Peter Simpson

College of Arts and Sciences alumnus Peter Kooi Simpson, senior, continues to share his love of theatre with the Laramie and University of Wyoming community. This December, he plays Scrooge in Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol—a role that, those who know Simpson would agree, is not based on type casting. Known for his strong sense of community involvement and generous spirit, Simpson is the antithesis of Scrooge.

 Son of Governor and United States Senator Milward Simpson, Pete received a degree in history from the University of Wyoming in 1953. A fourth generation Wyomingite, Simpson says that his parents talked about Wyoming history at the breakfast table, instilling in him and his brother an appreciation for understanding from where they came. “If we don’t know history,” Simpson notes, “We don’t know who we are. The world didn’t begin at our first memory and knowing that gives us perspective.”

 While serving in the United States Navy, Simpson’s love for history intensified, as a friend and ship mate insisted that they visit historical sites when they docked. Simpson then returned to UW where he received a master’s degree in 1962. His thesis was about the early Wyoming Territorial Legislature. Simpson earned a Ph.D. in history at the University of Oregon.

 In the early 1970s, Simpson returned to Wyoming and became active in business, banking, civic and historical preservation, college teaching and administration, and state politics. From 1984 to 1997, he was vice president for institutional advancement and executive director of the University of Wyoming Foundation—a role in which he became  a major player in the Centennial Campaign.

Today, Simpson maintains active involvement in the Wyoming community as a member of several boards, including the American National Bank Board, the Ivinson Memorial Hospital Foundation Board, the Buffalo Bill Historical Center Library Advisory Board, the UW Symphony Board, and the College of Arts and Sciences Board of Visitors. “The life of a community is the life of this country,” says Simpson. “The more involved we become, the more we can blunt the lack of civility and interest in public discourse. Community involvement is central to all of our lives.” In addition to his civic involvement, Simpson team teaches with his brother, former United States Senator Al Simpson, in the Department of Political Science.

 So how does a guy like Pete Simpson play Scrooge? Simpson says he’s had to “plumb” a little to learn how to show bitter, angry, and fearful emotions. He credits an enthusiastic director—Wolf Sherrill, Department of Theatre and Dance—with taking the entire cast and audience through a great narrative that tells the story of redemption and an uplifting spiritual journey.