Steve and Jane Bahls: A legacy of generosity

(Generosity Matters is a series of spotlight stories about alumni and friends of the college who give back to Augustana College.)

One would expect the president of a college to give financially to the institution. But for Steve and Jane Bahls, giving to Augustana has been an act of gratitude fueled by a strong desire to give back to a place they called home for nearly two decades.

“We witnessed the impact that Don Easter, Jane’s father, had on Des Moines and Drake University with his generous gifts of money and time,” Steve said. “We want to do the same thing for Augustana and the Quad Cities.”

Jane added, “My dad believed that if you had more than enough money to live comfortably, it wasn’t an invitation to live extravagantly. Instead, it was an obligation to be generous, improving your community with your money and your time and talents. His example has been a huge influence on us, and we’ve passed this mindset on to our own children.”  

That influence has come to fruition as their daughter Angela  ’13 and her husband Nick Cummins  ’13 have established a Close the Gap award at Augustana, which helps high-achieving, high-needs students receive an Augustana education.

Steve and Jane’s generosity has been diverse and far-reaching in their time at Augustana. They have supported capital projects, academic initiatives, the arts, unrestricted annual giving and, most generously, student scholarships.

“Perhaps because we’ve been involved in raising funds for every initiative Augustana has had in the past 19 years, we know what the needs are and get excited about each project," Steve said.

“We hope our gifts will help keep Augustana affordable to students and their families," he added. "Scholarships provide the most direct support to students, but gifts for buildings also help because then fewer tuition dollars are necessary for these important projects.”

Recently, Steve and Jane gave their largest endowed scholarship gift and saw that gift doubled thanks to the Murry Gerber  ’75 Grand Challenge in Philanthropy.

Although Steve and Jane’s tenure as president and first lady officially ended on June 30, they will still remain connected to Augustana and the Quad-Cities community. Steve will continue to co-teach the Art and Science of Fundraising course during J-term. They will split their time between their primary home outside of Missoula, Mont., and their new home in Davenport, Iowa.  

“Top priority is spending more time with our three children and eight grandchildren," Steve said. "We’ll be hiking, traveling and taking on various projects to continue giving back and making our two communities better."