Rate My Professor Peter Alexander

Peter Alexander is a Professor of Law at Southern Illinois University Simmons Law School. He earned a B.A. in Political Science from Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 1979 and a J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law in 1983. Alexander began his professional career as a law clerk to the Hon. Harold A. Baker, U.S. District Judge, and the Hon. Larry L. Lessen, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge, in the Central District of Illinois from 1983 to 1985. He then practiced law as a shareholder at Waaler & Evans, P.C., in Champaign, Illinois, from 1985 to 1988, focusing on bankruptcy, real estate, and civil litigation, followed by ownership of Alexander Law Offices in Savoy and Watseka, Illinois, from 1988 to 1992, where his practice concentrated in bankruptcy, real estate, federal civil litigation, and federal criminal defense.

In academia, Alexander served as Assistant Professor from 1992 to 1995, Associate Professor from 1995 to 1997, and Professor from 1997 to 2003 at Pennsylvania State University, The Dickinson School of Law, including a stint as Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Development from 1997 to 1999. He has held visiting professor positions at institutions such as University of Pittsburgh School of Law, University of Maine School of Law, Washington & Lee University School of Law, University of Illinois College of Law, Notre Dame Law School, The John Marshall Law School, Wm. H. Bowen School of Law at University of Arkansas-Little Rock, and University of North Texas at Dallas College of Law. Alexander was Dean and Professor of Law at Southern Illinois University School of Law from 2003 to 2009 and Founding Dean and Professor of Law at Indiana Institute of Technology School of Law from 2012 to 2014. Since 2021, he has been a Visiting Professor at Southern Illinois University School of Law, teaching courses including Torts and Lawyering Skills.

Alexander's research interests include bankruptcy law, family law, feminist legal theory, and legal education pedagogy. He has authored numerous scholarly articles, such as “Identity Theft and Bankruptcy Expungement,” 77 Am. Bankr. L.J. 404 (2003), “Congress Builds ‘A Doll’s House’: A Feminist Analysis of Divorce and Bankruptcy,” 48 Villanova L.R. 381 (2002), and “Divorce and the Dischargeability of Debts: Focusing on Women as Creditors in Bankruptcy,” 43 Cath. U. L. Rev. 351 (1994). He co-authored a monograph on Bankruptcy and Family Law, as well as books including It Takes a Village: The Integration of the Hillburn School System (2015) and Insufficient Funds: The Financial Life of Frank Lloyd Wright (2021). Alexander serves as Of Counsel at Rhode Law in Carbondale, Illinois, and continues as an author, public speaker, and consultant.