Melissa Peterson

Dr. Melissa Peterson is a Diné educator and researcher who was born and raised on the Navajo Nation, growing up in the Cornfields community. Continuing her education and career away from home has influenced how Dr. Peterson thinks about education, research, and the responsibility institutions have when working with Native people and Tribal Nations. Her experiences have taught her that this work must begin with relationships, listening, and an understanding that Tribal Nations have the authority to determine how research takes place within their communities. Especially when collaborating with many Tribal Nations across the Midwest, she has worked at the intersection of Indigenous education, higher education, Tribal relations, and community partnership. Much of Dr. Peterson’s work involves helping universities, schools, researchers, and Tribal Nations better understand one another and build stronger ways of working together. Being Diné also shapes how Peterson understands her responsibility for this work. She not only thinks about research; she thinks about what the presence, decisions, and research may mean for the communities involved.

Since stepping foot on KU's campus in 2015, Dr. Peterson has advocated for student's—especially those who are first-generation, Pell-eligible, and Tribal Citizens—to feel seen, supported, and celebrated. She’s led Hawk Link, coordinated the Haskell/KU Exchange Program, championed the MSP Scholars Program, and served a stint as KU's Director of Tribal Relations. Dr. Peterson now serves as Acting Associate Vice Chancellor and Assistant Research Professor in the Office of Sovereign Partnerships, teaming up with the Life Span Institute and Indigenous Studies Program to push this work even further.

Her advocacy doesn’t stop at the campus gates. Peterson has served as Associate Executive Director for the Kansas Association of Native American Education (KANAE) and today sits on the Kansas Advisory Council for Indigenous Education (KACIE), where she helps shape statewide policy in partnership with KSDE, KBOR, and the state’s four Native Nations.

Peterson’s career path has always centered Native students and communities. She’s served as KU’s Director of Tribal Relations, worked with TRIO Supportive Educational Services & STEM, and supported students through Haskell Indian Nations University and spent time at the Haskell Health Center. Her academic journey mirrors the communities she advocates for: a first-generation student earning a bachelor’s in community health from Virginia Commonwealth University, a master’s in public health from KU Medical Center, and a doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from KU.

Peterson brings all of that—roots, lived experience, and academic muscle—into her work as a relentless advocate and connector for Indigenous and underserved students.