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David J. Steinberg

President

David J. SteinbergDr. David J. Steinberg, the ninth president of LIU, has served the institution since 1985. The son of the late Rabbi Milton Steinberg of Manhattan's Park Avenue Synagogue, he was born in New York City and was educated at Phillips Academy at Andover, Malvern College in England and Harvard College, from which he graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. After a Fulbright year at the University of the Philippines and a year at Columbia University on a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship, he returned to Harvard, where he earned an M.A. in East Asian studies in 1963, and a Ph.D. in history in 1964.  Dr. Steinberg also has received several honorary degrees

He began his teaching career in the Department of History at the University of Michigan, where he rose to the rank of full professor. In 1973, he joined the administration of Brandeis University as executive assistant to the president, becoming vice president and university secretary in 1977.

The author of numerous books and articles on Southeast Asia and, in particular, Philippine history, Dr. Steinberg has taught, lectured and written about this important area of the world for a third of a century. His first book, "Philippine Collaboration in World War II," won the University Press Award in 1969. "The Philippines: A Singular and a Plural Place," now in its third edition, was described by U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Nicholas Platt as "the best single-volume guide to understanding the Philippines, past and present." He also edited and co-authored both editions of "In Search of Southeast Asia," one of the major textbooks on the area. Dr. Steinberg recently collaborated with top scholars from around the world to co-author "The Emergence of Modern Southeast Asia," a new and multifaceted history of this complex region. In addition, he is a co-author of “Religion and Religiosity in the Philippines and Indonesia:  Essays on State, Society and Public Creeds,” which was published in 2005.

Dr. Steinberg was a member of the international observer team that monitored the Philippine presidential elections when Corazon Aquino defeated Ferdinand Marcos. He has written numerous op-ed pieces and has been a consultant to UN agencies, the United States government, the Ford Foundation and others.

He and his wife, Joan, a chanteuse and real estate executive, reside in McGrath House on the LIU Post campus. The couple has two Cavalier King Charles spaniels, whom they sometimes bring to football games on campus. His greatest personal accomplishment: raising his two superb sons, Noah and Jonah. His greatest pleasure: watching his grandchildren grow.

Publications

Co-author, “Religion and Religiosity in the Philippines and Indonesia:  Essays on State, Society and Public Creeds,” Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006

Co-author, "The Emergence of Modern Southeast Asia: A New History," University of Hawaii Press, 2004

Author, "The Philippines: A Singular and a Plural Place," Westview Press, 2000 (fourth edition)

Editor and Co-author, "In Search of Southeast Asia," University of Hawaii Press, 1987 (revised second edition)

Author, "Philippine Collaboration in World War II," University of Michigan Press, 1967 (University Press Award, 1969)