Peter J. Steinberger was born on September 10, 1948 in Norwalk, Connecticut. He received a B.A. and an M.A. from Fordham University (1970, 1972) and earned a Ph.D. from the University of California Riverside (1976). He was appointed acting president of Reed College in 2001, and remained in office until Colin Diver began his presidency in 2002.

Steinberger joined the Reed College political science faculty in 1977, after teaching at University of California Riverside and University of Denver, and served as the chairman of the Reed Community Senate and the chair of the political science department. He received Reed College’s Burlington Northern Award in 1989, and was named the Robert H. and Blanche Day Ellis Professor of Political Science and Humanities in 1993. He became the dean of faculty in 1997, and resumed the position in 2002.

As a political philosopher, Steinberger is a published author and has contributed op-ed pieces to several newspapers. He has served on the board of trustees at the Catlin Gabel School and as president of the Western Political Science Association.

[Paraphrased mostly from Reed College website.]