Date: 3/10/2021. Time: 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM. Location: Virtual Via Zoom. Guests will receive the Zoom link upon registration. Please register here by Tuesday, March 9. Join your fellow alumni on Wednesday, March 10 for an eye-opening virtual book discussion featuring alumna and author, The Hon. Cav. Gilda Battaglia Rorro Baldassari, Ed.D '62.

During this conversation, you'll have the opportunity to learn about Gilda's life story as she uncovers and discusses major themes from her memoir: Gilda, Promise Me. Cav. Gilda Battaglia Rorro Baldassari, Ed.D. '62 was Knighted by the President of Italy in 2008, for her service to the Republic of Italy.

She received her Bachelor of Arts from Beaver College (now Arcadia University), her Master of Education from Trenton State College (now the College of New Jersey), attended the University of Mexico, and received a Doctor of Education degree from Rutgers University. She was the Director of the New Jersey Department of Education's (DOE) Civil Rights Division, and Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources in the Trenton Board of Education.

Volunteering for Haiti for 11 years, she was President of the New Jersey/Haiti Partners of the Americas. After retiring from education, she became Chair of The New Jersey Italian Heritage Commission (NJIHC), and Honorary Vice Consul for Italy, in Trenton for 23 years. In 2020, Gilda became a member of the New Jersey Council of Education.

Dr. Rorro received three lifetime achievement awards for volunteerism and civil rights leadership via a Jefferson Award from the United States Senate, the Citizen of the Year for the Trent Athletic Association in Trenton, and Equity Leader of the Year, and was inducted into the New Jersey Equity Hall of Fame.

She was a television teacher for the Tristate area and an actress in film and television in Mexico City. She wrote two handbooks for teachers of Haitian students in New Jersey Public High Schools and guidelines for education that is multicultural, for the New Jersey State Department of Education and was widely published throughout New Jersey and Italy. As Chair of the NJIHC she developed a statewide curriculum: The Universality of Italian Heritage, which was piloted for two years throughout New Jersey and Italy.

Primary Contact: Solange Luna, Administrative Assistant for the Office of Alumni Engagement [email protected]