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U.S. Department of State's Partnership with the National
Italian American Foundation Assists the University of
L'Aquila in its Earthquake Recovery
Office of the Spokesman
Washington, DC
May 17, 2010
The U.S. Department of State joined forces with the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) in a publicprivate
partnership to bring a generous American response to the people of Abruzzo, Italy, in the aftermath of
the devastating April 6, 2009 earthquake. The focus of this partnership has been to direct aid to the University
of L’Aquila and restore its role as an important academic, social, and economic engine for the Abruzzo region.
In the year since the earthquake, this partnership has generated a number of projects that have helped restore
the University of L’Aquila:
Adopt-a-Scholar: NIAF worked with several U.S. universities to provide scholarships for the students of the
University of L’Aquila who were displaced by the earthquake’s damage. NIAF formed partnerships with the
University of Miami, Sierra Nevada College, the College of Staten Island, and the University of New Mexico,
among others, to offer full tuition and room and board scholarships for the students of the University of
L’Aquila to have the opportunity to study at one of these American universities. More than 100 students
applied. Over the past year, 52 students from the University of L’Aquila have benefited from the scholarships
(23 for the full academic year; and 29 for the Fall 2009 or Spring 2010 semester). The scholarship packages’
total value was over $1.5 million. The program will continue as additional University of L’Aquila students will
benefit from scholarships in Fall 2010.
Building an Earthquake-Resistant Modular Multipurpose Center: NIAF together with the State
Department and the University of L’Aquila have assessed the university's building needs and have determined
that a permanent construction of a modular dormitory will be built in the coming months for the value of
$250,000. NIAF and the University of L’Aquila have signed a Memorandum of Understanding regarding this
project.
University of L’Aquila / Capacity-Building in the Mental Health Field: A State Department grant was
given to the Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma (HPRT), which hosted a four-day workshop for a team of
five mental health professionals including the head of the Psychology Department of the University of
L’Aquila’s School of Medicine, and the Director of Family Medicine (Federazione Italiana Medici – Medicina
Generale Abruzzo). An additional State Department grant will support the Harvard Program with the training
of all mental health practitioners in the Abruzzo region in order to diagnose and treat the long-term effects of
the earthquake. This is scheduled to take place in L’Aquila at the end of September 2010.
Exchanges to the United States: Six local government and University of L’Aquila leaders traveled to the
United States in September 2009 under a State Department exchange program (IVLP) to visit academic and
non-academic institutions experienced in disaster recovery and university development. Another State
Department-sponsored exchange program brought University of L’Aquila department heads to San Francisco
and New Orleans to examine how American universities have coped with rebuilding after a natural disaster,
and their links with the private sector and local governments. The meetings with U.S. academic interlocutors
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