A retirement reception for Reece Peterson, professor in the special education program, is 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. April 28 at the East Union. A short program begins at 4 p.m.

When Peterson joined the faculty at Nebraska 39 years ago, he had spent one year as a grant-funded assistant professor at Drake University. Although he hoped to receive a permanent faculty position at Nebraska, he didn’t expect it to be the last stop of his career.

Peterson was involved in the Midwest Symposium for Leadership in Behavior Disorders, an organization formed in 1982 that holds annual conferences for professionals who focus on working with children and youth with emotional and behavioral disorders. Peterson has been an instrumental member of the organization throughout his career, including serving as chair and co-founder from 1982-91.

Over the last several years, Peterson has directed the Student Engagement Project, a state-funded project to assist schools with diminishing the use of exclusionary discipline and reducing school dropout.