On Wednesday September 20 a farewell from outgoing rector Piercarlo Grimaldi and an introduction from new rector Andrea Pieroni
The handover between the outgoing rector of the University of Gastronomic Sciences, Piercarlo Grimaldi, and the new rector, Andrea Pieroni, is taking place at a crucial moment for the Pollenzo university, just as a new degree category, developed based on our courses, is officially recognized by the Italian Ministry for Education, Universities and Research.
This latest advance was highlighted by first Grimaldi and then Pieroni as they spoke at the inauguration of the 2017-18 academic year. It was echoed by Carlo Petrini, the university’s president, who announced the upcoming visit of Italy’s Prime Minister to Pollenzo: “We are happy to be welcoming the head of government, Paolo Gentiloni, to Pollenzo, where he will confirm our official degree category.”
The morning event had opened with a greeting from the mayor of Bra, Bruna Sibille: “It is a great honor to be welcoming you as the mayor of a university town that hosts such a prestigious and internationally important institution, one which has shaped the economic and social profile of Bra. UNISG has brought young people from all over the world to Bra, making it a more dynamic and modern town, and these students have taken a piece of Bra around the world, spreading the word and promoting our town as a tourist destination. This municipal administration is here to help you and my office will always be open for you.”
Outgoing rector Piercarlo Grimaldi greeted and thanked the entire Pollenzo community, going over the key moments of his two terms of office with heartfelt emotion: “In these years, the university has tested out a new scientific path towards the gastronomic sciences, becoming a model for other schools that have copied our educational template. What’s more, we have identified an original approach that means we can now proudly see the new degree categories of Sciences, Culture and Politics of Gastronomy (the three-year undergraduate degree) and Economic and Social Sciences for Gastronomy (the two-year postgraduate degree) that Pollenzo proposed to the Ministry for Education, Universities and Research becoming a reality. We can rightly say that we have reached maturity.”
The new rector, Andrea Pieroni, then outlined the principles that will guide his new term of office: “The key objective is to continue to work towards the confirmation of the University of Gastronomic Sciences as a center of excellence. To do this, we will focus on research, teaching and a third mission that comprises both a relationship with innovation and a social and cultural project. Pollenzo will be the starting point for this concept of a ‘diffused university,’ allowing the study of our themes around the world and broadening the dissemination of knowledge in the field of food. But that’s not all: UNISG will also work to implement relationships with other organizations, institutions, businesses and social initiatives, with the aim of reinforcing the concept of community and pursuing new educational projects with a strong social value that can help migrants.”
UNISG’s student representative, Federico Mattarelli, then talked about politics and democracy and how food is a powerful tool for making choices and subverting the hegemony of a political system that has left us in a precarious equilibrium: a task that the young gastronomes will be called upon to carry forward.
When Carlo Petrini spoke, he had only words of esteem and warmth for the outgoing rector: “I have a debt of gratitude and friendship towards Piercarlo Grimaldi. We never clashed with each other, and knowing my character, that was all down to him. He had the gift of being able to mediate, listen and dissipate conflicts. There is no doubt that listening is an essential part of this gift. For a community like ours here in Pollenzo, knowing how to listen is the essential first step to having new and innovative ideas.”
Andrea Pieroni talked in Italian, interspersed with English in recognition of to the increasing numbers of international students attending UNISG. He called for the entire academic community—and beyond—of Pollenzo to come together in a spirit of collaboration, empathy, local interaction, openness and dialog with the representatives of migrant populations.
Pieroni concluded with some key words that will inspire his term of office and the future of the Pollenzo university: sense of community, pleasure, responsibility, creativity, interconnectivity.
