W. Mark Peluso MD, CAQSM, FAAFP

Dr. Mark Peluso was named Middlebury’s inaugural Chief Health Officer and College Physician in 2020 as part of Middlebury College’s ongoing commitment to fostering safe and healthy campus communities.  He works with campus, local, state, national, and international health and wellness leaders and organizations to provide resources and support for employees and students with a goal of helping individuals live their best possible life while working or studying at the institution and beyond.  He also monitors national and international health situations, trends, and developments that could impact Middlebury’s campuses. 

He is board certified in both Family Medicine and Sports Medicine and has extensive experience promoting health and wellness.  He created, hired, and provided program oversight for Middlebury’s first integrated health coach, served on the American Academy of Family Physicians Americans in Motion Advisory Committee, and works closely with human resources and the Green Mountain Higher Education Health Consortium health and wellness team to support employees and advise the College on health and wellness initiatives.  He communicates regularly with local and regional healthcare organizations in Vermont and California, as well as their respective departments of health, the Vermont Department of Mental Health, and health officials at numerous peer institutions.

He served as the Director of Health Services and College & Head Team Physician (2000-2020) and continues to provide medical consultations for students in Health Services and Head Team Physician services for Sports Medicine.  He served as a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Vermont College of Medicine, was a founding member and inaugural chairman of the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Medical Aspects in Sport Committee, and the Primary Care Team Physician for the 2015 US Lacrosse Women’s National Under-19 Team. 

Dr. Peluso received his Bachelor of Arts from Bowdoin College and his M.D. from the Boston University School of Medicine. He trained at the University of California San Francisco - Salinas Family Practice Residency Program in Salinas, California, and later completed a Sports Medicine Fellowship through Stanford University-San Jose Medical Center.

He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians and is also an active member in the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine, the American College of Sports Medicine, the American College Health Association, and the Female and Male Athlete Triad Coalition.

In 2021, for his outstanding leadership during the coronavirus pandemic, Dr. Peluso received the inaugural Middlebury Medal,” given on an extraordinary occasion where an individual’s humanitarian actions have profoundly benefited the Middlebury College community.”