In his 36 years at Iowa State, psychology professor Ron Peters has seen his share of students — and sometimes in remote locations.

Once while hiking a mountain in Colorado, Peters unexpectedly met up with one of his previous students.

“One of the rewards you get often comes at the most unusual times. As I climbed to the top of Mount Massive in Colorado, a student said, ‘Hey, Dr. Peters, how you doing? I loved your class,'” he said.

Peters estimates he teaches 2,400 students per year, the majority of those students are in his Psychology 101 class.

He speaks of the overview course with affection.

“I like the introductory course because it’s the most important course in any curriculum. It’s so rare that I have the opportunity to have an impact on such a large number of students,” he said.

But Peters won’t be teaching the course much longer. He plans to go into phased retirement for four or five years before retiring completely.

“There are so many things I want to do. I’ve been at it quite awhile,” he said. “By the time I am done, it will be about 40 years here.”

After leaving ISU, Peters said he plans to pursue fly fishing and traveling.

“I am an avid fly fisherman,” he said. “Nothing is more relaxing than walking through a trout stream silently. It’s just beautiful.”

Peters and his wife, Jen, plan to travel the United States and other European countries.

“We have spent no time in Europe. My father was born in Germany, and I’m sure I have some distant relatives there. So clearly, I want to go to Germany,” Peters said.

Though some might come to the conclusion from Peters’ years of teaching that he always aspired to be a psychologist, he actually happened to enter the field by chance.

While studying at the University of Iowa as an undergraduate, Peters was approached by a psychology faculty member who offered him an undergraduate research fellowship.

“I thought, ‘Yeah, this is cool.’ But if at the same time, someone from the zoology department had asked me the same thing, I’d have gone there,” he said.

After receiving his three degrees from the U of I, Peters began teaching psychology at ISU in 1963.

Switching schools wasn’t a problem for Peters.

“It wasn’t too hard to change my loyalty from the Hawks to the Cyclones,” he said.

Peters said he hopes in his tenure at ISU he has left an indelible mark on his students about his love of psychology.

“I think psychology is sort of unique in the ‘kinds’ of things we learn,” he said. “Often in science, you learn about ‘things’ in the physical world, but in psychology, we learn about ourselves. And there really is nothing more interesting than you or me.”

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Ron Peters

Degrees:

• Bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Iowa in 1960.

• Master’s degree in psychology from the U of I in 1962.

• Doctorate in psychology from the U of I in 1963.

Came to ISU: Fall 1963.

Courses taught at ISU: Psychology 101 (Introduction to Psychology), Psychology 310 (Brain and Behavior).

Family: Peters lives in Ames with his wife, Jen. He also has two daughters, Kris and Kari, both ISU graduates.

Selected awards:

• Outstanding Teacher at the Introductory Level (1991).

• Burlington Northern Foundation Award for Career Achievement in Teaching (1991).

• Iowa State University Outstanding Teacher Award (1984).

Favorite campus location: “It sounds funny, but Kildee Hall auditorium is my favorite spot on campus. I’ve had a lot of good things happen in there. I have taught in there for years. It’s kind of like a second home.”