President’s Biography
	Axel D. Steuer became the 13th president in the 183-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 a 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, including the American Academy of Religion, the National Association for Independent colleges and Universities, Minnesota Campus compact, Minnesota Public Radio, and the Illinois Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission. He currently serves on the executive committee of the Midwest Athletic Conference and is the president of the Associated Colleges of Illinois. 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 a master’s degree in philosophy from Harvard University, an S.T.B. degree from Harvard Divinity School and a 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.