An international scholar and educator and a connector between East and West, Peter died Nov. 12, 2014, of brain cancer.

The son of Samuel Roy Heath ’39, Peter was born in Trenton and entered Princeton from Trinity School in New York City. An early interest in the Crusades (and a short line for Arabic at freshman orientation) guided him to major in Near Eastern studies.

Peter earned a Ph.D. at Harvard in 1981 and embarked on a memorable academic career, always accompanied by his wife, Marianne. His first international position was at Birzeit University on the West Bank in Palestine, followed by 12 years as a professor of Arabic language and literature at Washington University in St. Louis. In 1998, he joined the faculty at American University of Beirut. Peter served there as provost during the tumultuous July 2006 conflict, maintaining academic order and coordinating the safe evacuation of numerous American students and faculty. In 2008, he became chancellor of American University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, serving until illness foreshortened his career.

Colleagues and family remember Peter’s humanity, warmth, humor, courage, and devotion to scholarship and education in the Middle East. The class extends its deepest sympathy to Marianne, daughter Christina ’06, son Simon, and his friends and family.

Undergraduate Class of 1971