College of Arts and Sciences dean, longtime faculty member to retire

Dr. Michael Steiner, who has served Northwest Missouri State University in multiple roles since joining its faculty in 1997 has announced he will retire July 31.

“Dr. Steiner’s impacts on students, faculty, staff and academic programs will continue to uplift Northwest for many years,” Provost Dr. Jamie Hooyman said. “His leadership will be missed, and Northwest is a better place because he was here.”

Steiner has served since 2014 in his current role as dean of the University’s College of Arts and Sciences. As part of an academic restructure at Northwest in 2016, he retained that role and added responsibilities as associate provost of undergraduate studies through which he oversees the University’s general education program known as the Northwest Core, B.D. Owens Library and the Honors Program. He also has served in recent years as the Academic Affairs liaison to Facility Services.

Previously, Steiner had served as the chair of the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences since 2008 and as a faculty member in the department. He also was an active member of numerous University and faculty committees.

“It has been my honor to support the University, and be supported by it, since arriving as an assistant professor of history in the summer of 1997,” Steiner wrote in his announcement to Northwest leaders and College of Arts and Sciences faculty. “Having worked through the faculty ranks at Northwest and served as chair of the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, I was honored to be selected over a decade ago as the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. It has been my pleasure to serve in that role due to the shared commitment of all of you to helping students achieve their goals and helping one another succeed in the endeavor.”

As a professor of history, Steiner’s teaching responsibilities included American history, U.S. economic history, American folklife, constitutional history, East Asian history and secondary methods in social science education. He also was responsible for program coordination and academic advising of all students in the social science education program.

Additionally, Steiner has authored or contributed to several books, including two pictorial histories of Nodaway County and the city of Maryville. He has organized several exhibitions and public history programs at the Nodaway County Historical Society, of which he served as president for nearly a decade. He also has given numerous presentations about local and American history at conferences throughout the country.

Prior to joining the Northwest faculty, he taught American history, government, economics and sociology courses at Oakville Senior High School in St. Louis from 1988 to 1997. He also was a dual credit instructor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and Saint Louis University. 

Steiner is a Northwest alumnus, having earned his Bachelor of Science in Education degree in social science education from the University in 1985. He also has a Master of Arts in history from the University of Missouri-St. Louis and a doctoral degree in American studies from Saint Louis University.