Donato Center Celebrates Grand Opening

The Clorinda Donato Center for Global Romance Languages and Translation Studies marked its grand opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and celebration in March.

Established through an initial donation in 2017 from businessman Mario Giannini, the center supports research and instruction in translation studies and Romance languages in global, linguistic, and cultural contexts. It houses the minor and graduate certificate programs in translation studies and also collaborates on the major option in translation offered by the linguistics department.

The specialized instruction provided through the center aims to prepare students for professional jobs in translation and interpretation in industries such as healthcare and the court system. It also teaches students how to use technologies such as close-captioning and dubbing, and it helps students understand how to respect regional nuances in languages.

Giannini’s donation, which has grown to more than $8 million since 2017, is the

“Centers of excellence should be named after the people who drive that excellence and vision so they can serve as an inspiration to students and faculty,” Giannini says. “Clorinda clearly provided that drive and vision.”

Dr. Donato, a professor of French and Italian, started on the tenure track at CSULB in 1988 after earning her Ph.D. in Romance languages, literatures, and linguistics from UCL A. She specializes in translation in historical perspective, especially in 18thcentury texts; French and Italian language pedagogy for Spanish speakers; and gender in translation.

The center is the only one of its kind housed at a public university in California. The next phase in its development will include new degree programs, courses, and collaborations.