David J. Peters is a Professor of Sociology and Extension Rural Sociologist at Iowa State University. His work broadly encompasses social and economic change in rural communities. Specific research areas include rural population and health, rural poverty and inequality, and rural crime. Dr. Peters has published in top-tier journals in rural sociology, public health, agricultural economics, and criminology. He has been awarded grants from the National Science Foundation (SCC, Sociology, and NRT), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (AFRI), and the National Institute of Justice. He is faculty advisor for the Agricultural and Rural Policy Studies major at ISU, and teaches courses in rural sociology and applied statistics. Previously, he was an Assistant Professor of Agricultural Economics at the U. of Nebraska. He has worked as a senior researcher for the Missouri Department of Economic Development; and for the Rural Policy Research Institute (RUPRI) at the U. of Missouri. He holds a B.S. cum laude from the U. of Minnesota, and an M.S. and Ph.D. from the U. of Missouri.