Initiatives

CLASS

MEMORIAL

SPECIAL

Memorial Initiatives

Patrick McCarthy
Fund

Current Total	335499.4100
Goal	$2,500,000
View Donors List	DONATE

Donors

Florence, April 2007

Those of us who knew Patrick McCarthy have countless fond memories: his conversation was unfailingly original, unexpected and funny, and his brilliance as a teacher was unsurpassed.

Italy was only a part of Patrick's world. His first love, in point of time at least, was France. In fact, he brought to the study of modern Italy a vision informed by his great knowledge of three or more cultures. Patrick's first training was in literature, and to judge from the results this gave him a unique grasp of le vécu, life as it is really lived. In Italy, Patrick practiced a kind of instinctive anthropology, or participant observation.

At the Bologna Center, he had time to indulge his immense and varied curiosity about all spheres of Italian life, from football to the relationship between the art critic Roberto Longhi and Pasolini, and to Italian financial manoeuvres. Berlinguer came to occupy a place in his personal Pantheon alongside the heroes of the great age of Welsh rugby football and George Orwell. But his active imagination and his partisanship never dimmed what was essentially a very hardheaded and realistic view of Italian politics.

Patrick McCarthy was an outstanding scholar whose presence will be sorely missed. We are left with a deep regret at the loss of a scholar who was uniquely free from the vices of hidebound academic specialization. He played a tutto campo.

Patrick, a native Welshman of Irish descent, studied at Oxford (B.A. and Ph.D) and Harvard and went on to teach at Pembroke College Cambridge, Vassar, Cornell, Haverford College and SAIS.

Fluent in four languages, Patrick's interests and expertise ranged from all aspects of politics and literature to the sociology of sport and modern dance. He wrote for several European newspapers about politics, including Tribune, and was a regular reviewer for the Times Literary Supplement. He also found time to consult on labor relations for a US company. His books spanned biographies of well known authors (Camus and Céline) to Italian politics, the Franco-German relationship, British politics and the use of language by politicians and others.

His knowledge and wicked sense of humor made him a gifted teacher and conversationalist. He was a strong believer in the ability to communicate in many tongues and deeply concerned by the spreading globalization of English.

Full Bibliography

Former students and friends of Patrick McCarthy decided to support research in perpetuity at SAIS Europe. The initiative was launched by classes of 1991 and 1999 but is open to other classes and individuals. The aim of the Patrick McCarthy Fund is to support research activities of SAIS Europe faculty members, and cover some or all of the salary of the Patrick McCarthy Professors in Bologna:

• the mid-term goal to finance an Adjunct Professor position is $500,000
• the ultimate goal to finance a Patrick McCarthy Professorship is $2,5M

Click here to follow the Patrick McCarthy Seminar Series and Events.

Prior to that, during the Bologna Center Renovation Campaign, As a tribute to Patrick McCarthy's career and passion, two rooms have been named in his memory:

• THE PATRICK MCCARTHY OFFICE

• THE PATRICK MCCARTHY CLASSROOM

Those who are interested in joining the initiative can click here and make an online contribution or learn more about tax effective giving. The SAIS Europe Development Team is available at sais.eu.development@jhu.edu for any further question you may have and to discuss multi-year commitments. Also, you can get in touch with the class leaders: Bologna Class of 1991:

Bologna Class of 1991:

• Carl Gardiner
• James Upton
• Curtis Butler

Bologna Class of 1999:

• Stefano Frascani
• Silvia Zucchini

SAIS Europe - Via Beniamino Andreatta, 3 - 40126 Bologna, Italy
© 2025

SAIS Europe
Via Beniamino Andreatta, 3
40126 Bologna, Italy
© 2025