Eugene L. Ambassador Scassa

Ambassador Scassa was born as a first generation Italian American in 1939 to Italian immigrants Carmine & Maria Scassa in Monaca Pennsylvania. He was survived by his wife and his three children; David, Susan, and Eugene and his 13 grandchildren.

Ambassador Scassa attended Geneva College and served with the U.S. Army in Metz, France, before entering the United States Foreign Service. He is a graduate of the National War College. He holds an Honorary Doctor of Philosophy Degree from St. Mary's University.

During his years of service, Ambassador Scassa served in positions of increasing responsibility around the world, including Panama, Ecuador, Gabon, Mozambique, Mexico, Zambia, Iceland, Jamaica, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia and Belize. He also served in Washington on three different occasions, as Post Management Officer in the Bureau of African Affairs, as Division Chief and Assignments Officer for the Middle East and South Asia, and as Executive Director (Deputy Assistant Secretary) of the Latin American Bureau.

Ambassador Scassa volunteered to help in Beirut on two occasions, once following the bombing of the Embassy in 1984, and again in the spring of 1985, when TWA Flight 847 was hijacked and Americans taken hostage. He is the recipient of many Department of State Awards for Superior Performance and has also been recognized by several Secretaries of State for his aggressive efforts to promote meaningful equal employment opportunities for minorities and women.

President George Herbert Walker Bush nominated Mr. Scassa as Ambassador to Belize. He was confirmed by a unanimous vote of the United States Senate. Ambassador Scassa served in Belize for approximately four years and was then assigned as Diplomat in Residence and Visiting Professor of International Relations at St. Mary's University. Ambassador Scassa served as a Delegate to the 51st United Nations General Assembly and as Senior Area Adviser for Latin America. Following his retirement from the Foreign Service, Ambassador Scassa continued at St. Mary's, taking-on temporary assignments for the Department of State, including Honduras, Colombia, Chile and Cuba.

After a second retirement, he served as Senior Consultant for American College Testing, helping write the Foreign Service Examination.

Ambassador Scassa was founder of the Model Organization of American States.Ambassador Scassa began the Model OAS in 1995. He remained an active participant in the planning and execution of the model, and held an honorary permanent seat on the ESMOAS Steering Committee. The model was named for him in 2011 in recognition of his passion and his hard work over the past 16 years. Read more about Ambassador Scassa and his dedication to community and public service in State Magazine (State-Magazine-October-2000See Pages 30 & 31)

Ambassador Scassa was a master mentor and had an amazing impact on students of St. Mary's University. Over the course of 16 years at St. Mary's, Ambassador Scassa was directly responsible for over mentoring and directing 30 alumni active duty Foreign Service Officers, 30 alumni in various Federal Intelligence Agencies and 12 alumni involved in international development work.

Memorial Service & Reception:

Memorial service to be held @ St. Mary's University Chapel on Tuesday, March 27th @ 6:30PM. Reception to be held on 2nd floor Student Union immediately afterwards. For more information and maps see our website @ http://scassa.com/eugene or www.porterloring.com.

Memorial Fund:

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made in honor of Eugene L. Scassa and the "Eugene Scassa Model Organization of American States (ESMOAS)" to the St. Mary's University Annual Scholarship Fund. Send Attn: Ronan McAshan, Advancement Services, One Camino Santa Maria, San Antonio, TX 78228-8544 or online at http://donate.stmarytx.edu/online-giving/giftForm.

Maps:

How to get to St. Mary's University:

St. Mary's University Link. http://g.co/maps/xv9nn

Campus Map:

How to find the Chapel

Memorial will be Building 2 - Reinbolt Hall - in Assumption Chapel

http://www.stmarytx.edu/map/index.php?go=map_2column

How to find the Reception:

Reception is in Building 38 - Student Union - on 2nd floor, across from the President's Office.

http://www.stmarytx.edu/map/index.php?go=map_2column