Sad News: James B. Steerman

July 16, 2025

Dear all,

I am writing with the sad news of the death of James B. Steerman, Emeritus Professor of the Departments of Drama and Film. Professor Steerman was a supportive and deeply inspiring teacher of many generations of Vassar students who aspired to be playwrights or screenwriters. He joined the Drama Department in 1967 to teach playwriting and, over the course of his forty-four years on the faculty, participated in and often spear-headed the transformation of the Drama Department into the Department of Drama and Film and then the Department of Film, as well as the transformation of Avery Hall into the Vogelstein Center for Drama and Film. He retired in 2011. In all those years, Professor Steerman navigated with grace and diplomacy the increasingly distinct disciplines of drama and film. He was also sensitive to the balance between training students for a profession and teaching them to think critically about plays and films, what he called a “double-edged thing.” One of his students, Noah Baumbach, remembers Professor Steerman talking about the genius of the “trash gondola” in the opening scene of “Trouble in Paradise,” illustrating for students that “nothing is exactly what it seems, and beneath a kind of glossy surface, there’s a darker underbelly.”

Professor Steerman’s colleagues remember him as a warm and generous mentor and skillful department chair. He was unfailingly encouraging to junior colleagues, offering sage advice in difficult situations, such as “Take the long view. Don’t lose any sleep over it,” and encouraged a sense of community in the department. Jim’s dedication both to his own craft and to the education of his students is evident in this comment from a student who graduated in ’69 and who sent Jim in 2017 a draft of her new screenplay. She writes that her “handsome professor in cowboy boots”, who had no reason to remember her, “sent me a long, immensely helpful critique” of her script. The cowboy boots were a testament to his pride in his Kansas roots, where he grew up, owned land, and visited often.

Throughout his time at Vassar, Professor Steerman continued writing plays, which were produced both at Vassar and in New York City. His legacy continues in the form of the annual Steerman New Play Festival, in which students’ short plays are showcased.

In addition to passion for drama and film, Professor Steerman had a passion for foreign racing cars. He and his son scoured automotive parts shops in Europe in their quest to rebuild a Lancia. Whether or not he would have ever driven it, Professor Steerman admired its intricacy and elegance, not unlike the John Ford westerns he treasured.

Professor Steerman loved Vassar, and he was devoted to his family. We send them our deepest sympathy.

Elizabeth H. Bradley, President
Vassar College
Poughkeepsie, NY 12604
@ehowebradley