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September 27, 2012

Franco Sciannameo Named Associate Dean For Interdisciplinary Initiatives In The College of Fine Arts

SciannameoFranco Sciannameo, director and associate teaching professor of the BXA Intercollege Degree Programs, has been named associate dean for Interdisciplinary Initiatives in the College of Fine Arts. Dan Martin, dean of the College of Fine Arts, announced the appointment earlier this month.

In addition to serving as associate dean, Sciannameo will continue to teach interdisciplinary courses in music, cinema, culture and seminars dedicated to the works of Italo Calvino, Jorge Luis Borges and Umberto Eco. He has been at Carnegie Mellon since August 1991.

"Franco has a distinguished history at Carnegie Mellon as a College of Fine Arts Distinguished Scholar in Multidisciplinary Studies," Martin said. "His experience with and understanding of the synergies among various areas of study will be of great benefit to CFA going forward."

Sciannameo said he has a deep interest in the role of artists in society, and he writes and lectures extensively on contemporary music and its relations to politics, cinema and the arts. He has worked closely with a number of composers, including Giacinto Scelsi, Nino Rota, Ennio Morricone, Franco Donatoni and Paul Chihara, with whom he collaborated on performances and recordings.

In his role within CFA, he hopes to "aggressively foster an interdisciplinary curriculum" that will address the relationship between arts, culture, society and politics. "Such a curriculum," he said, "will promote active engagement with the world of ideas, stressing the role of the learner in actively shaping his/her own education and future career."

Born in Italy, Sciannameo studied in Rome at the Conservatorio di Musica Santa Cecilia, earning a Diploma Superiore [DM] in violin performance, literature and pedagogy. As a violinist, he performed with orchestras and chamber groups in Rome, Hartford, Dallas and Cleveland. He holds advanced degrees in historical musicology and cultural studies from the University of Pittsburgh. In addition, Sciannameo has interests in cultural anthropology and environmental sounds.