By Julia MacKenzie
New Chair of the MSMT
“My life has been dominated by Italy and Italians”, declared the Trust’s Chair-elect, Philip Cooke, Professor of Italian History and Culture at the University of Strathclyde, early in his interview for the post Nick Young is vacating in December 2024. This statement could have been said by the Trust’s founder, Keith Killby, and immediately struck a chord with the Nomination Committee tasked by the MSMT Trustees with finding someone to succeed Nick, who has been such an inspirational leader of the Trust for twenty years.
Selection
In selecting Phil, the members of the Nomination Committee (Trustees Letitia Blake, Nermina Delic, Julia MacKenzie and Christopher Woodhead) are confident that they have found someone who will be an outstanding and engaged Chair and is well placed to lead the charity in the next stage of its development, particularly given its increasing emphasis on research. The Nomination Committee’s choice was made from a strong field of candidates presented by Trustees Unlimited, a recruitment company they employed that specialises in finding board members for charities. The Committee’s decision was confirmed by the full board of Trustees after they had had the chance to talk to Phil.
Phil’s career and research interests are an almost perfect fit with the work of the Trust. Phil’s first degree was in Italian and Russian Studies at the University of Edinburgh and the same university awarded him his PhD in 1994. He was appointed Lecturer in Italian at the University of Strathclyde in 1993 and he has been a full professor in the Department of Humanities there since 2013. Phil has also been a visiting professor in Italy, most recently at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia in 2022. Phil is a fluent Italian speaker.
Resistance movement in Italy
Phil’s academic research focuses on the long-term impact of the Resistance movement in Italy during the Second World War and his books include The Legacy of the Italian Resistance (2011), published in Italy as L’eredità della Resistenza: storia, cultura, politiche dal dopoguerra a oggi (2015). In the course of his work he met partisans and Allied combatants, such as Stuart Hood (PoW in PG 49 Fontanellato). It seems fitting that his birthday is on 25 April so he frequently combines his birthday celebrations with the Festa della Liberazione.
In addition to authoring books, numerous articles and conference papers, Phil was joint editor (with John Foot) of the journal Modern Italy, 2010–2015, and in this role built links with scholars in the field of Italian Studies from all over the world. Global connections have also been fostered by Phil’s role as Chair of the Association for the Study of Modern Italy (ASMI) from 2020 (his term finishes in December this year). He is also a member of an international network of scholars collaborating on the subject of European Resistance in the Second World War.
In 2006 the Italian State recognised Phil’s contribution to Italian studies by awarding him the honour of ‘Cavaliere dell’ordine della stella della solidarietà italiana’ (‘Knight of the Star of Italian Solidarity’) for services to Italian Culture.
Valuable connections
It is particularly gratifying and helpful that Phil already has connections with people and organisations with which the Trust is involved. He has worked closely with the Istituto Parri in Milan and its president Professor Paolo Pezzino and collaborated with other Resistance Institutes (particularly in Florence, Padua and Reggio Emilia). He considers one of his key roles as the new Chair to be the promotion of the work of the MSMT through these channels. He also knows Professor Robert Gordon, Serena Professor of Italian at the University of Cambridge, with whom the Trust already has links and who facilitated the deposit of the Trust’s archive at Cambridge.
It is clear from all this that Phil has a strong professional background that connects with the Trust’s work, but the Nomination Committee was also looking for someone whose personality and character fit with the ethos and culture of the Trust. From the very beginning, Phil’s warmth and sense of humour together with his interest, appreciation and enthusiasm for the Trust’s work and desire for the job of Chair was obvious. He understands Keith Killby’s original vision and through his own work has also sought to promote the study of language as a way of enabling young people to become citizens of the world.
Phil will take over from Nick Young at the end of 2024 for an initial term of five years but the Trust’s supporters will have an opportunity to meet and start getting to know Phil at the annual lunch in London on 20 November. We know our supporters will give him a warm welcome and we all look forward to working with him across the increasingly wide range of the charity’s activities.
