PRESIDENT’S BIOGRAPHY

Axel D. Steuer became the 13th president in the 177-year history of Illinois College on June 1, 2003. Prior to arriving at Illinois College, Dr. Steuer served as President of Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota and taught and held administrative positions at Occidental College in Los Angeles.

Dr. Steuer is firmly committed to the welfare of students and to their intellectual and personal development. He views a liberal arts education at a residential college as the best way to acquire the traits of an educated person who is prepared for a fulfilling life of leadership and service. He is noted for his focus on community service, on challenging students to achieve their fullest potential, and for his leadership role in American higher education.

Dr. Steuer is recognized for guiding the recovery of his previous college from devastating tornadoes in 1998 and was identified by the Templeton Foundation in 1999 as one of 50 college presidents effectively promoting character education. That same year he received a Knight Foundation Presidential Leadership Award. He has served on a number of national and regional boards and currently is on the Advisory Council for the National Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission and a member of the Illinois Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission.

Born in Germany, Dr. Steuer immigrated to the United States as a boy and grew up in Pennsylvania and Southern California. He graduated ‘summa cum laude’ in philosophy and psychology from Occidental College, and earned the master’s degree in Philosophy from Harvard University, the S.T.B. degree from Harvard Divinity School, and the Ph.D. in Religious Thought from the University of Pennsylvania. He taught at Princeton University, Haverford College, and Swarthmore College before returning to teach at Occidental College.

Dr. Steuer is married to Loreli Olson Steuer, a former public school teacher, administrator, and textbook author. A graduate of Carleton College and Harvard University, she has taught in the English Departments of three colleges and has served in leadership roles in a number of community organizations in Pennsylvania, Minnesota, and Illinois. She shares her husband’s strong interest in environmental issues, community service, and the arts.

 

 

 

Illinois College
1101 West College Avenue
Jacksonville, IL 62650
217.245.3030

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