Daniela Mapelli (Wikipedia)

  • Antonella Polimeni elected Rector of Sapienza, for the first time a woman

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June 18, 2021Daniela Mapelli is the first woman to be elected rector of the University of Padua.

It will cover the 2021-2027 sexennium, coinciding with the university's 800th anniversary.



Mother of two children, Mapelli, 55, born in Lecco, graduated and teaches Psychology.

She said she was "fascinated" by the "experimental" branch of matter.

The duel for the rectorate was with another woman, Patrizia Marzaro, full professor of administrative law.



At the end of the voting, the ballot was carried out electronically, attended by the dean, Professor Francesco Baldassarri, the Technical Commission and the candidates in the Ancient Archives of Palazzo Bo. The rector was elected from among tenured full professors serving at the University of Padua who guarantee a number of years of service at least equal to the duration of the mandate, before retirement.



"Never as now - said Mapelli -, in these moments, the portraits of the men who led the University of Padua, which accompany the entrance into the hall of the Basilica, seem to me to vividly convey their stories, their thoughts, their hopes. Who knows if at the moment of the election they were moved, as I am, or maybe they already felt a strong sense of a sweet responsibility, that of leading the University of Padua ". "From next October - he added - we will finally be able to say 'men and women who led the University of Padua'".



The university has 799 years of history, it is the second oldest in Italy, after Bologna. Galileo Galilei taught there and the first woman, the Venetian Elena Lucrezia Corner Piscopia, graduated here in 1678.



The greeting of the outgoing rector

"The large academic community has expressed its choice, electing Daniela Mapelli as rector for the next six years. The very high participation in the vote, in all three voting days, plus at the end of a unique electoral campaign due to a pandemic , it was a wonderful sign of interest in the future of our University ". This was stated by Rosario Rizzuto, rector of the outgoing University of Padua. "Now, at the end of an intense electoral campaign, I can express my great happiness for the election of Professor Mapelli, the first woman - and she was now - at the helm of the University of Padua. A woman of undoubted and extraordinary qualities, with a great propensity to listen and share ". "He has made an essential contribution in these six years of rectorate,with a crucial role in the teaching management of an interdisciplinary University - concludes Rizzuto -, with over 200 degree courses. His work has greatly contributed to positioning the University in the A category, the one of excellence, in the accreditation of Anvur. The skills with which it was able to face the challenge posed by the health emergency proved, once again, its value. My most affectionate wishes for good work go to her: but I am sure that she will be able to guide our Athenaeum in the best possible way in its ninth century of life ".Anvur. The skills with which it was able to face the challenge posed by the health emergency proved, once again, its value. My most affectionate wishes for good work go to her: but I am sure that she will be able to guide our Athenaeum in the best possible way in its ninth century of life ".Anvur. The skills with which it was able to face the challenge posed by the health emergency proved, once again, its value. My most affectionate wishes for good work go to her: but I am sure that she will be able to guide our Athenaeum in the best possible way in its ninth century of life ".



Rector Ca 'Foscari: good women leads universities

"Congratulations to Daniela Mapelli, elected rector of the University of Padua. I am pleased that the number of women at the helm of Italian universities is increasing after decades of exclusively male leadership". This was stated by Tiziana Lippiello, rector of the Ca 'Foscari University of Venice on the election of Daniela Mapelli as her counterpart in Padua. "I am sure that we will have the opportunity to collaborate profitably on many topics of common interest to further strengthen the attractiveness of the Veneto university model, making it increasingly competitive and innovative - adds Lippiello -. I therefore invite the new rector of Padua at the event that Ca 'Foscari is organizing for next September in Venice and which will bring together the Italian directors in attendance for the first time in an initiative aimed at discussing and identifying concrete measures for reducing the gender gap also in the university sphere ". 



Casellati: merit awarded

"I express my warmest congratulations to Professor Daniela Mapelli, first rector in the 800-year history of the University of Padua: a position that rewards a professional career of excellence from which, in addition to the commitment and passion for psychology and neuroscience, the desire to experiment and innovate shines through ". This was stated by the President of the Senate Elisabetta Casellati commenting on the appointment of Daniela Mapelli, the first woman to lead the University of Padua. "Characteristics that are well reconciled with the history of the University of Padua, an international and modern university, guardian of a prestigious past but always projected into the future with the aim of anticipating the developments of our society - he adds -. The election of a woman, after an all-female ballot,at the helm of one of the most prestigious universities in Italy and in the world, it contains a clear message for the entire country: when merit is awarded, no goal is precluded for women. "The University of Padua, where in the 1678 the first woman in the world graduated, "confirms that she is in line with the path of female emancipation - concludes Casellati - and is once again a source of national pride".confirms that it is in line with the path of women's emancipation - concludes Casellati - and is once again a reason for national pride ".confirms that it is in line with the path of women's emancipation - concludes Casellati - and is once again a reason for national pride ".