Augustana College President Steve Bahls announces July 2022 retirement President Bahls announced his intent to leave in July 2022, after delaying his retirement a year to keep helping the school through the pandemic. Author: Connor Day Updated: 11:01 PM CST January 25, 2021 ROCK ISLAND, Ill. — Augustana College President Steve Bahls announced his plan to retire from the position in July 2022. The announcement of the end of his soon-to-be 19-year tenure came in a news release from the morning of January 25. The statement says that President Bahls had intended to retire in July of this year originally, but a desire to lead the college through the continued COVID-19 pandemic saw him delaying the retirement play by a year.