Vanessa Nichol-Peters

Dr. Vanessa Nichol-Peters is the dean for International Education, overseeing the college’s comprehensive internationalization, including programs abroad as well as internationalization initiatives at home. She brings more than two decades of international education experience, including the development of degree programs worldwide and a full branch campus in Italy, the establishment of global partnerships, experiential education, expertise in global risk management, and advancing inclusion in international education.

Throughout her career, Nichol-Peters has designed and led a wide variety of programs: including precollege, first-year, semester abroad, internships, and full bachelor’s and master’s degree programs. As director of Marist Italy, she led the university’s branch campus in Florence, serving over 500 students annually, and helped to double study abroad participation at Marist, earning national recognition, including a 2022 NAFSA Senator Paul Simon Spotlight Award for excellence in first-year abroad programs.

As Forum Council chair of the Forum on Education Abroad (the standard-setting body for the field of education abroad), Nichol-Peters contributes to advancing best practices and building creative networks within the field. Her scholarship in the field includes publications on honors curricula abroad, high-impact practices, and student and staff mental health abroad.

Nichol-Peters holds a PhD in history from University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, an MBA from Ohio University, an MS in community development from University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa, and a BBS (Hons) from University of Zimbabwe.