The University of Connecticut Department of History has successfully concluded a campaign to raise one million dollars to endow the Emiliana Pasca Noether Chair in Modern Italian History. The Noether Chair is believed to be the first of its kind in the nation and is the first endowed faculty position for University of Connecticut's Department of History.

"Reaching the goal for this endowed chair marks a major step in the history department's movement toward national and international recognition as a research and teaching center," says History Chair Bruce Stave.

The campaign began in 1987, launched with a gift from Noether, a University of Connecticut emeritus professor of history. The goal of the campaign has been to raise $1 million and complete an international search for a tenured, permanent faculty member in modern Italian history by 1992, the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's first voyage to the Western Hemisphere.

"The department is extremely grateful to Emiliana Noether, whose intellectual vitality and generosity inspired the creation of this chair, and we thank all of the donors and look forward to bringing an outstanding scholar to Storrs to fill this position," says Stave.

The campaign was announced at a recent reception for major donors. Also announced was the Joseph J. Fauliso Lecture Series in Italian-American History, Stave says.

The lecture series honors Connecticut's Lieutenant Governor for his active role in the Noether Chair campaign. Named honorary chairman, Fauliso was a very active leader of the fundraising effort, observes Stave. According to Stave, three lectures have been established for this lecture series—two in the fall and one in March 1991.