Faculty
FRANCESCO BELLINI is a native of Florence where he grew up and where his family still resides. He has a Ph.D. in Comparative Religions and currently teaches religion courses as well as Italian language classes at Delaware County Community College. In addition, he has written a text of Italian grammar currently used at the college. Dr. Bellini speaks fluent Italian and English and has dual Italian-American citizenship. Most importantly, Florence is home to Francesco who speaks ‘Florentine’-the ability to understand the subtle unspoken language of the Florentines.
Bonnie McMeans is an Associate Professor of English at Delaware County Community College with more than 20 years experience teaching young adults. She holds a Master of Journalism degree from Temple University and a Master of Arts degree in Writing Studies from St. Joseph’s University. She is a published author and a former frequent contributor to The Philadelphia Inquirer. She loves to travel abroad and at home and hopes to instill that same passion for travel in her students. Professor McMeans believes that traveling motivates students to operate outside their comfort zone, something she also emphasizes in her journalism courses.
Denise Danford is an Associate Professor of Communication Studies at Delaware County Community College. She earned her master’s degree in Speech Communication at Southern Illinois University. Professor Danford’s thesis research focused on intercultural communication, specifically the ways in which non-dominant group members negotiate identity when interacting with culturally dominant group members. In addition to teaching communication courses at the college level, Professor Danford also facilitates intercultural trainings for businesses, nonprofit organizations, and educational institutions. She has visited Florence on two other occasions. Because of the diversity of international visitors to the Florence, and the Italian people’s tendency toward nonverbal expressiveness, Professor Danford believes Florence is the perfect destination for students interested in studying intercultural communication.
Dolores Formichella is a full-time Professor of English and Humanities in the Communications, Arts and Humanities Division, and has earned two Masters of Arts degrees from Villanova University—in English and in Liberal Studies. In addition to writing and literature classes, she teaches humanities courses that explore the diverse artistic, social, political, and economic history of world cultures from pre-history to the 21st Century. Her love of Italy is inherited from her grandparents who were born there, from her travels abroad, and from her family who live in Florence, Caserta, and Naples. She encourages students to journey beyond their own cultural boundaries to enrich their educational experience and to better prepare themselves for life in the 21st Century.