Steve Bein teaches philosophy at Rochester Community and Technical College in Rochester, Minnesota, and also teaches in the graduate program at St. Mary's University. He earned his Master's Degree in Philosophy at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, studied as a kenkyūsei under Yuasa Yasuo at Ōbirin University in Tokyo, and received his PhD in Philosophy from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa in 2005. His dissertation, “Compassion and Moral Guidance,” has evolved into a book now forthcoming in the Society for Asian and Comparative Philosophy Monograph Series from the University of Hawai‘i Press.

In addition to standard introductory philosophy courses, he teaches Asian Philosophy, Japanese Philosophy, Chinese Philosophy, Buddhism, Environmental Ethics, Biomedical Ethics, Managerial Ethics, and Philosophical Themes in Science Fiction. He was honored with Teacher of the Year Awards from the international honors society Phi Theta Kappa in 2005 and again in 2006, and was recognized by the University Center Rochester as a Distinguished Faculty Lecturer in 2006, 2009, and 2011.