Mike Steele’s parents were victims of the Great Depression who didn’t have the luxury of a college education.

But their son—a bright but indifferent student—was encouraged by a counselor at his Florida high school. Steele didn’t know much about choosing a school, so he named the best he’d heard of: Notre Dame.

And that’s where he went.

“I had zero study skills,” Mike recalls. “But I was surrounded by these pre-law and pre-med people, and I saw one guy studying like mad all the time, and I said, ‘Oh, is that what I’m supposed to be doing?’”

He persisted, and he thrived, and he excelled. He graduated from Notre Dame with a B.A. in English in 1967, going on to earn his Ph.D. from Michigan State. In 1975, Mike arrived at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon, where he still teaches today, though he officially retired as a Distinguished University Professor in 2011.

While starting as an English professor—”the Tennyson guy”—when he arrived, Steele eventually transitioned into Holocaust Studies. He was the co-founder, Board member, President, and Executive Director of the Oregon Holocaust Resource Center from 1983 until 2002. He has written two books on Holocaust matters, one dealing with theories of tragedy, and one assessing Christianity’s impact on and treatment of others as a prelude to the Holocaust.

As an undergraduate at Notre Dame, he had an interest in the intersection of social justice and religion. That was the theme of his Ph.D. dissertation, and it was the same interest that led him to shift his focus to the Holocaust. “The Holocaust raises virtually the same question: Where was God?” Steele said.

Generations of Pacific University students have been touched by Steele’s influence. They remember him for his challenging Holocaust studies courses, his inspiring English instruction, his leadership on the handball court, and, yes, his passion for Notre Dame football.

A contact made through academic publishing led Prof. Steele to research and write a series of books on Notre Dame football. The Fighting Irish Football Encyclopedia is a comprehensive multi-volume work with year-by-year reviews of each season. His Knute Rockne: A Bio-Bibliography stands as a unique resource, analyzing Rockne’s impact from the standpoint of all that has been written about the iconic coach. Mike’s most recent work is Miracle Moments in Notre Dame Fighting Irish Football History.

Outside the classroom, Pacific gave Steele an outlet for his love of sports. He has coached football and cross-country, but it’s handball where he’s truly left his mark. Mike learned to play on the undersized courts of the Rockne Memorial Building while a student at Notre Dame. He coached the game at Pacific from 1977-2015, developing nearly 40 national champions, three All-Americans, three world champs, and two team championships.

Steele also served 10 years as president of the U.S. Handball Association, and was inducted into its Hall of Fame in 2021.