Each Syracuse Abroad Center is managed by a director, along with multicultural staff, who delivers unparalleled academic programs and support services to students studying abroad. Our program directors, who oversee operations at the centers and often teach a number of courses, are experts in their fields and have extensive experience in the countries where they live, work and teach. Our directors and staff abroad are dedicated to empowering students to reach their full potential abroad, both academically and personally.
Sasha Perugini, Ph.D
Professor Perugini, a Tuscan native with Serbian background, earned her Ph.D. in performing arts history from Tufts University. Leading Syracuse Florence since 2011, she champions women in leadership, serves as the program’s legal representative, and teaches cross-cultural communication and management. With five published books and numerous articles, her intellectual explorations span very diverse topics. Recently, her scholarly focus shifted to generative AI and study abroad. In 2023, she was honored with Syracuse University’s Chancellor Fellowship.
Stephanie Solywoda, Ph.D.
Solywoda joins Syracuse London after more than twenty years studying and working at Oxford University. She has served as director of Stanford University’s Montag Centre for Overseas Study at Oxford. She graduated from Smith College with a B.A. in Russian Civilization, then relocated to Oxford to pursue an M.Phil. in Russian and Eastern European Studies. In 2008-09, she was the Max Hayward Fellow of Russian Culture at St Antony’s College Oxford, and in 2015 she completed her D.Phil. in Modern History at Oxford. Throughout her career, Solywoda has expressed a deep commitment to widening access to education abroad.
Dieter Roberto Kuehl, Ph.D.
Professor Kuehl was born and raised in Guatemala. After studying Business Administration, he worked for an American shipping company for over 10 years before earning an M.A. and a Ph.D. in Spanish literature from Harvard. While working on his dissertation research in Madrid, he fell in love with the city. He started teaching at Syracuse Madrid in 2001 and became the director in 2012.
Mauricio Paredes, Ph.D.
Professor Paredes earned a Ph.D. in history from the University of Chile and is a scholar on Japanese internment camps in Chile during World War II. His research includes nationalism and U.S. involvement in Chilean politics. He launched the Syracuse Santiago program in 2008 and teaches the traveling seminar and a course on dictatorships, human rights and historical memory.
John Goodman, Ph.D.
Professor Goodman holds a B.A. in French and History, an M.A., a J.D. and Ph.D. in International Affairs. He served as a lawyer, an international relations scholar, a humanitarian worker in the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan, and an advisor to former United States President and Nobel Laureate, Jimmy Carter. He has been the director of Syracuse Strasbourg since Fall 2022.
Juliet Golden, Ph.D.
Professor Golden’s research and teaching center on the politics of memory, the history of women and public health, and architecture and public spaces. Over the past 15 years, she has brought study abroad students into active conversation with the physical spaces of Central Europe’s built environments. In 2016, she was the co-recipient of the Award for Excellence in Education Abroad Curriculum Design by the Forum on Education Abroad. In 2020, she received the Teaching Recognition Award at Syracuse University.