UTM students who have classes in Gooch Hall have probably bumped into Dr. Gary Steinke at some time or another. Whether you’ve had him for a class or just passed him in the hall, it is evident from his contagious laugh and cheerful attitude that he’s easily approachable. However, Steinke’s jolly exterior does not give students the slightest insight into his remarkable life accomplishments.

Steinke was born in Midland, Mich., but being the son of an engineer, he traveled the world five times by age 15. Steinke says he is fortunate to have witnessed and/or been a part of so many unique world events. While in London, England, in 1963, he saw the Beatles perform well before they were introduced in the U.S. Steinke also attended the first Woodstock convention in 1969.

“I used to go to many huge concerts all over the country, mainly to socialize. Everyone at Woodstock was a hippie to some degree including myself,” says Steinke.

After graduating from Midland High School in Michigan, Steinke was accepted into Michigan State University. While attending college, he worked full time as a film editor for many of the local TV stations in Lancing, Mich., and later became the TV director for Channel 6 in Lancing.

After working in radio and TV sales at other stations in the Michigan area, Steinke says at that time, he had planned to go on to Hollywood and work for a major network or film industry. However, after realizing that continual learning was important to him, Steinke decided to become a teacher.

“I wanted a job that would always allow me to learn new things. Teaching is the perfect environment for such,” says Steinke. He taught at Indiana State for a year and also at the University of Michigan for two years before making his journey to UTM.

Because there was no Communications Department, Steinke was hired into UTM’s English Department in 1977, teaching English courses and overseeing a couple of media classes. With his broadcasting experience, Steinke felt compelled to fulfill the students’ profound interest in television and radio, so he helped to found UTM’s first Communications Department.

Amazingly, almost 30 years later, Steinke is still teaching at UTM.

“I’ve been all over the world; but, I’ve spent the majority of my life in Martin,” says Steinke. Many of his former students are very successful broadcasters for major networks all over the country, including CNN and WGN. Steinke says he measures his own success by the successes of his majors and that his biggest thrill is to watch his students succeed.

“Dr. Steinke has always pushed me to try harder and be better than what I was,” says Tomi Parrish, a instructor of Communications and a UTM student from 1978-1983. “I don’t know if he considers me one of his great successes, but I hope he does. I do know that I wouldn’t be where I am today without the guidance I received from him and other faculty members in Communications when I was a student.”

Steinke advises students to take time to enjoy life and have fun. He also says that practicing the “Golden Rule” is one of the most important humanitarian principles.