Barbara Stephenson is vice provost for global affairs and chief global officer at UNC-Chapel Hill, where she advances a pan-university global strategy to enhance Carolina’s global reach, impact and reputation.
Prior to joining UNC, Barbara served as a U.S. Foreign Service officer for more than three decades. She was appointed U.S. Ambassador to Panama in 2008 and later became the first woman to serve as deputy ambassador and acting ambassador at the U.S. Embassy in London. As deputy senior advisor to the secretary of state and deputy coordinator for Iraq from 2006 to 2008, Barbara received the State Department’s Distinguished Honor Award for developing and implementing the civilian surge, the largest deployment of civilians to a war zone since the Vietnam War. From 2001 to 2004, as the American Consul General in Belfast, Northern Ireland, she helped renew support for the Good Friday Agreement that brought an end to decades of violence.
Barbara served as president of the American Foreign Service Association and dean at the Foreign Service Institute.
She earned a Doctor of Philosophy, Master of Arts and Bachelor of Arts in English literature from the University of Florida.