Presentation of Rector Gianni Canova's End of Term Report

 On Oct. 30, the presentation of the End of Term Report of Rector Prof. Gianni Canova was held in the Auditorium. “This is the last time I am speaking to you in the role of Rector and I confess that I am excited,” he said, warmly thanking all those who have accompanied him during his six years as Rector, with a special thought for the students who have expressed affection and gratitude for his work. The Rector then also extended thanks to the mayor of Milan, Giuseppe Sala, his predecessor, Prof. Mario Negri, and the first Pro-Rector, Prof. Angelo Miglietta, as well as all the faculty, staff and technicians who have contributed to the success of IULM.

During the event, an end-of-term report, containing the main achievements of these years, was delivered to the audience. In reflecting on them, Canova shared his initial wish: to be a “visionary rector” and “to honor the adjective that has characterized our Athenaeum since its name: to be free from algorithmic dictatorship, from prejudices, from subservience to politics, from some vices of conformism, flattery and victimhood, but also from critical subservience to an Anglo-Saxon model of education - based on rankings - privileging instead a vision of higher education rooted in Italian history and culture.”

Canova retraced the key moments of these years, such as the presence of the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella at the inauguration of the 2018-2019 academic year and the Covid period, during which the celebration of the new year was held in an empty Auditorium, except for four people: the Rector himself, two technicians and the actor Antonio Albanese who interpreted Pericles' speech to the Athenians.

In closing, he confirmed that he will continue to teach and that for the coming year he will still be in charge of the Communication related to the Athenaeum, to carry out those projects that had their genesis under his Rectorate: the opening of the building on Via Russoli, the magazine “Munus” whose first issue is coming out, the idea of continuing to open the Athenaeum to the city, and the inauguration of the Museum Diffuse of Communication. And it was with an image from the construction site of the Museum's new work that the Chancellor took his leave: a revisitation of one of the most famous details in art history, Michelangelo's Creation of Adam, in which, however, the fingers of God and Adam are separated by a crack.

The evening saw the handover of the baton to the Rector-elect, Prof. Valentina Garavaglia, who praised Canova for the innovative imprint she left on the University. “I like to think that tonight you have not handed us a report of the end of your term, but of the beginning,” she said, ”which between the lines encourages us to continue to cultivate an idea of the University understood not only as a place to stay but as a place to inhabit. Inhabiting also implies caring for a system of relationships, sharing a horizon of meaning, being daily in search of meaning. The University you have handed over to us is a place that aims not only to fill heads, but to open them to be able to accommodate the many forms of knowledge. Taking care of this place, its values, and its community becomes the main goal of this term for me today.

With a final, emotional thank you, Canova bid farewell to the audience amid applause as he received the Gold Medal for Innovation, Communication and Cultural Excellence, an honor instituted by the Rector himself and awarded to him as a token of gratitude and esteem for his work.