International Affairs & Operations

Overview

The Office of the Vice Provost for International Affairs and Operations advances internationalization efforts across campus, with specific emphasis on:

  • Facilitating research opportunities abroad and the creation of global scholarly networks for faculty members and graduate students.
  • Advancing initiatives that give heightened emphasis to international and comparative perspectives in the curriculum.
  • Collaborating with administrative offices to address policies and practices related to internationalization that enable research and teaching and promote quality of experience.
  • Overseeing efforts to promote safety and security for Princeton travelers abroad.
  • Supporting international programming for undergraduate and graduate students.

The vice provost oversees the development and approval of all institutional and departmental international Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs), exchange programs, and certain international contracts.  As a delegate of the provost, the vice provost also facilitates campus visits of international guests, dignitaries, and public figures.

The vice provost provides direct oversight of the Davis International Center, the Global Safety & Security unit, and the Mpala Research Centre in Kenya.

International Affairs and Operations works closely with other internationally-focused offices and centers on campus, including:

To learn more about all of the University’s many international programs and opportunities, visit International Princeton.

International Students & Scholars

Students holding a Davis International Center banner

 




The Vice Provost for International Affairs and Operations oversees the University’s support to students and scholars from around the world who come to Princeton to study, research, and teach.

The cornerstone of this commitment to Princeton’s international community is the Davis International Center (IC), which provides programs and services to support the growth, development, and welfare of internationals students, scholars and their families on multiple levels. The Davis IC’s services include employment-based immigration support, immigration compliance, non-resident tax filing, and social security resources. In addition, the Center hosts programming that aims to promote cultural competency and understanding, encourage cross-cultural and practical adjustment, and enrich the experience of Princeton University’s international scholars and students.  For more information, visit The Davis International Center.

 

SCHOLARS AT RISK

Princeton University has a long history of providing temporary refuge to academics displaced by conflict, politics, and natural disasters.  This tradition dates to the 1930s when the University hosted scholars fleeing Nazi persecution in Europe.  More recently, several academic departments came together to host a cohort of scholars from Ukraine and Russia as well as Afghanistan.

A scholar at risk is an academic, artist, writer, or public intellectual who is escaping persecution and seeking to temporarily continue their work at Princeton.  Risk may be related to the content of the scholar’s work or a consequence of their identity, opinions or beliefs.

Hosting a scholar at risk generally involves considerations beyond those associated with traditional international visitors.  Units considering this possibility should contact Dr. Aly Kassam-Remtulla, Vice Provost for International Affairs ([email protected]) for further information.  Scholars at risk who are interested in residency at Princeton should begin by contacting the academic leader (generally the chair, director, or dean) of an academic unit that might serve as a host.

Centers Abroad

Mpala Research Centre

MPALA RESEARCH CENTRE

The Mpala Research Centre (MRC) is a multidisciplinary field-research station located in Kenya's Laikipia County that provides scholars unparalleled opportunities to conduct research on conservation, sustainable human-wildlife co-existence and semi-arid ecosystems in Africa and, increasingly, on climate change, the environment and public health. Mpala has served as a vital research site for Princeton faculty and scholars from other universities for decades. It is also an important site for undergraduate educational experiences (field research for junior and senior theses and study abroad), providing transformational research, curricular experiential learning and service experiences for students. Princeton University serves as the managing partner for the Mpala Research Centre (MRC), in a consortium with the Smithsonian Institute, Kenya Wildlife Service, and the National Museums of Kenya.

Learn more about Mpala Research Centre

Learn about funding for research at Mpala


Students holding a Princeton Beijing banner

PRINCETON CHINA CENTER

The Princeton China Center, located on the campus of Tsinghua University in Beijing, provides administrative functions that facilitates Princeton’s research and learning work in China. The center is available to help faculty, students, and others looking to engage in University work in China with a range of needs, including visa, travel and housing arrangements; event planning; translation services; finding meeting spaces; identifying potential local employers for internships; connecting with local scholars; obtaining access to Chinese archives or scientific labs at Chinese universities for academic research; and, other administrative and programming assistance. The center also promotes closer academic ties with institutions in China by guiding local academic institutes and scholars who wish to create or strengthen links with Princeton.

More information and contact information is available at Princeton China Center.

Safety & Security

The Global Safety & Security (GS&S) unit provides the University community with governance, guidance and advice, training, and other direct support related to international operations and global mobility. The GS&S mission is to enable wider, more meaningful international engagement through programs and policies that promote smart worldwide risk mitigation.  For more information about GS&S support and services, including the Global Safety & Security (GS&S) Travel Policy, risk categorizations, trip enrollment, and emergency support, please click here or to contact GS&S, please email [email protected].

Resources

OFFICE STAFF

Aly Kassam-Remtulla
Vice Provost for International Affairs and Operations
Tayla Burns
Deputy Director of the Davis International Center
Chris Holmes
Associate Director, Global Safety & Security
Winnie Kiiru
Executive Director of the Mpala Research Centre
Jin Liu
Director, Princeton China Center
Sebastián Michel-Mata
University Administrative Fellow
Iheanyi Onwuegbucha
University Administrative Fellow
Nelly Palmeris
Chief Operating Officer, Mpala Research Centre
Grace Penn
Associate Director for International Affairs and Operations
Albert Rivera
Director of the Davis International Center
Jaime Signoracci
Director of Global Safety and Security
Colleen Stevens Walsh
International Program Support Specialist
Kyle Wilson
Assistant Director, Global Safety & Security