Merck-Horton Center for Teaching and Learning:  Established in 2008, Eric led the creation of the first center of its kind at a boarding school, now emulated at a constellation of peer schools around the world.  Merck-Horton partnered with Harvard University to develop a new model for school-based research, a model Harvard now uses with educational partners across the country. The establishment of Merck-Horton opened the door to a more experimental mindset for the community, one that fueled tremendous personal and professional growth for many faculty. As an example, a research project on the impact of delaying the start of the school day, conducted in partnership with Brown University, garnered national media attention and a peer reviewed medical paper. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/383436

SGx:  Eric led the creation of the innovative SGx curriculum, which created space for bold changes in pedagogy and practice. At the time SGx debuted, no other boarding school in America was undertaking similar efforts.  In both its scope and vision, SGx was a truly distinctive program that combined project based learning and design thinking to develop working solutions to real world problems.

Blitz Planning:   Building off of the core of the Stanford design thinking model, the Blitz planning approach is a unique approach that Eric developed to accelerate program innovations while still including a wide range of perspectives and voices. Stanford was impressed enough to invite Eric back to present at the Design School about his work and its impact on the school.

Orion Military Scholars:  Eric was one of the founders of the Orion Military Scholarship Fund, a federally recognized 501(c)(3) that provides scholarships for the children of active duty United States military personnel to attend select US boarding schools.

Global Programs:  Eric was an early advocate of global engagement for boarding school students, and led this effort via initiatives including the creation of a Global Studies course (unique in its structure and focus on original research by students), an international alumni internship program (also unique among schools), and a range of partnerships he established with peer schools across the world (Iceland, Jordan, China, Hong Kong).

Honor Code/Culture of Respect:  Eric and his team expanded and strengthened the language and reach of the honor code to all areas of school life. Efforts included the creation of an Honor Book and its signing ceremony and the separation of the Honor Board and the School Prefects into companion bodies. The work around the honor code was part of a wide ranging and long-standing effort to strengthen and cultivate an honorable, respectful culture at the School. This included dropping outdated, negative traditions and, in partnership with student leaders, creating more than 40 new traditions.

Historical Misconduct Investigation: At Eric’s insistence and under his leadership, St. George’s launched a comprehensive and groundbreaking investigation into historical incidents of sexual misconduct at the school. This investigation became a model for many other institutions seeking to reckon with their own histories, and the investigators’ final report noted that “Peterson and the leadership team he assembled…deserve significant credit for pushing for change.” (Murphy, 189)

Capital Projects:  Eric has overseen and helped manage numerous capital projects at the schools where he has served. These include renovations of existing facilities, some nationally historic in nature, along with the construction of new buildings. These facilities also reflect a deliberate effort to construct spaces that suit current pedagogy and educational practice. In aggregate, Eric has raised more than $100 million for capital projects.

Financial Matters:  Eric consistently demonstrated excellent budgetary discipline as a CEO and regularly exceeded goals for the amount of money he helped raise.  These sums were the largest total in any comparable period in his schools’ histories.  Also notable is the creativity with which he and his team managed the impact of the 2008-10 global recession, tightening their budgetary belts dramatically without compromising the student experience or laying off personnel.  

The Palm Project: In 2001, Eric launched a nationally recognized pilot project that equipped all students in his school with Palm handheld computers. After two years, the experiment ended with the conclusion that the Palms were not up to the needs of students and faculty, but not before Wired Magazine and other media covered the story. https://www.wired.com/2001/06/forget-pta-this-school-goes-pda/