Niklaus Steiner

Director Emeritus

Niklaus Steiner is the director of the Center for Global Initiatives. He is a native of Thun, Switzerland, who moved to Chapel Hill with his family when his father became a professor at Carolina. He’s had the good fortune of moving between cultures his whole life, so he is deeply committed to providing global opportunities to all Carolina students. Niklaus earned a bachelor’s degree with highest honors in international studies at UNC-Chapel Hill and a Ph.D. in political science at Northwestern University. Because of his own movement across borders and cultures, his research and teaching interests are immigration, refugees, nationalism and citizenship.