Peter Nathaniel Stearns (born March 3, 1936) is a professor at George Mason University, where he was provost from January 1, 2000 to July 2014.

[1] Stearns was chair of the Department of History at Carnegie Mellon University and also served as the Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (now named Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences) at Carnegie Mellon University.

He is also known for various work on the nature and impact of the industrial revolution and for exploration of new topics, particularly in the history of emotions.

He has held positions at the University of Chicago, Rutgers, Carnegie Mellon, and now George Mason.

Stearns served as founding chair of the Advanced Placement World History committee and as vice president for teaching of the American Historical Association.