Administrative/Biographical History
Andrew Bongiorno was born in Palermo, Sicily, on August 5, 1900, the son of Antonio and Concetta Guercia Bongiorno. When he was eleven years old, his parents immigrated to Cleveland, Ohio, where he first attended public schools (1911-19) and then Adelbert College at Western Reserve University, now Case Western Reserve University (1919).
In 1920, he transferred to Oberlin College where he became the associate editor of the Oberlin College Literary Magazine. To help meet his expenses, he worked as a waiter at the Park Hotel (now the Oberlin Inn). Later on, he spoke proudly of becoming headwaiter while still an undergraduate. In 1923, he received his A.B. degree in political science, graduating magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. The following year, he earned an A.M. in English from Oberlin College and accepted an appointment as an instructor in English at the University of Missouri (Columbia, Missouri). In 1925 he returned to Oberlin College. He remained there until his 1967 retirement with the exception of two brief periods, first as a graduate student at Cornell University (1931-33; Ph.D. 1935) and then as a visiting professor at the University of Chicago (1946-47).
During his tenure at Oberlin College, spanning four decades, Andrew Bongiorno rose through the ranks, becoming Professor of English in 1948 and serving two terms as the department chairman (1949-52 and 1958-64). In addition, he served his institution on both the College Faculty Council and the General Faculty Council. He chaired the Committee on the Relation of Art and Music to Liberal Education. A devout Catholic, he advised the Oberlin Newman Club from its inception until his retirement. He was a member of the Modern Language Association, The Dante Society, The Renaissance Society, and the American Association of University Professors.
However, Professor Bongiorno was most distinguished as a teacher. Generations of students remember and revere his “gentle elucidation” of the metaphysical poets, his devotion to Dante, and his desiring that students share his love of literature and the Italian language. His teaching was marked by “the irresistible authority that inevitably accompanies deep learning marked by spiritual humility.” As well as nurturing students’ love of literature, Professor Bongiorno inculcated and expected a deep respect for critical thinking, a skill he consistently emphasized, especially in his course on literary criticism. After his retirement in 1967, he returned to the classroom at Oberlin College to offer again his “Dante in Translation” course, a student favorite for decades. In 1971, he addressed an Oberlin College audience on “Why I Teach.”
Andrew Bongiorno’s legendary gifts as a teacher led to several summer teaching appointments: The University of the Pacific (Stockton, California); San Diego State College; and Case Western University. After his retirement, he held visiting professorships at Scripps College (Claremont, California), 1967-68 and 1969-70, and the University of Arizona (Tucson, Arizona), 1968-69.
Although his own publications were not numerous—a few articles, co-translation of Mind And Society (1935), and a monograph, Castelvetro on the Art of Poetry (1983)—his editorial acumen rivaled his accomplishments as a teacher. Professor Bongiorno’s training and reading in the classical tradition made him a discerning critic of the many draft manuscripts for which students, colleagues, and friends sought his assistance and advice. He could be counted on “to detect inconsistencies, illogicalities, and solecisms, not to mention just plain fuzzy writing, all pointed out with a gentle firmness that was bracing and unforgettable to experience.” (David P. Young, Memorial Minute, October 26, 1999)
Although even in his last years he declined to accept an honorary degree, always maintaining that he was not a scholar, other honors came to him. On his retirement in 1967, his colleagues in the English Department established a scholarship fund in his honor. This fund annually awards a scholarship to a student for excellence in English studies at the end of the junior year. Also in 1967, the Diocese of Cleveland awarded him the Newman Honor Key. In 1974 he received Oberlin’s Alumni Medal.
On July 5, 1933, Andrew Bongiorno married Laurine Elizabeth Mack (A.B., Oberlin, 1925; Ph.D., Radcliff, 1930). Mrs. Bongiorno was widely admired as a lecturer in the fine arts and as editor of the Allen Art Museum Bulletin. With her, Professor Bongiorno “worked in wonderful harmony, and [they] derived substantial joy and support from each other’s minds and spirits” until her death in 1986 (David P. Young). Andrew Bongiorno lived on his own for another ten years, and then moved to Kendal at Oberlin.
Andrew Bongiorno died on November 28, 1998.
Sources Consulted
“Andrew Bongiorno.” Oberlin News-Tribune (December 8, 1998): n.p.
Dirda, Michael. “The Learning Channels,” Book World (February 15, 1998): 15.
Dye, Nancy S. Letter to the Oberlin Community on the Death of Andrew Bongiorno.
November 30, 1988.
Oberlin College Biographical Form, n.d.
Shaw, John (A.B., Oberlin College, 1947). Personal interview.
Ward, Andrew. “For Andrew Bongiorno.” A nine-page typescript ms.
Ward, Andrew, “In Memory of Andrew Bongiorno,” Oberlin Alumni Magazine (OAM)
(Spring 2000): 25-28.
Young, David P., Memorial Minute: “Andrew Bongiorno 1900-1998 Emeritus Professor
of English,” OAM (Winter 1999): 51.
Author: Elizabeth Brinkman Forms of Material (links to similar genres) Administrative Information
