History of the William F. Freistat Center

William Freistat graduated from Augustana College in 1940 with majors in history and economics. He spent the next year at the University of Illinois, where he studied efforts to promote world peace before the outbreak of World War II.

In 1942, Freistat joined the Henry J. Kaiser organization at the Richmond California shipyard. After the war ended, he transferred to the Kaiser-Frazer automobile operation and then to aerospace and electronics.

In 1951-52, he was advisor to the office of President Harry Truman. He then rejoined Kaiser Aerospace Electronics Corporation until he retired in 1975.

Observing the tremendous changes in military technology brought about by nuclear weaponry, Freistat became convinced that world peace is necessary to world survival. In 1985, he made an enduring contribution to peace efforts by creating the Freistat Endowment of International Peace, which sustains the William A. Freistat Center for Studies in World Peace.

Dr. Heidi Storl, Freistat Professor of World Peace Studies

Dr. Heidi Storl joined Augustana College in 1989 after completing a Ph.D. in philosophy at The Ohio State University. Her research and teaching interests occur at the intersection of the arts and sciences. Studies of the German phenomenologist Martin Heidegger coincide with her inquiries into the philosophy of mind, with special interests in neurophilosophy and neuroethics.

Dr. Storl is the author of many articles that highlight the interdisciplinary nature of her work. She also directs Texas Medical Center Summer Research Internship Program at Augustana, a 10-week, multidisciplinary student internship program based at the Texas Medical Center in Houston. Recently she co-directed the Augustana term in Berlin, a learning community in history and philosophy that culminated in a month-long visit to Berlin and surrounding areas.

Freistat council of advisors

Umme Al-Wazedi
Associate Professor of English
Ph.D. Purdue University 

Mari Nagase
Associate Professor of Japanese
Ph.D. University of British Columbia 

Heidi Storl, chair
Professor of Philosophy
Ph.D. Ohio State

Dara L. Wegman-Geedey
Professor of Biology 
Ph.D. Delaware

Peter Xiao
Professor of Art 
M.F.A Temple