November 1, 2009

Profile: Marietta Giovannelli

Marietta Giovannelli (Center) with APAC Colleagues.

TWO DECADES OF EXCELLENCE AT UIC

MARIETTA GIOVANNELLI has worked at UIC for nearly two decades. She began her love aff air with UIC as a Research Assistant and Graduate Assistant.

HER CURRENT position is Assistant to the Executive Director of the Council on Teacher Education. Giovannelli’s work is multifaceted; among other responsibilities, she advises, reviews applications, makes recommendations for admission, and assists the Director and Program Coordinators with policy decisions, all in an eff ort to “help students achieve their goals of becoming teachers and administrators,” she said.

GIOVANNELLI ALSO produces research for publication and for presentation at various conferences. She is a policy maker and student advocate at heart.

GIOVANNELLI ENJOYS advising students at both the undergraduate and the graduate levels. “I delight in knowing that I have helped students resolve problems or, in some cases, have opened a door that was previously closed to them,” she said.

HER INVOLVEMENT with the Academic Professional Advisory Committee (APAC) began approximately 11½ years ago. “I became a member because I thought I might help all Academic Professionals improve their position or station in the University System,” she said.

MOREOVER, SHE became a member of the University Professional Personnel Advisory Committee (UPPAC) to learn in what ways the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) and the University of Illinois at Springfi eld (UIS) are helping APs at their respective Campuses.

GIOVANNELLI CURRENTLY serves as a member of the APAC Building Community and Education Subcommittee. For a number of years, Giovannelli has pushed for the committee to gain Senate representation. A few years ago, APAC was granted three seats on UIC’s University Senate. “I believe this to be an important accomplishment because it makes APs visible to faculty and administrators,” she said.

WHILE ONE goal has been accomplished, there still are many more to tackle. Giovannelli would like to see APAC work closely with the Civil Service Advisory Committee. “I think it is important that all staff members of an organization reach out to one another and work together in a concerted eff ort not only to make the organization a strong one, but to make their respective positions in that organization noteworthy,” she said.  

DURING HER spare time, Giovannelli enjoys traveling, gardening, and helping her husband with remodeling projects. She is married to John Giovannelli and has three children of adult age, Judith Ann, Anne Marie, and Gerald Patrick. The loves of her and her husband’s lives are their three grandsons John Joseph, Vincenzo Gennaro, and Anthony Luca.

--Ivone de Jesus