Luther College awards honorary degree to travel writer Rick Steves

In honor of Rick Steves’ four decades of promoting the value of travel as an educational tool, Luther College awarded Steves a Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa on Sunday, April 27.

Luther College President Brad Chamberlain (left) and Maren Johnson, director of the Torgerson Center for Nordic Studies (center), awarded travel writer Rick Steves (right) a Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa on Sunday, April 27.

“As a descendant of Norwegian immigrants, Steves is well known for his support of the celebration of Norwegian culture; his commitment to his Lutheran beliefs, the values of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), and sustainability; and his humanitarian advocacy,” said Luther College President Brad Chamberlain.

Steves was in Decorah to give a special talk titled “Travel with a Norwegian Sensibility” to a sold-out audience at Luther as part of a yearlong commemoration of the first organized migration from Norway to North America 200 years ago. Luther College is the first U.S. college founded by Norwegian immigrants.

Steves is a popular public television host, a best-selling guidebook author, and an outspoken activist who encourages Americans to broaden their perspectives through travel. Widely considered America’s leading authority on European travel, Steves produces a best-selling series of guidebooks. In his newest book, “On the Hippie Trail: Istanbul to Kathmandu and the Making of a Travel Writer” (2025), Steves discusses how his journey through Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and Nepal in 1978 changed his life.

Following the public presentation, Steves conducted a seminar with Luther students, answering their questions about the importance of travel for their lives and sharing insights of how his travel changed the course of his career.