In 1940, at age 9, Steven Strauss emigrated with his parents from Czechoslovakia to the United States. Coming from a poor family, he began work in a local pharmacy almost immediately after his arrival to New York City, where his love of pharmacy began. He graduated from the Brooklyn College of Pharmacy with a B.S. in 1955 and an M.S. in Pharmacy Administration in 1965. Strauss completed his Ph.D. studies in pharmaceutical economics/administration with Dr. Joseph McEvilla at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Pharmacy in a record 20 months. Strauss worked as a community pharmacist for 10 years before joining the Brooklyn College of Pharmacy as assistant professor of Pharmacy Administration. During Strauss’ 32-year tenure, he implemented annual community health programs such as hypertension and diabetes screening clinics and drug abuse prevention and education. Strauss also served as director of the Retail Drug Institute, director of Professional Continuing Education, director of the Division of Pharmacy Administration, and director of Graduate Pharmacy Programs–which he initiated at the Westchester Campus. In 1980, Straus received the School of Pharmacy Distinguished Alumni Award. Then, in 1990 he initiated the first Master of Science degree in Drug Regulatory Affairs in the world at the Arnold & Marie Schwartz College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences of Long Island University, the successor institution to the Brooklyn College of Pharmacy.

Strauss is the author of seven books and of seventy-five articles relating to health care and drug therapy for the consumer. He is also the author of five books and sixty articles relating to pharmacy law and drug regulatory affairs, and lectures on the subject in the United States and abroad. Strauss was the founding editor of the Hoffman-LaRoche-sponsored The New Environment of Pharmacy program in 1973 and was the founding editor of U.S. Pharmacist in 1976. He was editorial consultant to American Druggist (1973-76) and the American Druggist Blue Book (1973-1974) and was appointed to the editorial boards of Journal of Pharmacy Practice (1997) and Clin-Alert (1978-98), becoming the publisher of both in January 1998. In addition, Strauss founded the annual United States-Caribbean Pharmaceutical Conferences and has been cited for numerous achievements by civic and fraternal organizations. Strauss retired in 1998 as Emeritus Professor. He was the president of the Pharmaceutical Division of the Technomic Publishing Company from 1989 to 1999 when he retired from his position. He was also appointed to a five-year term, effective July 1, 2000, as a member of the New York State Board of Pharmacy.