IRA SHERMAN STEINBERG (b.1933)

PAPERS, 1959-1987

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BIOGRAPHY

Ira Sherman Steinberg was born in Boston, Massachusetts on 12 January 1933. He received the B.A. degree in Economics from Brandeis University in 1954, the Ed. M. from Boston University in 1959, and the Ed. D. from Harvard University in 1963. From 1954 to 1956, Steinberg served as an Assistant Buyer for the Boston Department Store of Filene and Sons and then as a draftee in the U.S. Army in Korea. He married Priscilla Sawyer (b. 1933) in 1955. The Steinbergs have three children: Daniel, Jill, and Ethan.

Steinberg's teaching career began in academic year 1958-1959 in the Natick, Massachusetts Public Schools. In 1961, Steinberg became Instructor in Education at Oberlin College, reaching the rank of Professor in 1975. His teaching centered on the social and philosophical foundations of education, the philosophy of social science, and American philosophy. From 1975 to 1978, he served as Chairman of the Department of Education. He taught in the department until its discontinuation in 1978 when his tenure was transferred to the Department of Philosophy. He has been a visiting professor at Brown University (Summer 1971) and the University of British Columbia (Summer 1977); Visiting Academic at the University of London's Institute of Education (1974-1975); and Subfaculty at Oxford University (1980, 1983). His most recent publications include Behaviorism and Schooling (1980) and The New Lost Generation: Population and Public Policy (1982). He has authored numerous articles and reviews and has been an active member of the professional organizations in his field.

In addition to his teaching in the departments of Education and Philosophy, Steinberg was involved in the creation, administration, and evaluation of several special academic programs. From 1975 to 1978, he chaired the Special Educational Opportunities Program, helping to develop, coordinate, and fund minority education programs at Oberlin. Within the Department of Education as Chairman, he supervised the training and certification of undergraduate candidates for the secondary school teaching credential as well as candidates for the Elementary and Secondary Master's in Teaching degree. He served on the M.A.T. faculty committees, working closely with officials from the Ohio Department of Education. In 1985, he served as Chairman of the Educational Plans and Policies Committee which reviewed the Department of Physical Education.

In 1987, after nine years of teaching in the Department of Philosophy, Steinberg was appointed Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. In this position, Steinberg over-saw the Office of Student Academic Affairs and reviews policy and practices relating to Academic Advising, Distribution Guidelines, and the Freshman Year. He was also responsible for the budgeting and fiscal management of the College of Arts and Sciences. After a year on sabbatical, he returned to the teaching faculty and the Department of Philosophy in FY 1996-1997.

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