Joseph V. Scelsa

Joseph V. Scelsa is the Director of the Italian American Institute of the City University of New York, which he renamed the John D. Calandra Italian American Institute after the late State Senator in 1987. In 1995, the Calandra Institute was afforded the status of a full university research institute through Queens College, CUNY. As of March 1, 1999, Dr. Scelsa was named Dean of the Calandra Italian American Institute and appointed full Professor. In October 2000, he was named acting Vice President for Institutional Development at Queens College, CUNY.

Dr. Scelsa received his doctorate in Sociology and Education from Columbia University, and in addition, holds three Maters’ degrees in Sociology, Social Studies and Counseling. He is also nationally certified as a Clinical Mental Health Counselor.

As a graduate student at the City University of New York, Dr. Scelsa held the position of Vice Chair of Legislative Affairs of the University Student Senate. Today, he is a Board Member of the Columbia Club, the Coalition of Italo-American Associations, Italian Heritage and Culture Month Committee, , and various other Italian-American organizations. He is also Chairman of the National Italian American Foundation’s Education Institute.

Dr. Scelsa is Executive Producer and Host of ITALICS: The Italian-American Magazine, which is co-produced by the Calandra Institute and CUNY-TV, and is now in its thirteenth season on cable stations throughout the United States.

The author and editor of several books, Dr. Scelsa has written various articles and reports on ethnicity, pluralism and education, notably the report on the Italian-American High School Drop-Out Rate in the New York City Schools (New York Times, May 1, 1990). He was the historical consultant for A&E’s documentary The Italians in America, which premiered worldwide on October 11, 1998.