Prebys has been the director of the Rome Program since its inception in 1970. A 1966 graduate of Saint Mary’s College, Prebys has been a resident of Italy since the fall of ’66 when she received a Fulbright Fellowship to study Renaissance history. Prebys received an Italian dottorato from the University of Sassari, Sardinia and was awarded a doctorate in Letters honoris causa from John Cabot University, in Rome, in 2003. In 2004 Prebys was awarded the President’s Medal from Saint Mary’s College. As an advocate of a liberal arts education, Prebys has worked to further the interdisciplinary approach to studying history, literature, art, philosophy, and language through the Rome Program.