Martha Elizabeth Peterson (June 22, 1916 – July 14, 2006) was an American academic administrator. She served as president of

Barnard College Barnard College of Columbia University is a private women's liberal arts college in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a group of women led by young student activist Annie Nathan Meyer, who petitioned Columbia ...

(1967–1975) and

Beloit College Beloit College is a private liberal arts college in Beloit, Wisconsin. Founded in 1846, when Wisconsin was still a territory, it is the state's oldest continuously operated college. It is a member of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest and h ...

(1975–1981).

Biography

Peterson was born on June 22, 1916, outside

Jamestown, Kansas Jamestown is a city in Cloud County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 237. History Jamestown was founded in 1878, and was incorporated as a city in 1883. It was named for either Senator James Pomero ...

, the daughter of a wheat farmer and a news reporter. She graduated from the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. T ...

in 1937. After teaching high school mathematics for a few years, Peterson returned to the University of Kansas and earned a master's degree in educational psychology in 1943. She was named assistant dean of women after teaching mathematics at the university and was promoted dean of women in 1952. In 1957, Peterson was appointed dean of women at the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

and later dean of student affairs in 1963. She also earned a PhD in educational psychology from Kansas in the meantime. In 1967, Peterson was named seventh president of

. She presided over the college during the

Columbia University protests of 1968 In 1968, a series of protests at Columbia University in New York City were one among the various student demonstrations that occurred around the globe in that year. The Columbia protests erupted over the spring of that year after students disc ...

. As president of Barnard, she worked out an arrangement with Columbia on allowing students from both schools to take an unlimited number of classes at the other school while retaining Barnard's autonomy from Columbia. Peterson then served as president of

from 1975 to 1981. She helped restore financial stability to the college at a time when enrollment and endowment were both shrinking. Peterson died on July 14, 2006, at age 90, at her home in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

. She was survived by her companion,

University of Wisconsin Medical School A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

professor Dr. Maxine Bennett.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peterson, Martha 1916 births Presidents of Barnard College Presidents of Beloit College University of Kansas alumni 2006 deaths University of Wisconsin–Madison staff 20th-century American academics