Ivan D. Steen
I graduated Tech in January 1954 and immediately enrolled in NYU’s College of Engineering, expecting to complete a program in electrical engineering. After two semesters, however, I realized that a career in engineering was not for me, so I transferred to NYU’s College of Arts and Sciences, with a major in History. I graduated in 1957 and immediately began graduate school, also at NYU, and received an MA in American History in 1959. I had taken six months off in 1958 to complete the Basic Infantry Officer Course at Fort Benning, Georgia, and then served a couple of months at Fort Dix, New Jersey. I stayed on at NYU, and completed a Ph.D. in American History in 1962. I taught for three years at CUNY/Hunter College, and in 1965 accepted a professorial position in the History department of the University at Albany, SUNY. I introduced a course in American Urban History, which I taught regularly until my retirement in 2010. I was also the founding director of my department’s Oral History Program and its Graduate Program in Public History, and directed both programs for thirty years. In addition to numerous scholarly articles and book chapters, I’ve authored Urbanizing America: The Development of Cities in the United States from the First European Settlements to 1920, and co-authored United University Professions: Pioneering in Higher Education Unionism. My wife and I have been married for more than sixty-four years, and have two daughters.
My thanks to Brooklyn Tech for providing me with an outstanding high school education and a wonderful experience.