Study Abroad in Italy: Intensive Italian Language & Culture Studies in Sicily – Faculty & Staff

Sicily Faculty

Faculty come from the University of Catania. All have completed a higher degree in their field and have extensive teaching experience.

CET can provide faculty curriculum vitae upon request.

Sicily Staff

CET maintains permanent, bilingual staff at each of its study abroad program locations.

The CET Italy Programs Director, based in Florence, oversees Sicily program academics by managing faculty, conducting faculty orientation and regularly monitoring courses.

The Sicily Resident Director implements excursions, manages program logistics and assists students with acclimation. S/he is trained to prevent and handle student emergencies.

Staff Bios

Emiliana F. Caldarelli, Director of Italy Programs

A native Italian, Emiliana earned a Laurea in Political Science from the University of Florence in 1996. In 1994, during her graduate studies, she was awarded a scholarship from Rutgers University in New Jersey where she conducted a research study about the financing of political campaigns. After returning to Italy, her work has focused on educating American students in Italy. She served as coordinator for the Rutgers Study Abroad Program in Florence, and from 1997 until 2002, she taught classes on Italian culture, politics and history in US university programs in Florence such as Rutgers Junior Year in Florence, Richmond College, Portland Community College and University of San Diego–Law School. Emiliana has been involved with the CET programs in Italy since their inception. She began as the CET Siena Resident Director (2001-2003), continued as the CET Florence Resident Director (2003-2004), and has served as Italy Programs Director since 2004.

Janet Lawrence, Catania Resident Director

Janet has known she would live in Italy since seventh grade, when she heard Roberto Benigni cry, “Buongiorno, Principessa!” in Life Is Beautiful. That dream became a reality when, as a junior at Smith College, she spent one year studying Italian literature, cinema and art in Florence. Four days after Janet graduated with a BA in English Literature and Italian Studies, she returned to Italy. In Florence and surrounding cities, she taught English and coordinated study programs for American high school students. After a year and a half, she moved to New York City to organize international education programs in North America. While in New York, Janet received her MA from the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism. She kept up with her Italian by interning for Italian news correspondents at RAI’s New York bureau. Janet is excited to have returned to Italy with CET, and she welcomes students to Sicily, the land of Luigi Pirandello and Giovanni Verga!

Sicily Alumni

Hear what CET Sicily program alumni have to say! Click here to contact a former student.

Academic Advisory Board

CET maintains an advisory board of US-based scholars. The Italy Programs Advisory Board meets annually to discuss curricula, derive teaching standards and assess courses. Board members visit the CET sites in order to evaluate programs and, when possible, teach courses.

Susan S. Badder
Art Museum Education Consultant

Christopher Kleinhenz
Professor Emeritus of Italian Literature, University of Madison-Wisconsin

Arielle Saiber
Associate Professor of Italian, Bowdoin College

Daniel P. Solomon
Senior Lecturer of Classical Studies, Director of Undergraduate Studies, Vanderbilt University

Adrienne Ward
Associate Professor, Department of Spanish, Italian and Portuguese, University of Virginia