Dr. Steinhoff was born in Brooklyn into a Godly home. His paternal grandfather was a friend of Walter Rauschenbusch and, after his father died when he was 15, Dr. Steinhoff worked six summers for Church World Service, the relief arm of the National Council of Churches. At Columbia he fell in love with history and graduated with a B.A. in history in 1967. Columbia was a volcano about to erupt (which it did in 1968) and so he moved on to Johns Hopkins University where he earned a Master's in medieval history, until he was drafted and served in Vietnam from l970-71. His doctoral work at New York University culminated in a dissertation on the first secular profession -- the notariate. It was a social study of the city of Ravenna from the 6th through 13th centuries. A few months after, the Lord opened up a position at Liberty University and he responded, "I want that mountain." In the past 26 years he has continued to grow intellectually and spiritually and has especially appreciated the close relations with students and warm collegiality.