After twelve years, the Rector of the University of San Marino (Università degli Studi della Repubblica di San Marino) bids farewell to institutions, staff and faculty. Paolo Pascucci takes over as of 1 October.
«The San Marino community has decided that this University is an asset for its country».
With these words, Corrado Petrocelli, Rector of the University of San Marino, bid farewell last Thursday to institutions, staff and faculty ahead of the handover that will see the newly appointed Rector, Paolo Pascucci, take the helm of the institution from 1 October.
The journey began in 2014. Twelve years, Petrocelli recalled, spent «here every week from Monday to Thursday, to the point that I feel fully “San-Marino-ized”».
One figure sums up the transformation: «When I arrived, San Marino students enrolled in our degree courses accounted for 1%; now they make up 12%».
Alongside this internal growth came international recognition, certified by the Institutional Evaluation Programme of the European University Association, the independent quality assurance body.
But the outgoing Rector did not shy away from acknowledging the starting point: «Over these twelve years, this community has offered many forms of recognition, whereas at the beginning there was instead indifference, sometimes distrust or even hostility».
The University’s trajectory, built also through partnerships with local bodies, institutions and private organizations, «came about because a condition was created in which everyone, in their own way, made a contribution». Research projects, courses, services and accolades have all increased.
«Without you, I would not have been able to achieve anything», Petrocelli told faculty and staff. «What you gave me helped me grow and reinforced my belief that one never stops learning. That is the very essence of our work. By teaching, one learns, and here I have had proof of that».
Speaking at the event, held at the university’s headquarters in the Antico Monastero di Santa Chiara, Secretary of State for Education and Culture Teodoro Lonfernini said: «It is always people who make the difference, through the humanity as well as the professionalism they bring to their work. Without a shadow of a doubt, not only within our academic community but across the whole of San Marino, you have proven this».
Italy’s ambassador to San Marino, Fabrizio Colaceci, described Petrocelli as a figure of «tremendous talent, the kind that the people of San Marino know how to spot, seek out and bring into their ranks».
Pascucci explained that, after long reflection, he accepted the appointment because the work carried out by his predecessor «needed to be continued and further developed»: since Petrocelli had taken the University of San Marino «from an embryonic stage to becoming an institution recognized at every level according to European standards», he felt it was a challenge worth taking on.
