Peter Newland ’67 was born in 1944 and grew up in Everett, Washington. He graduated from Whitman College with a double major in economics and theatre, and later moved to New York to get his masters in theatrical management from New York University. Newland was drafted into the Vietnam War, where he served with the United States Fourth Army Headquarters Transportation Corp in 1970 and into 1971. After he was honorably discharged, he moved back to Washington and served as Commissioner of Snohomish County Public Utility District from 1985 to 1996.

In the decades since his service, Newland became fascinated with artists’ books. Newland began collecting these books, even producing a few of his own. He and his wife Robyn Johnson have donated significant portions of their collection to the Whitman College and Northwest Archives since 2019.