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Cal State Long Beach’s Clorinda Donato Center for Global Romance Languages and Translation Studies has received a $10 million gift to establish a Master of Arts degree program in translation and interpreting by fall 2026.

The gift – from longtime Beach supporter Mario Giannini, CEO of a private equity firm based in Pennsylvania – is the largest to date received for programs in the university’s College of Liberal Arts, which includes the Donato Center. The center, established in January 2017 with a grand opening in March 2024, is based in Room 211 in the Liberal Arts 1 building.

“The bulk of this gift from Mr. Giannini will go toward creating scholarships for students who apply to the master’s program and are accepted,” said Clorinda Donato, director of the center named after her, and a professor of Italian and French at The Beach.  

“This funding assures them the ability to concentrate on their studies. So, we’re very excited about that. We’ll use the bulk of this money for student support, and that’s very important to us.”

Another portion of the funds will go toward further infrastructure, build out of the labs, with the platforms required for instruction in audiovisual translation, interpreting, localization and dubbing. Funds will also support an endowment, faculty and staff support, as well as faculty travel and research.

Translation and interpretation are rapidly growing industries in Southern California and the United States. According to the Association of Language Companies, language services are one of the fastest growing industries in the country with many different applications, including artificial intelligence, audiovisual translation, dubbing and voice-overing, diplomacy, and court, educational, community and medical interpreting.

The demand for interpreters and translators in California is expected to grow 20.45% from 2016-2026, according to the Employment Development Department of the state of California.  

The Donato Center – the first of its kind in the CSU system – supports academic programs enabling undergraduates to minor in translation studies or pursue the translation studies option in the Bachelor of Arts in linguistics. The Beach also offers a 12-month Graduate Certificate in Translation Studies. Although aspiring translators and interpreters may already be familiar with using multiple languages, professional work requires specialized learning and technology adaptation, Donato said.

Last year at the center’s grand opening, Giannini said about his initial donation that started the center in 2017: “It was because there was a vision to create a place where the importance of understanding different languages and words was a central goal. It is a privilege to support degree programs that develop better insights into how people and cultures can work together and inform each other.”

After a master’s degree program in translation and interpreting is established, the center aims to develop the Doctorate in Translation and Interpreting, which would be the first in a public university in California.

“The generosity doesn’t have only to do with the financial side,” Donato said of Giannini’s donation. “It’s a generosity of spirit – the kind of generosity that recognizes that human beings must live together and communicate …. We need to never give up on facilitating and empowering human beings to communicate with each other.”