Published in the Tecumseh Herald, January 16, 2025
He called himself my “Italian Papa,” and just before the new year, he died.
Dr. Louis C. Vaccaro, known to most simply as “Lou,” was 94 years old. He had a long and storied career in higher education, where he had a profound impact on the lives of thousands of students. Although I knew of Lou as far back as 1977, when he came to Siena Heights University as its seventh president, our paths didn’t cross until the mid-1990s. I eventually edited two books with him, his autobiography, “Around the Corner: From Shoeshine Boy to College President,” (2011) and a collection of essays, “East Meets West: Perspectives on Chinese and American Higher Education,” (2015). I also helped him with applications for his Fulbright experiences and we had some great conversations about education and its singular power to shift the course of life. He was especially devoted to building first-rate Catholic universities.
Lou was the grandson of Italian immigrants–all four of his grandparents came from the same small town in southern Italy–Potenza, in the province of Basilicata–and Lou grew up in the Depression during a time when most children worked to help support their families almost as soon as they were able. Lou was no different, working at a variety of jobs, including selling newspapers with his father and shining shoes with his brother, Joseph. He was proud of his Italian roots and the work ethic he learned from his father.
Lou’s work ethic took him to college at the University of Southern California, where he earned his undergraduate degree in economics and his master’s degree in history and philosophy of education. He earned a second master’s degree from California State University, Northridge and his doctorate from Michigan State University with a concentration in higher education and sociology.
Lou enlisted in the Air Force in 1950, was stationed in Bangor, Maine, and was honorably discharged in 1953. He was grateful for the educational opportunities he received through the GI Bill, often declaring those opportunities changed the course of his life and of his children’s lives. For Lou, education was the key to a better life, and he wanted to help others to experience the vast opportunities awaiting them through higher education. Lou found his niche first as a professor at Cal Tech and then St. Mary’s College in South Bend, later moving into higher education administration at Marquette University in Milwaukee and the University of Portland in Oregon. His roles in academic affairs at these two prestigious Catholic institutions prepared him for college presidencies at Marycrest College in Iowa, Colby-Sawyer College in New Hampshire, Siena Heights College (University) in Adrian, and the College of St. Rose in New York.
In the mid-1970s, Lou made his first of 37 trips to China, eventually recruiting students to attend the schools where he was working in the U.S. and later becoming a visiting faculty and consultant for the University of Science and Technology in Hefei, China. He also spent a decade as a part-time lecturer and consultant in Brazil. These experiences helped him build successful international student programs at several schools, notably Siena Heights and The College of St. Rose. For Lou, bringing international students to his college campuses was a “win-win” proposition.
“Everyone wins,” Lou said. “The capable and promising international students who might otherwise not have a chance at higher education and the American students who are stimulated and challenged by interacting with students from other cultures.”
Even after his formal career in academia came to an end, however, education was never really over for Lou. Well into his 80s and early 90s, he continued to impact the lives of students worldwide by connecting them with educational opportunities–it came naturally to him to see how he could help them improve their lives. He identified especially with international students.
Lou will be laid to rest Jan. 31, fittingly on the feast day of St. John Bosco, a 19th century Italian priest who founded the Salesian order and worked to educate and train young people in need. Bosco was known for his work with disadvantaged youth, and is the patron saint of young people, educators, and teachers.
Like Bosco, Lou was a true lifelong learner with a passion for education whose influence on students will be felt for generations.
SQUIBS 