A native of Kalamazoo, Michigan, Fr. Steve Kuhlmann, OP, studied statistics and applied math at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. While serving as a student leader at the Newman Center, he discerned a call to religious life.
After discerning that he wanted to join a religious community, he took a year to decide between the Dominicans and the Capuchins. Eventually, he chose the Dominicans due to their emphasis on preaching and the intellectual life.Ordained in 1992, Fr. Steve has spent most of his ministry in parishes, including two university parishes, and also taught theology at St. Vincent Ferrer High School in Chicago. He also spent two years teaching theology at Fenwick High School in Oak Park, Illinois, as well as serving as associate pastor at St. Vincent Ferrer parish in Illinois. In 2000, he was among the first group of Dominicans to serve at St. Thomas Aquinas and has returned to continue his ministry.