St. Michael's rolls in dough
College recieves $1 million donation for international studies program

Nick Daley | staff writer
ndaley@smcvt.edu

A. Francis Politi donated $1 million to both the St. Michael's College and Norwich University international studies programs. Photo courtesy of Norwich University

A $1 million gift was given to St. Michael’s College last week from the estate of A. Francis Politi. The conditions of the gift, as stipulated by Politi, require the money is spent on international studies.

Politi passed away in May of 2006 at the age of 95, and left the $1 million gift to St. Michael’s in his will. Politi also left $1 million to Norwich University, in his hometown of Northfield, Vt. According to a St. Michael’s press release, Politi felt that both St. Michael’s and Norwich held a promising commitment to international studies, one of his life-long passions.

Politi and St. Michael’s

Richard DiVenere, vice president for institutional advancement at St. Michael's College, became acquainted with Politi later in Politi’s life. Although Politi never attended St. Michael's as a student, he developed a strong relationship with St. Michael’s Edmundite ministry and respected the college’s international studies efforts, DiVenere says.

“Mr. Politi kept an interest in St. Michael’s because of his affection and respect for the school’s international business programs,” DiVenere says.

Although some people at the college knew Politi had left money in his will for St. Michael’s, the announcement came as a surprise to many. Global studies professor Kathleen Mahnke says she was pleasantly surprised to hear the news and the intentions of the gift.

“It’s like a dream come true,” Mahnke says.

It is still undecided as to how the money from Politi’s estate will be specifically utilized within the college’s international studies program. Mahnke would like to see some of the money go towards the global studies program, she says. St. Michael’s currently offers global studies as a minor, but not as an official major, which is something Mahnke would like to see changed, she says.

Terms of the gift

The $1 million gift will not be handled as a general donation to the college. The money will remain in the college’s endowment and collect interest each year, DiVenere says. The interest that Politi’s gift earns each year is what the college can eventually spend on international studies.

Politi’s gift will establish the Dr. A. Francis Politi International Fund at St. Michael’s College. The fund’s mission will be to strengthen the college's ability to produce graduates who have studied in other nations as a means to gain deeper understanding of foreign cultures, develop fluency in a foreign language, and generally increase global perspective.

Politi worked with a number of international business companies, according to a press release from St. Michael’s. He was fluent in five languages and realized the importance of providing global opportunities through education.

“He was truly ahead of his time,” DiVenere says. “His interest was in providing faculty and students the opportunity to go abroad.”

Kathleen Mahnke, a global studies professor at St. Michael's is extremely excited about the $1 million dollar donation. Nick Daley, photo

Student effects

St. Michael’s senior Caitlin Manning studied abroad in the fall of 2006 in Copenhagen, Denmark. She hopes that both student and faculty opinions are taken into consideration when deciding how to best utilize the money from Politi's gift, Manning says.

“I think that a potential travel stipend could be useful for students who study abroad,” Manning says . “Even an international research stipend would be beneficial to certain programs.”

Manning's study-abroad experience was a crucial part of her educational process. Studying abroad should be a mandatory graduation requirement for students at St. Michael’s, she says.

“Studying abroad is extremely important, and I think it significantly deepened my understanding of my specific subject [psychology],” Manning says. “It allowed me to see parts of the world and do certain things that I wouldn't get to do at St. Mike’s during a regular academic year.”

Mahnke shares Manning and Politi’s obvious passions on international studies and the positive effects it can have on life and the educational process. Mahnke would like to see some of the money go towards infusing global studies into every major at the college, she says.

“There isn’t any St. Michael’s student who isn’t going to be affected by globalization,” Mahnke says. “When you graduate from college, you aren’t entering the United States, you’re entering the world.”