The Fall 2025 semester marked a semester of new partnerships and the continuation of proclaimed annual events. During the semester, the Coccia Institute hosted two of our largest events within weeks of each other—our annual Teaching Italian Symposium, as well as the Italian American Studies Association conference (IASA). Both were held at in University Hall–the day-long Teaching Italian symposium drew 85 attendees, and the three-day IASA conference drew 150.
To kick-off the semester, the Coccia Institute hosted the first-ever Italian American Heritage Month Flag Raising at Montclair State University on October 7th, where we celebrated the Italian American culture as we recognized the contributions of Italian American students, faculty, and staff to our campus community.
Then, the semester continued with our annual Teaching Italian Symposium, in which this year’s theme was “Toolkit italiano: Building Innovative Pathways to Success.” Organized by the Coccia Institute and Prof. Enza Antenos of the Italian Program, this year’s Teaching Italian Symposium was held on October 17th in the University Hall Conference Center. The annual Coccia-Inserra Award for Excellence and Innovation in the Teaching of Italian (K-12) was presented to Benedetta Liccardo from San Francisco, CA. The event featured two innovative workshops, led by Diana Zoino & Alessandra Savarese, and Elda Buonanno Foley & Daniela Bisello Antonucci.
Our final event of the semester was the presentation of the Italian American Studies Association Conference, held from November 6-8 in the University Hall Conference Center. The Coccia Institute was thrilled to co-host the 57th edition of this conference, bringing together scholars, writers, artists, and community leaders from across the country.