Longtime History Professor Named Next Leader of Croft Institute

She assumed the institute's helm July 1. Wilson follows Oliver Dinius, who stepped down from the post after nine years.

The institute is a selective academic program that chooses up to 70 students each fall to join its program and major in international studies. This fall, the program's total participation boasts 185 students.

"The Croft Institute for International Studies is an outstanding program that prepares students well for the international landscape across many fields and disciplines," said Noel Wilkin, provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs.

"Dr. Wilson is an accomplished scholar and talented administrator with a deep appreciation for international issues and the importance of international studies. I look forward to working with her in this role."

Wilson is a historian of maritime Japan and the North Pacific, as well as an experienced Croft faculty member. Since joining the Ole Miss faculty in 2007, she published some 15 scholarly papers, made numerous presentations throughout the world and served as the chair of the Department of History.

She earned a bachelor's degree in history with a focus on East Asian Studies from Wake Forest University, and master's and doctoral degrees in Japanese history from Harvard University.

Wilson said that assisting as a Croft senior thesis mentor served as inspiration in her new role.

"The Croft senior theses I mentored were some of the most ambitious and exciting undergraduate research projects I have encountered in my career," she said. "I was drawn to this role (as executive director) that allowed me to engage more deeply with those students and their larger curriculum."

Cultivating the institute's academic prowess and reputation for international studies are among Wilson's areas of focus.

"My goals include maintaining Croft's academic profile as the premier international studies program in Mississippi – dare I say in the SEC – and in building new relationships with community and university partners across the UM campus, the larger South and the globe," she said.

"I look forward to exploring potential curricular relationships with other campus academic units such as the School of Journalism and New Media and the business school and ultimately organizing an annual signature Croft sponsored community event – such as an International Music Festival – to build local interest in global cultures."

She said she also looks forward to getting to know Croft students through coffee chats on the porch of the Croft Institute building and hosting informal lunches in her office. Wilson wants to help students reach their goals.

"A Croft degree will provide students both the language and academic training to make them competitive for almost any globally minded position of their choosing on planet Earth," she said. "Our core mission is to encourage students to dream big and then help them excel in those intellectual and career goals."

Top: Noell Wilson, new executive director of the Croft Institute for International Studies, says she looks forward to talking with students during coffee chats on the institute's back porch that overlooks the Grove. Photo by Hunt Mercier/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services