About St. John's College
Biography of Santa Fe President Michael P. Peters
Michael Peters is the president of the St. John’s College, Santa Fe.
Prior to assuming the presidency of St. John’s in January 2005, Mr. Peters was the Executive Vice President of the Council on Foreign Relations in New York City. He joined the Council in 1995 as Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. During his tenure he managed the Council’s daily operations, oversaw the development of its National Program and for a time managed its research arm as Director of Studies.
Before joining the Council on Foreign Relations, Mr. Peters served for over 27 years in the U.S. Army, retiring as a colonel. During this time, among other positions, he served as a platoon leader in Vietnam; an assistant professor of economics at West Point; a Soviet military specialist, including duty as an attaché in Moscow; an executive assistant in the office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and a battalion commander in the Army Special Operations Command with deployments to Panama and Saudi Arabia. He concluded his military career as the Chief of Staff at the United States Military Academy at West Point.
Mr. Peters earned a Bachelor of Science from the United States Military Academy and a Master of Arts in Economics from the University of Washington.