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Michael R. Campo papers

 Collection
Identifier: TCA-YYYY-002

Scope and Contents

The Michael R. Campo papers consist mainly of correspondence, memos, minutes, reports, event programs, newspaper clippings, student evaluations and forms, as well as some hand-written letters and photographs. The collection covers Trinity College's role in overseas education from 1955 to 1998, including the history and operations of the Barbieri Center of Italian Studies (1957-1995), the history and operations of the Trinity College Rome Campus (1969-1992), the operations of the Barbieri Endowment for Italian Culture (1983-1997), the publication files of the journal Cesare Barbieri Courier, the Elderhostel senior travel program at Trinity (1987-1998), and letters received and sent by Dr. Michael R. Campo (1955-1993). The bulk of the material dates from the 1960s to the 1990s. Of note is a folder of correspondence which includes translations of Italian poems by American poet and translator, I.L. Salomon, who contributed to issues of the Cesare Barbieri Courier.

Dates

  • Creation: 1955-1998

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open to the public and must be used in the John M.K. Davis Reading Room of the Watkinson Library, Trinity College Library, Hartford, Connecticut. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws when using this collection.

Conditions Governing Use

Digital surrogates may be provided in accordance with the duplication policy of the Watkinson Library.

Copyright resides with the creators of the documents or their heirs unless otherwise specified. It is the researcher's responsibility to secure permission to publish materials from the appropriate copyright holder.

Archival materials may contain sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal and/or state right to privacy laws or other regulations. While we make a good faith effort to identify and remove such materials, some may be missed during our processing. If a researcher finds sensitive personal information (e.g. social security numbers) in a collection, please bring it to the attention of the reading room staff.

Biographical / Historical

Dr. Michael R. Campo (1923-2017) graduated from Trinity College in 1948. Four years later, he became a member of the Trinity faculty, where he taught as professor of Modern Languages until 1989. His academic research focused on the life and literature of Dante. In 1956, Campo was named the Cesare Barbieri Lecturer in Italian Studies, and he helped establish the Cesare Barbieri Center of Italian Studies (1956–1958) with monies from the Cesare Barbieri Endowment, a philanthropy devoted to the memory of its Italian immigrant namesake, who arrived in the United States in 1905. Now the Barbieri Center is known as the Cesare Barbieri Endowment for Italian Culture. In 1958, Dr. Campo also founded the Cesare Barbieri Courier – a journal devoted to Italian culture. Dr. Campo served as the journal’s editor until the publication ceased in the late 1960s.

Acknowledging his service and accomplishments as an academic entrepreneur, Trinity conferred on Dr. Campo an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree in 1966. In 1970, Dr. Campo was involved in founding Trinity College’s Rome Campus, a model for overseas educational programs for undergraduates. On February 8, 1979, Pope John Paul II met Campo, along with other faculty and students, during an unexpected visit to Trinity's Rome campus.



In 1981, Dr. Campo co-founded Trinity’s Elderhostel in Italy program, which served as educational travel for senior citizens to program sites throughout Italy. The Italian Government later named him "Commendatore della Repubblica," largely for his role in repatriating some Hitler-Mussolini documents which had been taken by a member of the OSS in World War II. In 1988, Trinity appointed Campo as the the John J. McCook Professor of Modern Languages. Dr. Campo was also credited with establishing Trinity’s Academy of Life-Long Learning, a non-credit educational program for adult learners.



Michael R. Campo died on January 20, 2017.

Extent

1.5 Cubic Feet (70 letter-size folders in four Hollinger boxes.) ; 1 letter size Hollinger box (10.25"H x 5"W x 12.5"D) equals .37 cubic feet (as defined by UNLV Archives Calculator)

Language of Materials

English

Italian

Arrangement

The collection is organized into six series. The order of the folders within each series may be the original order.

Series 1. Barbieri Center/Foundation

Series 2. Rome Campus

Series 3. Barbieri Endowment for Italian Culture

Series 4. Cesare Barbieri Courier - Correspondence

Series 5. Elderhostel Program

Series 6. Michael R. Campo - General Correspondence

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Source Unknown

Related Materials

Archival Materials

Cesare Barbieri Endowment records, Watkinson Library, Hartford, Connecticut.

Cesare Barbieri Endowment for Italian Culture collection, Watkinson Library, Hartford, Connecticut.

George B. Cooper papers, Watkinson Library, Hartford, Connecticut.

Digitized copies of some issues of the Cesare Barbieri Courier may be accessed online: http://www.cbendowment.org/archive

Published Works

Perspectives on Italy: Essays in Honor of Michael R. Campo, ed. Rev. Dr. Borden W. Painter, Jr. '58 (Hartford: Cesare Barbieri Endowment for Italian Culture, Trinity College, 1992). https://trincoll-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/lqemve/01CTW_TC_ALMA2199440380003767

Unpublished Works

Alicia L. Mioli, "Transitions: A History of the Trinity College Rome Campus," Trinity College, senior thesis, 1995. https://trincoll-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/lqemve/01CTW_TC_ALMA21123747250003767

Bibliography

Knapp, Peter J., and Knapp, Anne H. Trinity College in the Twentieth Century: A History. Hartford, CT: Trinity College, 2000.

Processing Information

A processing plan was developed by an intern in March 2018.

Title
Guide to the Michael R. Campo papers
Status
In Progress
Author
Tristan Evarts and Peter Rawson, using a Microsoft-Word finding aid prepared by Brenda Miller in July 2006, and revised by Jasmin Agosto in February 2010.
Date
2018-03-18
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Revision Statements

  • 2020-03-20: "Bio/Historical Note" and "Scope and Contents" updated and revised by Eric C. Stoykovich, who also added "Arrangement," "Bibliography," "Related Materials," and "Processing Information". 'Scope and Contents' notes were added to each folder, based on pre-existing inventory (Word document).
  • 2022-12-07: Folders rehoused into multiple, smaller boxes; several "Notes" updated and revised; and folder numbers added by Amy M. FitzGerald.

Repository Details

Part of the Trinity College Archives Repository

Contact:
Watkinson Library
300 Summit St.
Hartford CT 06106 USA