to the field by presenting often effective teaching strategies tailored for the Advanced Placement Italian Exam,” while her presentations on pedagogy at AATI conferences are “meticulously prepared, easily comprehensible, and consistently well-received, reflecting her dedication to accuracy and thorough research.” Commenting on her development of new pedagogical strategies, another colleague notes that her approach is “innovative, inventive, and ultimately inspiring.” Thanks to her commitment and approach in her own high school, “she increased class sizes and offerings, making Maine South one of the largest programs in the Chicagoland area and Midwest,” a success that has also resulted in many students continuing their studies in Italian in the surrounding area colleges and universities. “From her innovative teaching methodologies to her leadership roles within professional organizations,” a colleague concludes, “Cristina's contributions have not only enriched the learning experiences of her students but have also inspired educators nationwide.” Indeed, in recognition of her important contributions to the development of Italian pedagogy, Prof.ssa Modica was awarded the Italian Language Foundation’s 2021 Innovation in Teaching Award.
Colleagues have also greatly appreciated Prof.ssa Modica’s collegiality and collaborative spirit. A colleague notes, “Cristina consistently shows a generosity of intellectual spirit, which benefits her students and colleagues alike. She lives her ideals.” Ultimately, the colleague concludes, “she leads by example, with grace and good humor, with professionalism and dedication. She embodies the general ideals of education and those specific to the mission of the American Association of Teachers of Italian.”
Distinguished Service Award, College/University Division: Beppe Cavatorta (by Virginia Picchietti)
The AATI is happy to announce that Dr. Beppe Cavatorta is this year’s recipient of the Distinguished Service Award in the College/University category. Dr. Cavatorta is Professor of Italian at The University of Arizona, Tucson (USA). A member of the AATI since 2002, he has held numerous official positions in the association: He was Past President (2021-2023), President (2018-2020), Plains-Southwest Representative (2015-2017), and the Book/Media Review Editor of Italica (2014-2017).
Former AATI President Ryan Calabretta and Beppe Cavatorta
Throughout his years of service to the AATI, Dr. Cavatorta has endeavored to ensure that the association continue developing as a vibrant, innovative organization responsive to the 21st century learning, teaching, and academic needs of the Italian Studies community. As President, he guided the association through the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, finding new platforms through which the organization could remain active and members could continue to exchange ideas when in-person conferences were not allowed: under his guidance, the AATI offered free webinars to the membership—becoming one of the first language associations to do so and one of the more robust language associations offering free professional development for its members. In addition, one of his goals for the association was to promote K-12 teachers. Under his leadership and whenever possible, he promoted K-12 instructors for committee work and sought out their voices to empower the Association. He also organized the first independent AATI conference in the US in over ten years, in May 2019, to accommodate K-12 teachers. The conference at Marist College proved, as one colleague concluded, a “huge success” as a centralized meeting point for Italianists of all levels, including undergraduates presenting research papers. Of note as well in Dr. Cavatorta’s service to the AATI is that for almost two decades, he has consistently contributed to conferences by organizing and chairing countless panels. As one colleague notes, through his commitment to this service he has provided “a welcoming venue for younger researchers in the field of Italian literature, and mentorship and advice to uncountable panel presenters and participants.”
Of this and other work for the AATI, colleagues have emphasized Dr. Cavatorta’s commitment, leadership, and mentorship, noting his “truly remarkable level of dedication and expertise, which he provided tirelessly, enhancing our organization’s impact and outreach,” all the while that he “fostered a sense of fairness and democracy” and “support of colleagues’ vision.”
Dr. Cavatorta’s impact on Italian Studies is also evident through the contributions he has made to Italian language pedagogy and as a renowned scholar of Italian literature, translator of poetry, and published poet in his own right. He has contributed two Italian language textbooks: he co-authored the highly successful, intermediate textbook Ponti. Italiano Terzo Millennio, which was adopted by numerous high schools and universities and reached a third edition. Recognizing the need to meet the changing demands of the field of Italian language learning, he applied for and received an NEH 3-Year Grant (2023-2025) to co-author an Open Educational Research Italian textbook, Italian Language in Wonderland, deemed by a colleague as “innovative and unique.” The link to the intermediate edition was recently made available to all AATI members through the AATI listserv. Dr. Cavatorta has also been highly active in the development and assessment of the Italian AP Exam through the College Board and a mentor at the national level, as Chief Reader for the 2023-2024 cycle and from 2012 to 2016, Exam Leader in 2022, and Co-chair of the Italian Language and Culture AP Exam Development Committee from 2016 to 2020. Commenting on his work for the AP, colleagues have noted his mentorship, outreach to high school teachers for input, and the fact that he “continually fights to provide a fair, but thought-provoking examination that pushes the students to succeed while simultaneously maintaining the standards of AP and Italian Studies at large.”
In addition to his service to the organization and his work in language pedagogy, Dr. Cavatorta has made numerous, continuous, and important contributions to the field of Italian Studies as scholar, poet, and translator. He specializes in experimental writings, Italian futurism and the neo-avant-garde, the Second World War in literature and film, and the theory and practice of translation. He has published the book Scrivere contro. Viaggio nella narrativa sperimentale italiana del XX secolo (Piacenz: Scrittura, 2010), a groundbreaking recasting of experimental writings of the 20th century; book chapters; and essays in peer-reviewed journals; and is the co-editor of several books and anthologies. A specialist in the theory and practice of translation, Dr. Cavatorta has published Italian translations of several American poets, including Anne Sexton and Paul Carroll, and English translations of works by Giulia Niccolai, Sergio Atzeni, and Adriano Spatola, among others. Finally, he is also a successful poet in his own right, having published poems and two books of poetry, La stanza sgombra (Massa: Transeuropa, 2020) and Istantanee di un amor de lonh (Pordenone: Samuele Editore, 2020).
Of his many talents as contributor to and leader of the AATI, scholar, and practitioner of the art of literature, a colleague has stated, “From his extensive service with both the AATI and the AP Italian Examination, to his unique and varied teaching, to his robust research agenda, to his translations, original poetry, and mentoring; he is a true Renaissance man!”
Congratulazioni to Cristina and Beppe!
Beppe Cavatorta & Cristina Modica, 2024 AATI Distinguished Service Award Winners
