Buckle your Florentine Steak, folks. Here comes a special one!
Loyal readers will recall the three-step process to become accredited by NECHE: Eligibility, Candidacy, and then Initial Accreditation. Typically, institutions take five to ten years to complete this process and clearly, it’s an immense commitment of time and resources. So when a school reaches this final stage, it’s a really big deal.
The American University of Florence is entering the final part of the process, with a team visit this Spring and a Commission decision in the Fall. I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know the leadership of AUF over the years and read about its unique mission, but until this month of January, I never had the opportunity to visit. On my way to meet with a new institution in the Ivory Coast, I wisely decided to make a diversion to Florence and as you can imagine, it was the best choice possible. In fact, it was one of the most special NECHE visits I’ve made.
Part of the reason was simply Florence, as magical a city as exists. But an equal factor was the incredible hospitality of the AUF people we met. This began with President Gabriella Ganugi and her life partner David Weiss, but it extended to the dozens of staff and faculty we met along the way — from Massimo and Simone, the chefs; to Salvatore the sommelier; to Lapo our art history guide; to staff execs like Valentina and Angela, and on and on… when we parted, we felt as if we were leaving close friends (and the best croissants, pasta and biscotti on earth!)
I was last in Florence fifty years ago. In some ways, things blissfully don’t change much in an ancient city like Florence. One welcome innovation is a modern public transportation system– though it’s always better to walk off the calories you consume at an Italian lunch. On our visit, we stayed in one of the six buildings that make up the campus of AUF, but..
It’s fair to say the city of Florence is AUF’s campus … and AUF’s buildings are an integral part of the urban fabric. There is no separation between the two.
AUF’s buildings include a student-run cafe and bistro, a student-run consignment shop, a student-run restaurant and spa, student art galleries, language labs, photography studios, etc., etc. I hope you are starting to get the idea here.
Gabriella’s academic model is beyond experiential. The design of AUF’s nine academic programs is the reverse of most educational models, where experiential learning is appliqued onto a curriculum. Here, the integration between the classroom and experience is organic and inextricable, beginning with and driven by learning that happens only through experience. And what could be more thrilling than an overflowing buffet of hands-on/knee-deep/total immersion courses in food, the arts, photography, and design — all embedded in a city like Florence?
Just your typical study hall at AUF.
AUF is special in another way. While its enrollment (about 100) of degree-seeking students is relatively small across Associate, Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programs, its sister organization of Florence University of the Arts (FUA) enrolls 5,000 study-abroad students a year –making it the largest provider in Italy, which is itself the number one destination for study abroad in the world.
Visiting students can take courses across nine schools: APICIUS International School of Hospitality; DIVA School of Digital Imaging and Visual Arts; FAST School of Fashion and Accessory Studies and Technology; IDEAS School of Interior Design, Environmental Architecture, and Sustainability; ISB International School of Business; J SCHOOL Journalism, Communication, and Publishing; SAS School of Arts and Sciences; SQUOLA Center for Cultural and Italian Studies; and the School of Graduate Studies.
Even the coat hooks are thoughtfully elegant!
AUF/FUA is the brainchild of Gabriella, dating back three decades. An architect by training, you can see her design style in every classroom, gathering place, and furnishing. You might think after thirty years, she would step back from the day-to-day running of this very large enterprise, but that’s not at all the case. She seemed to know every faculty and staff member, not just by name but through their personal stories. And every single semester, she still prepares (and names) every course on the university’s enormous schedule.
Creativity abounds at AUF.
Gabriella and David were truly extraordinary hosts. On our first night, she opened her home for a dinner with several trustees and on the last evening, we joined dozens of faculty and staff for another meal in her stunningly gorgeous home. The students working the event included a female chef from Turkey, a male chef from South Korea, a 4-year fashion major from South Carolina, and a study abroad coed from Spain. Talk about an international experience!
It was truly a joy to witness the enthusiasm and passion of everyone associated with AUF/FUA — and a remarkable testament to its educational mission. Our only wish was that we could have stayed a week (or month) longer.
No matter how special each one of our visits to NECHE institutions have been, I have to say: this one topped the cannoli!
