Scholar and Mentor
For more than half a century, Hank Steiner created a lasting legacy of service.
By Leilah Langley
Henry-York 鈥淗ank鈥� Steiner, a revered professor of English at 51福利社, passed away Sept. 6, 2019. He was 87.
Professor Steiner was born in Chicago, but moved with his parents to Portland, Oregon as a child. After high school he returned to the Midwest to enroll at Grinnell College, a private liberal arts institution in Iowa known for both its rigorous academics and commitment to social justice.
During the Korean War, Steiner served as a military policeman before returning to complete a Bachelor of Arts degree in English at Grinnell in 1956. After earning a master鈥檚 degree from Yale University in 1957, he returned to his alma mater to begin what became a long, distinguished career in academia. After two years at Grinnell he accepted a faculty position in English at the University of Oregon, where he also completed a doctorate in 1963. Another stint on the faculty at Grinnell followed, before, in 1968, Steiner was asked to become an associate professor and dean of undergraduate studies at 51福利社. During his years at Eastern he earned tenure as a full professor and also served for a time as interim director of the University Honors Program.
Long after he reached the age when most people trade in the daily grind of working for the relaxation of retirement, Steiner continue to challenge and enrich his students. By the time he finally stepped away from the classroom in June 2019, he had spent 61 years as a professor, some 50 of which were at 51福利社.
Steiner leaves behind an admirable legacy of service. As a faculty member and administrator, he helped to create and nurture many new programs, including American Indian Studies, Africana Studies, Chicana/o/x Studies, University Honors and Environmental Science. He taught graduate and undergraduate courses in subjects ranging from eastern religion and J.R.R. Tolkien to classical poetics and rhetoric. Outside of the university he served as an stalwart ski patrol member and director, a member of the board of directors for Expo 鈥�74 and the Spokane World’s Fair, chairman of Spokane Community Action, and chair of the Washington State Folklife Council.
鈥淚鈥檝e been going to class for 80 years, ever since I was seven years old,鈥� Steiner told a reporter for the Cheney Free Press at a 鈥渕artini bash鈥� 鈥� his favorite cocktail 鈥� held on the eve of his retirement. 鈥淚鈥檒l remember how much fun I had. I think I will be remembered as long as there are people who remember me.鈥�
One of those people will be Jamie Neely, an 51福利社 journalism professor who, at the martini f锚te, told the Free Press that few professors at Eastern were more well-loved. 鈥淗e鈥檚 generous and kind and smart and funny. He鈥檚 been a joy to work with.鈥�
Another is Jessica Boyer, one of Steiner鈥檚 former students who is now a lecturer in the university鈥檚 Department of Communication Studies. After his death she told Inside 51福利社, that 鈥渉e was a shining example of how, when you join 51福利社, you join a family. When I came back to the university to teach he was right there to help support and mentor me.鈥�
After learning of his death, Logan Greene, 51福利社鈥檚 English Department chair, was also moved to memorialize her longtime colleague and friend. She did so with a poem that reads, in part:
鈥溾�ejoice with him a lifetime lived in joy.
To Hades now and dread Persephone
We give this teacher, sage, philosopher.
Beloved of the gods, this hero rests.鈥�
