Professor Valentina Garavaglia is the new Rector of IULM

Valentina Garavaglia is the new Rector of IULM University. A full professor of  Theater in the Faculty of Communication, formerly deputy pro-rector and pro-rector with responsibility for Education, she will succeed Professor Gianni Canova, who has led the University since 2018, as of November 1st, 2024.

The Board of Trustees, led by Professor Giovanni Puglisi, met today, Wednesday, July 31, to make the choice based on the three names presented and proposed by the Academic Senate, electing Professor Garavaglia for the six-year term 2024-2030.

"Professor Gianni Canova," stated Professor Garavaglia, "has provided us with a virtuous and innovative model of a Campus, a place not just to attend but to truly live in. Continuing along this path, while nurturing the values and community that energize this institution, will be among the primary goals of my tenure." Over the past six years, under Professor Canova's leadership, IULM University has grown both qualitatively and quantitatively, recording a 20 percent increase in enrollment, inaugurating four new Degree Courses and launching two more which willa start in September. IULM has established itself as a leader in communication-related education.

Valentina Garavaglia, from Milan, born in 1974, married and mother of twins, graduated with honors in Modern Literature from the University of Milan and received her Ph.D. in Theory and History of Dramatic Representation from Università del Sacro Cuore. After teaching at theUniversità Statale of Milan, she joined the ranks of IULM in 2010, conducting studies and research on the history of theater and the role of the performing arts as a tool for the formation and building of the individual, with particular attention to developments in prison theater.

Alongside his academic activity, Garavaglia has been active in theater, artistically coordinating festivals and projects at important Italian and international theater institutions. In 2015, she won the 20th edition of the Luigi Pirandello National Theater Prize with the work L'ephemerale e l'eterno: l'esperienza teatrale di Gibellina (Bulzoni). 

With the appointment of Valentina Garavaglia, there are now two women at the top of IULM University: in fact, Dr. Raffaella Quadri has been the University's Director General since 2017. This represents a further step towards gender equality in academia and administration.

The entire academic community, together with the technical-administrative staff, warmly congratulates Professor Valentina Garavaglia on this prestigious appointment.