Sraffa at Bocconi

"As head of the institution, to have been associated with its fortunes in this period of progress is for me the best reward of my modest work at Bocconi, to which I have dedicated the best part of myself in these years..." (Angelo Sraffa to the President of the Bocconi University Board, 27 October 1926)

With these words, Angelo Sraffa left his position as Rector of Bocconi, which he had held for almost 10 years (1917-1926), to protect the University from the consequences of his deep-seated anti-fascism.

Since its foundation in 1902, Sraffa had been involved in the project to create a business-focused university in Milan. He remained tied to Bocconi throughout his life, while maintaining professorships at other public universities: first as a faculty member (1903-1916), then as Rector (1917-1926), and finally as a member of the University Board (1926-1934).

He was a proponent of highly innovative initiatives at the University: the reform of the curriculum, the creation of the first research institutes, an opening up to internationalization and the creation of what he himself called "the best library specialized in economic and business studies that there is in Italy."