Richard Santer
Richard Santer is a Ferris State University Geography professor emeritus and longtime advocate of university and Michigan history. He served the university from 1969 to 1996.
Santer has been active in a host of efforts to promote awareness of local and state history, including past service as a trustee of the Historical Society of Michigan and leadership of Ferris’ 1984 centennial celebration. Upon his retirement in 1996, the university recognized Santer by renaming its 22-acre nature preserve for him.
In 2016, at the invitation of State Rep. Phil Potvin, R-Cadillac, Santer provided testimony to Michigan’s House Committee on Local Government, advocating for HB 4264, which included measures to more clearly identify Michigan’s boundaries, a subject of intensive academic and professional focus for Santer.
“Dr. Santer is an expert on Michigan geography who has spent many years researching the proper boundaries of our state, and it was my pleasure to welcome him to Lansing to speak on the topic,” Potvin said.
On Sept. 21, 2018, the Historical Society of Michigan presented Santer with its History Hero Award during its annual conference in Sturgis, Michigan.
“The awardees are selected by the society’s executives, and History Heroes are, by nature, non-historians,” Santer said. “As a geographer, I am deeply honored to have had the opportunity to make a contribution as a supporter of the HSM and have tried to make a difference in people’s lives by emphasizing this state’s history.”
Richard Santer (right) was presented the History Hero Award by Historical Society of Michigan Awards Committee Chair Kendall Wingrove.