Former Connell School Dean Susan Gennaro honored in Italy
Boston College Connell School of Nursing Professor Susan Gennaro, who served as CSON dean from 2008 to 2021, was bestowed with honors in Italy in recognition for her contributions to scientific research and the nursing profession.
On May 2, she was awarded the Bronze Lion by Mario Marino, the mayor of Scicli, a town in the Italian region of Sicily. The Bronze Lion is a symbol of the municipality and its highest civic honor. Gennaro is an internationally respected nurse researcher focused on perinatal nursing and improving outcomes for preterm babies and their mothers. She is the first woman and first nurse to be recognized with the award. Previous recipients include Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict, and Andrea Bocelli.
“I was thrilled to be honored for my contributions and join such a prestigious group of award recipients,” said Gennaro, whose grandparents were born in Sicily and immigrated to the United States in 1906.
Daniele Scapellato, vice president of the Order of Nursing Professions of Ragusa, offered remarks at the award ceremony.
The Bronze Lion award ceremony (Photos courtesy of Susan Gennaro)
A few days earlier Gennaro was made an honorary citizen of Calatafimi, the municipality where her grandparents were born. Honorary citizenship is granted to a person who has made a significant contribution globally in the arts or sciences and who has ties to the city.
Joining Gennaro for the celebration were her family as well as colleagues from Milan, Rome, Bologna, Albania, and the United States. Gennaro said she was in awe of the full circle moment for her and her family.
“One hundred and twenty years after my grandparents left Calatafimi, two of their grandchildren—my sister and I—along with two of their great-grandchildren and two of their great-great-grandchildren returned. It was a great night.”
Gennaro expressed gratitude to Gennaro Rocco and Alessandro Stievano, Italian colleagues who nominated her for these honors. Rocco and Stievano spoke at CSON’s Pinnacle Lecture in 2019, and have collaborated with Gennaro for many years.
The following day, Gennaro spoke at a nursing conference in Erice, another municipality in Sicily, along with two other Americans. Nurses from all over Italy attended the event.
On May 1, she attended the Festival of the Santo Crocifisso, a religious celebration. She said she was grateful to see the holy festival as it had been more than a dozen years since the last one took place.