SAIS To Mark 40 Years At Site In Bologna By Steve Libowitz Turning 40 is anything but a midlife crisis for the Bologna Center, the European centerpiece of Hopkins' Nitze School of Advanced International Studies. The center will celebrate its 40th anniversary this weekend with reunions, distinguished vistors, a convocation, and other scholarly and leisurely activities. "A school that has had such a positive influence on the lives and careers of so many of its graduates over 40 years is cause for celebration," said Bologna Center director Robert H. Evans, a 1960 graduate of the center. The Bologna Center was the brainchild of C. Grove Haines, a Hopkins professor who wanted to provide advanced education for the most promising students from around the world who would share each other's culture and stimulate each other's knowledge. Dr. Haines found the setting for his new enterprise in Bologna after traveling throughout Europe, explaining his idea to scholars and government officials. It wasn't until he arrived in the capital of Emilia-Romagna that he found the necessary components to begin his venture. On Feb. 22, 1955, four professors and 10 students began their experiment in international education in a few classrooms borrowed from the city's renowned university, which also opened to Dr. Haines its vast library collection. "It was appropriate that this innovative academic program was located in the home of Europe's oldest and one of its most respected universities," Dr. Evans said. The center has made good on Dr. Haines' vision. More than 3,900 students from 84 countries have graduated from the Bologna Center during the past 40 years. Alumni hold positions in every corner of the world--more and more in economically emerging countries, Dr. Evans noted--as ambassadors, bankers, diplomats, ministers, corporate officers, journalists, parliamentarians, educators, consultants, economists, and even physicians and clerics. Approximately 420 alumni and guests are expected to attend the weekend activities, joining 40 center advisory council members, 150 students, Hopkins officials, and Italian and European dignitaries. Central to the weekend's events is the convocation, scheduled for Saturday. Hopkins president William C. Richardson will present honorary degrees to Austrian foreign minister Alois Mock, who attended the Bologna Center in 1958, and Antonio Fazio, governor of the Bank of Italy. During the weekend, guests will be able to wander through a photographic and cultural exhibit covering the center's history, including photographs, newspaper clippings of school events juxtaposed with world events, and commentary. Curator for the exhibit is resident assistant professor of history Thomas Row, a man who has grown up at Hopkins, earning his bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees from the university as well as serving on its faculty. "Pulling this all together has been an event all by itself," said Linda Marion, diretor of alumni and public affairs. "But it will be quite a spectacle."