Iverson, Peter

Peter Iverson was born to teachers William James Iverson and Adelaide Schmitt on April 4, 1944 in Whittier, California. He earned his B.A. (1967) from Carleton College and his M.A. (1969) and Ph.D. (1975) from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Iverson is married and has two children.

Iverson began his teaching career at Diné (Navajo Community College) in Many Farms on the Navajo Nation (1969-1972) and went on to serve as a Visiting Assistant Professor (1975-1976) and Assistant Professor (1976-1981) at Arizona State University. He accepted a position as an Associate Professor at the University of Wyoming in 1981 and was promoted to Full Professor in 1984. Iverson returned to Arizona in 1986, where he served as Program Director at Arizona State University's West Campus (1986-1988) and then as a Professor of History (1988-). He has also worked as Anderson Visiting Professor of American Studies at Carleton College (1991) and as Acting Director of the McNickle Center for American Indian History at the Newberry Library (1994-1995). Iverson became Regents' Professor of History at Arizona State University on February 8, 2000.

Iverson acknowledges with respect and gratitude his many teachers from the Navajo Nation and other indigenous communities. His primary area of research is American Indian history in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. He introduced a new course in Navajo history in 2003 and has offered graduate research seminars and readings courses about American Indians and the American West. At ASU, Iverson has directed (or co-directed to completion) thirty-three Ph.D. dissertations and has helped place his students in colleges across North America.

Among Iverson's numerous fellowships and grants are: Doctoral Fellowship, McNickle Center for American Indian History (1973-1974); Research Grant, American Philosophical Society (1979-1980); Summer stipend, National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH; 1980); NEH Fellowships (1982-1983, 1999-2000); and John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation (1999-2000).

His awards and honors include: University Teaching Award, University of Wyoming (1979); Chief Manuelito Appreciation Award for Contributions to Navajo Education; Distinguished Public Scholar Award, Arizona Humanities Council (1999); University Teaching Award, Arizona State University (1999); College of Extended Education Outstanding Faculty Member Award, Arizona State University (2000); Outstanding Doctoral Mentor Award (2003); and President-elect, Western History Association (2003-2004).

From the guide to the Peter Iverson Collection, 1898-2002, (Arizona State University Libraries Labriola Center)