Richard A. (Rick) Peterson, the chief technology officer at Washington and Lee University since 2007, died on Wednesday, January 12, 2011 in Lexington, Virginia. He was 52.

"Everyone who knew and worked with Rick will always remember not only the expertise and professionalism he brought to his position, but also the friendliness and good humor that made him a colleague to value," said W&L President Kenneth P. Ruscio. "We will also remember the courage and grace with which he faced his illness."

Peterson earned a B.S. in computer science engineering from Northwestern University in 1981, and an M.A. in organizational development and transformation from the California Institute of Integral Studies in 1993.

He began his career as a software programmer with A.C. Nielsen Corp., in Dunedin, Fla., in 1977. He went on to serve a variety of companies as a software engineer, installation manager, independent consultant and network manager.

Peterson also taught mathematics at University Lake School, Hartland, Wis., from 1987 to 1990. From 1991 to 1993, he was first the microcomputer network manager and then the director of information systems and technology at the California Institute of Integral Studies. From 1993 to 1999, he directed computer services at Randolph-Macon Woman's College (now Randolph College). He served as the director of information technology at the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 1999 to 2005. At Rice University from 2005 until leaving for W&L, he was the director of academic and research computing.

Peterson is survived by his wife, Mary, the administrative assistant in W&L's Facilities and Capital Planning Department; their children, Cobb and Charlotte; his father, Mervin E. Peterson, and stepmother, Elsie Petrea Peterson, of Faith, N.C.; his sister, Kris Lash, of Leander, Texas; his brother, Bud Peterson, of Scandinavia, Wis.; and numerous nieces and nephews in Texas, Virginia, North Carolina and Wisconsin.

He was preceded in death by his mother, Ida Charlotte Schaefer Peterson.

A private graveside service for the family will be held on the morning of Sunday, January 23, at the Stonewall Jackson Memorial Cemetery in Lexington, Va. A memorial service open to all will be held at 2 p.m. on Sunday, January 23, at Lee Chapel on the Washington and Lee campus. A celebratory reception will follow. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to a charity of your choice.