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Guide to the Mary Louise Petersen Papers

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Collection Overview
Date Span:1947-1996
Creator:Petersen, Mary Louise (1929-)
Extent:10.00 linear inches.
Collection Number:IWA0309
Repository:Iowa Women's Archives
Summary:Member and president of Iowa State Board of Regents.

Mary Louise Anneberg was born on February 18, 1929, in Carroll, Iowa to Dr. and Mrs. Walter Anneberg. The valedictorian of Carroll High School class of 1947, Anneberg continued her academic career at the State University of Iowa (now the University of Iowa). In 1951, Anneberg graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor degree in Liberal Arts. She married H. Rand Petersen in February 1951. They had four children: Lynn, Allen, Katherine and Steven.

Mary Louise Petersen was appointed to the Iowa State Board of Regents in 1969 and served as president from 1973 to 1981. She belonged to a number of other organizations, including the Association of Governing Boards of Colleges and Universities. She served on the board of trustees for the Carnegie Corporation of New York. Petersen was also active in Girl Scouts, the United Methodist Church and the Republican party.

Petersen was honored with the Harlan Community Leadership Award in 1969. In 1983, she won both the State of Iowa Distinguished Service Award and the University of Iowa Distinguished Alumni Service Award.

The Mary Louise Petersen papers date from 1947 to 1996 and measure sevententen linear inches.  The papers are arranged in nine series:  Awards and diplomas, Board activities, Correspondence, Egyptian workshop, Magazines and programs, National Governors Association, Newspaper clippings, Speeches, Photographs and Artifacts.
 
The Board activities series (1971-1988) consists of a few miscellaneous papers from several boards on which Petersen served, including the Iowa State Board of Regents, Board of Directors and for the Carnegie Corporation.
 
The Correspondence series pertains mostly to her service to the Board of Regents.  Letters are primarily from educators or legislators in the state of Iowa. There are, however, a few letters from friends.
 
The Egyptian workshop series (1981) consists of itineraries and programs from the workshop on "The Role of Regional Universities in the Rural Areas, which Petersen attended in Cairo, Egypt in May 1981.
 
The Magazines and programs series (1970-1986) includes articles about Petersen and programs from events Petersen attended for different organizations.
 
The National Governors Association series (1981) pertains to the associations 1981 meeting in Atlantic City, New Jersey. There, Petersen was one of eleven private citizens honored for distinguished service to state government.
 
The Speeches series (1970-1987) includes speeches given for the State Board of Regents and at conferences discussing education and trusteeship.
 
The Photographs series (1969-1980) shows Petersen receiving her award at the National Governors conference, speaking at a University of Northern Iowa commencement ceremony in 1983, and attending the rededication of the Old Capitol Building in Iowa City in 1976.  Other photographs include Petersen speaking at Iowa State University during the rededication of the football stadium in 1975 and attending a campaign speech by Gerald Ford in 1976.  Petersen is also shown in Guam and Taiwan, and with family and colleagues.

Alternate Extent Statement: Photographs in Box 2 and map case
1 audiocassette [AC474]
Artifacts in Box 2

Access: The papers are open for research.

Use: Copyright held by the donor has been transferred to The University of Iowa.

Acquisition: The papers (donor no. 423) were donated by Mary Louise Petersen in 1997.

Preferred Citation: Mary Louise Petersen papers, Iowa Women's Archives, The University of Iowa Libraries, Iowa City.

Repository:Iowa Women's Archives
Address:100 Main Library
University of Iowa Libraries
Iowa City, IA 52242
Phone:319-335-5068
Curator:Kären Mason
Email:lib-women@uiowa.edu
Website:http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/iwa

Browse by Series:
Series 1: AWARDS AND DIPLOMAS
Series 2: BOARD ACTIVITIES
Series 3: CORRESPONDENCE
Series 4: EGYPTIAN WORKSHOP
Series 5: MAGAZINES AND PROGRAMS
Series 6: NATIONAL GOVERNORS ASSOCIATION
Series 7: NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS
Series 8: SPEECHES
Series 9: PHOTOGRAPHS AND ARTIFACTS

