William Davini (photo at right) was the founder of the UNICO scholarship program both locally and nationally, the president of UNICO national in 1947, and an educator and coach. He rose to assistant superintendent of St. Paul Public Schools in 1946. Davini died in 1954. The first set of Davini papers, including several scrapbooks of his life and acccomplishments, were donated by his widow, Vera Tinucci (remarried name), a few years ago. His son, Ralph Davini, has recently donated several supplements to the original collection.
      UNICO is a non-political, non-sectarian organization of men and women of Italian heritage and their spouses, established in 1922. The organization's name stands for Unity, Neighborliness, Integrity, Charity, and Opportunity. UNICO members strive to honor, perpetuate, and disseminate the culture and ethnic heritage of their Italian immigrant ancestors.
      In keeping with that goal, UNICO National and the local chapter have donated $25,000 and $10,000, respectively, towards t= he establishment of the UNICO National Graduate Fellowship in Italian American Studies at the IHRC ($150,000 needed to fully endow this position). For more information about the fellowship, see the endowment section of this Web site. For more information about UNICO National, see its Web site In June Eugene Scartozzi of the local UNICO chapter did research in the William Davini papers for information on the history of the organization's scholarship program, to use in a media presentation at the August 16 scholarship dinner. This is the 50th anniversary of William