By Brent Baum

The Temple community, leaders, faculty and guests, recently gathered in Mitten Hall to celebrate Temple Rome’s diamond anniversary, honoring six decades of impact and remarkable growth from just 20 study abroad students in 1966 to a thriving international campus that offers four-year degrees. They were joined by President John Fry and Emilia Zankina, dean of Temple Rome and vice provost for global engagement.

Emilia Zankina, dean of Temple Rome and vice provost for global engagement, opened the event, highlighting the campus’ rich history, growth and pivotal role in providing transformative international education to more than 11,000 alumni.  

“I am overwhelmed with joy because 60 years is a big milestone for Temple Rome,” she said. “Six decades ago, Temple University had the vision to establish one of the first American study abroad programs in the Eternal City. Today, that vision continues to open doors for students, not only from Temple but from many universities across the U.S.”

Temple President John Fry joined the celebration, reflecting on Temple Rome’s remarkable growth from its beginnings in 1966 as an extension of the Tyler School of Art and Architecture, with just 20 students studying at the Villa Caproni along the Tiber River, to a thriving international campus that today welcomes nearly 500 students.

“For 60 years, Temple Rome has been a center for hands-on interdisciplinary learning, with the Eternal City also serving as our students’ classroom,” he said. “This is experiential learning at its best, students engaging with one of the world's great cities and developing the perspectives to become global citizens, and if there’s anything this country needs to do right now, it is to develop more global citizens.”

That commitment to expanding opportunities for students was further underscored in September, when Temple Rome started its four-year undergraduate degree program, allowing students from around the world to complete their Temple education entirely at the international campus, now located at the world-renowned Spanish Steps at Via di San Sebastianello 16.

President Fry also highlighted the adult study abroad program as a bright spot, demonstrating that it is never too late to pursue a global education. It has generated widespread interest across generations, as the program’s youngest participant is 23 and the oldest is over 85.

The celebration also featured Sophia Yerxa Robinson, Class of 2028, who studied at Temple Rome and is pursuing a degree in soprano voice performance at the Boyer College of Music and Dance. She joined Ellen Rissinger, an internationally renowned collaborative pianist and associate professor at Boyer, to perform “Musetta’s Waltz” from Giacomo Puccini’s opera La Bohème.

Maria Lorenz, a former faculty member at Temple Rome, noted the benefits of the campus’ small class sizes and the diverse student body.

“My classes were small, so I got to know the students on a personal level,” said Lorenz, now associate department chair and professor in the College of Science and Technology. “They all brought different perspectives, and I appreciated it; I learned a lot from them too. The experience turned me into a lifelong Temple world ambassador. It was undoubtedly a career highlight.”  

Giacomo “Jack” Cesareo, FOX ’06, reflected on his time in the Temple Rome program during the 2004–2005 academic year. The current head of administration at CI&T credited the program with driving his career success through internships and cultural immersion, recalling how Denise Connerty, who joined Temple in 1990 as assistant director of the International Program, encouraged him to study abroad.

“I spent a full academic year in Rome and immersed myself in another culture, and that experience was a major factor in my career choices and career success,” he said. “Studying abroad was transformative. I’m more of an introvert, but at Temple, I learned the importance of pushing myself, discovering who I am—taking action. When you do that, people will open doors for you.”