P. David Romei
P. David Romei is a former chair of the Birmingham Regional Arts Commission and former director of the Art Council of Brazos Valley in Texas.
Romei is the son of Richard E. Romei Sr and Frances Dean Costanza. He served in the U.S. Army at the headquarters command of the Southern European Task Force in Italy and the 8th Infantry Division in Germany. He earned a bachelor of arts in philosophy from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1980. He then completed a master of arts in history at UAB and a Ph.D. in medieval history from Texas A&M University in College Station.
In 1991 Romei was commissioned by the City of Birmingham to conduct a study of the efficacy of the Birmingham Arts Commission on funding arts and culture programs for the city and region. He subsequently was made chair of the Birmingham Regional Arts Commission and a member of the Alabama State Council on the Arts. He was honored with the University of Illinois College of Liberal Arts and Sciences' Alumni Achievement Award in 1994. In 1997 he was recognized as Poet Laureate of Birmingham.
In 1998 Romei was hired as director of the Art Council of Brazos Valley in College Station, Texas. He also served as a volunteer member of the College Station's City Center Committee. Romei led the effort to complete the Brazos Valley Veterans Memorial in 2002. A $1.2 million, 5,500 square-foot arts center constructed in 2003 was named in his honor. He stepped down from the Arts Council in 2005 and was hired as executive director of external affairs for the Texas A&M University System Health Science Center.
In August 2007 Romei was convicted of felony theft by deception involving transfers from City and Arts Council funds to his private accounts and to political campaigns. Following the verdict, his name was removed from the Arts Center. Romei appealed his convictions. In 2009 he was granted permission to leave the state of Texas to live with family in Connecticut.
Publications
- Romei, P. David (1991) "Birmingham: A Report on the Status of Arts and Culture." City of Birmingham
- Romei, P. David (1997) A Thousand Golden Feathers (poems) NewSouth Books ISBN 9781881320289
- Romei, P. David (2003) Triumph of Survival: The Origins of Hungary's Foreign Policy, 890-1038. Corvina Books ISBN 9789631352702
- Romei, P. David (2008) The Danube Pasha
References
- "Romei Wants to Leave Texas." (March 13, 2009) WTAW.com