Background
Martha was born on June 22, 1916, in Jamestown, Kansas, United States. Daughter of Anton R. and Gail (French) Peterson. Educated at the University of Kansas, she took positions as Dean of Women at the University of Kansas and Wisconsin before she was appointed President of Bernard College. She was known for fostering calm at Barnard’s campus in the Morningside Heights section of Manhattan during the late 1960s and early ’70s when student demonstrations roiled at the neighboring campus of Columbia University.
Miss Peterson, who was president of Barnard College from 1967 to 1975, said shortly after her appointment: “I’m not alarmed by student demonstrations. We better try to build bridges of understanding.” At Beloit College, where she was president from 1975 to 1981, Miss Peterson was credited with restoring fiscal stability when enrollment and the endowment were shrinking. On June 16, 2006, Martha Peterson died at her home in Madison, Wisconsin from complications of Alzheimer’s disease.