  • Series 1: AWARDS AND DIPLOMAS
  • Box 1:
  • Awards and diplomas (2 folders) [see also map case] - 1947-1992
  • State Board of Regents certificate - 1981
  • Biographical material - 1947-1951, 1985
  • Series 2: BOARD ACTIVITIES
  • Box 1:
  • Association of Governing Boards, Board-Mentor Service - 1978-1988
  • Council on Post-secondary Accreditation:Report of the Self Study Panel - 1981
  • Iowa Board of Regents:Policies on campus unrest - 1970-71
  • Series 3: CORRESPONDENCE
  • Box 1:
  • Chronological - 1969-1979
  • Chronological - 1980-1996
  • Series 4: EGYPTIAN WORKSHOP
  • Box 1:
  • Egyptian Workshop - 1980
  • Series 5: MAGAZINES AND PROGRAMS
  • Box 2:
  • Magazines and programs - 1970-1977
  • Magazines and programs - 1981-1986
  • Series 6: NATIONAL GOVERNORS ASSOCIATION
  • Box 2:
  • National Governors Association - 1981
  • Series 7: NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS
  • Box 2:
  • Awards and degrees - 1973-1984
  • Board of Regents - 1969-1985
  • Girl Scouts - 1980
  • Republican party - 1971
  • Series 8: SPEECHES
  • Box 2:
  • Campus Unrest Speech, June 11 - 1970
  • Audiocassette AC474: Remarks for the 55th Annual Finkbine Dinner, March 14 - 1972
  • Statements by Mrs. H. Rand Petersen, President, State Board of Regents, September (about Higher Education Study Committee Report) - 1973
  • The Directions of Higher Education in Iowa in the Next Decade, Iowa State University D.E.O. meeting, November 6 - 1973
  • Commencement RemarksBuena Vista College, January 27 - 1974
  • Trusteeship in the 1980s --A Challenge, November 5 (Kansas Conference on Post-Secondary Education: Governing Boards and the Challenges of the 1980s) - 1979
  • More Than Excellence, Honors Convocation, University of Iowa, April 19 - 1980
  • Institutional Mission and Trusteeship in the 1980s--A Challenge," 66th Annual Meeting, Association of American Colleges and Universities, June 5 - 1980
  • Reconstituted remarks of Mary Louise Petersen, Wingspread Conference, January 13 (on shared governance of universities among faculty, administrators, and regents) - 1982
  • Trusteeship Does Not Have to be the Pits, Council on Foundations: Governance and Ethics in Foundation Management, April 25 - 1984
  • Outline for Trustee Workshop Keynote Speech for Public Trustees, Arkansas Department of Higher Education, January 6 - 1987
  • Untitled [re:professional volunteers] - 1981
  • Untitled, undated [re:lifelong learning]
  • Series 9: PHOTOGRAPHS AND ARTIFACTS
  • Sub-Series: Photographs
  • Box 2:
  • Iowa Board of Regents - 1976-1981
  • Iowa State University events - 1975-1976
  • Iowa State Universityvisit of President Gerald Ford, October 15 - 1976
  • Personal and Family - 1970
  • University of Iowa events - 1974, 1976
  • University of Northern Iowa events - 1983
  • With Governor Robert Ray - 1969-1970
  • Miscellaneous - 1980-1993
  • Photograph of Old Capitol Rededication [shelved in map case] - 1976
  • Sub-Series: Artifacts
  • Box 2:
  • pennants from Egyptian workshop - 1980

This collection is indexed under the following subject terms.


Personal Names:
Petersen, Mary Louise, 1929-

Corporate Names:
Iowa State Board of Regents
National Governors' Association
Council on Postsecondary Accreditation

Dates:
20th century

Topics:
Women in education
Educational leadership
Education, Higher
Public universities and colleges

Occupations:
Public officers
Government employees

Geographic Names:
Iowa

Genre/Form of Materials:
Archives
Cultural artifacts
Speeches
Photographs
Personal papers
Correspondence
Sound recordings