Trudy Huskamp Peterson

BS '67, English, history, and speech
Washington, D.C.

History is Trudy Peterson’s life. In her distinguished career as an archivist, which included an appointment to the post of Acting Archivist of the United States during the Clinton Administration, Peterson’s commitment to preserving and exploring records of every kind has made her a respected national and international authority.

After receiving her master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Iowa, Peterson (’67 English, history, and speech) joined the staff of the National Archives in Washington, D.C., in 1968, rising by 1987 to the rank of Assistant Archivist of the United States before being selected to fill the nation’s highest archival position in 1993. From 1992 until she retired in 1995, Peterson served concurrently as Acting Archivist and POW commissioner of the U.S.-Russia Joint Commission on MIAs/POWs.

Her service to the National Archives was defined by integrity, leadership, diligence, and discipline. To date she remains the only woman to have held the position of Acting Archivist. In the role, Peterson staunchly defended the historic mission of the organization and led advances in electronic records preservation, advocating strongly for impartiality and open access to archives.

Peterson has since used the knowledge and skill she acquired throughout her career to provide trusted international service. In 1995 she was appointed founding executive director of the Open Society Archives, an organization headquartered in Budapest, Hungary, that works to preserve archives in Eastern Europe. She later worked in Geneva, Switzerland, as director of Archives and Records Management for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. She advised the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa on the disposition of its records, then wrote a book to guide other truth commissions on preserving their records, followed by a study of preserving the records of temporary international criminal tribunals, such as the courts for Yugoslavia, Rwanda, and Sierra Leone. Beginning in 2005, Peterson repeatedly traveled to Guatemala to assist the Human Rights Ombudsman with the management of records from the country’s brutal National Police, helping to document government atrocities that led to the death of 150,000 in Guatemala’s 36-year civil war.

Peterson served as president of the Society of American Archivists from 1990-1991, the Capitol Hill Restoration Society from 1987-1988, the Agricultural History Society from 1988-1989, and the International Conference of the Round Table on Archives from 1993-1995. She is currently a council member for the American Historical Association. In 2007, the Academy of Certified Archivists presented her with its Distinguished Service Award, and she was a 1995 recipient of the Republic of France’s Order of Arts and Letters.

Peterson was awarded the Citation of Merit by ISU’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences in 2005. She has also received the Hancher-Finkbine Medallion and the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Iowa.

Peterson is a member of the Order of the Knoll Campanile Society, the ISU College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Dean’s Advisory Council, and a life member of the ISU Alumni Association. She and her husband, Gary Peterson (’67 accounting), have established a study abroad scholarship at Iowa State.