Litigation Over the Italian Studies Center at Columbia

Eighty-five years ago, ancestors of a group ofItalian-American families funded a center for Italian studies at ColumbiaUniversity. Those families claim that the school is not operating the programas the donors intended, and they are suing Columbia University. 

The subject of the dispute, La Casa Italiana, wasfounded in 1927 with collective donations totaling $400,000.  The Center was originally created topromote Italian language, culture, and history.  Now, the families claim that since the Italian Academy forAdvanced Studies in America began to occupy the center, they engage in workthat is “’elitist and detached, European and international (not uniquelyItalian), and failing to encompass any serious scholarship in Italian-Americanhistory, consciousness, or concerns.’”

The Italian-American families filed documents inNew York State Supreme Court last Wednesday. A Columbia spokesman declined to comment on the pending case.

See Donors’Heirs Sue Columbia U. For Misuse of 1927 Gift (NY), The Chronicle ofPhilanthropy, Aug. 24, 2012. 

Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (ProfessionalLegal Marketing (PLM, Inc.)) for bringing this article to my attention.