On September 19, 2025, Associate Professor Kristina M. Olson was honored with the Outstanding Service Award of the American Boccaccio Association at their Triennial Conference held at the Newberry Library (Chicago, IL). The American Boccaccio Association is an international, non-profit scholarly organization dedicated to the promotion of the study and teaching of Giovanni Boccaccio's life and works. Elsa Filosa, current President of the ABA, wrote the following statement about Olson’s long record of service to the Association:
"The American Boccaccio Association Outstanding Service Award go to our former president: Kristina Olson, Associate Professor at George Mason University. Her contribution and service to the Association last almost a decade: she started her service for the association as Treasurer (2014-17), and then served as Vice-President (2017-20), and as President (2020-23). She was the ABA President during the outbreak of the COVID pandemic and succeeded in creating a community for the Association online through such initiatives as the Virtual Brigata and the Online Launch Book Series, which are still ongoing. During her presidency, the Association greatly strengthen the relationship with the Ente Nazionale Giovanni Boccaccio and Italy, namely through a new summer Paleography Seminar and the first international conference in Italy in Padua."
September 22, 2025