David J. Peters is a Professor of Sociology and Extension Rural Sociologist at Iowa State University. His primary research areas include demographic and socioeconomic change in rural communities, rural health, rural poverty and inequality, and rural crime. Dr. Peters has published in top-tier journals in rural sociology, agricultural economics, public health, and criminology. He has been awarded grants from the National Science Foundation (SCC, Sociology, NRT), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (AFRI), and the National Institute of Justice. He teaches courses in rural sociology and applied statistics; and is coordinator and faculty advisor for the Agricultural and Rural Policy Studies major.

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 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.