President Joseph A. Steger: Looking Back, Moving Forward

"I should have made my desk neater, I guess," University of Cincinnati President Joseph A. Steger said, as he did some last-minute straightening up before his interview with a television news reporter. He knew he'd be speaking with many more reporters Nov. 1, the day he announced he was retiring from the job he has held for 18 years.

"The decision to step down comes when you start seeing the same thing for the fifth time. Then you think maybe it's time for a new set of eyes to come in here to see what I've missed."

Steger has seen more than his fellow university presidents across the country. The average tenure for a university president is about four to five years. Starting at UC as provost in 1982, he started serving as UC's 20th president in 1984.

He says a family vote brought him to Cincinnati. The vote was an overwhelming majority: "Four-zip," he says, counting himself, his wife Carol, daughter Tracy and son Marty. With a vast background in both academics and industry, Steger had been living in Connecticut, working as director of organizational development and human resources for Colt Industries Inc., an industrial products company.

In an article in a 1984 issue of Horizons Magazine that introduced Steger as the new president, UC back then was soon to get its first "'electronic classroom,' where teachers will be able to punch lessons into a kind of computerized chalkboard." The term, Blackboard, no longer triggers a search for the missing chalk, but instead is used to advance online learning communities. There's a portal for every pillow in UC's residence halls. Students from other college campuses are joining UC faculty in distance learning classrooms. Technology has resulted in discussions between UC students and students around the world.

As for his emphasis on faculty development and recruitment, "We want our students to be in the classroom with the faculty member who wrote the book, not the one that just read it."

Steger recalled his first strategy for the university was to redesign the campus. Old buildings were crumbling. For UC to become a national leader in research, buildings were going to have to function around what was going on inside: temperature and humidity- sensitive environments for the sensitive research in the labs. "We looked into the differential cost of using world-class architects, and it was about a percent-and-a-half to two percent. So we said, 'Let's make it different.'" Six signature architects designed UC's Master Plan, and Steger adds that not only are the buildings teaching tools, but also pathways through the campus. "You can go from building to building and get just about anywhere. It's not designed around grass and trees, but goals that will attract the best faculty and the best students."

His points of pride include improving the quality of the institution and increasing the university's endowment to nearly $1 billion. His global vision made UC one of the first universities in the nation to enter into an international agreement with a Chinese university.

Steger calls UC's dedication to research an "economic engine for the city. We've already spun off 22 firms." The university remains committed to rebuilding and revitalizing the surrounding neighborhoods.

"Quality, quality, quality," he says, as he's asked what he wants to be remembered for. A grandparent now, Steger says he's looking forward to spending more time focusing on family. "Carol and I, the longest vacation we ever had was two weeks in 20 years. I want to spend more time paying attention to the family and to things we'd like to do."

Announcement of the President's retirement.

Profiles of other UC people.