Growing up in Waukegan, Illinois, Philander attended Waukegan Township High School. He participated in football, track and was a member of the band.
Entering Lake Forest in 1949, he went on to earn four letters in football and two in baseball. A four year member of the Lettermen's Club, Philander also served as vice president of the scholastic fraternity Beta Beta Beta and was elected to Who's Who in American Colleges. An honor student, he was majored in chemistry in the pre-med program.
Graduating in 1953, he went on to the University of Illinois School of Medicine and specialized in obstetrics and gynecology. From 1961 to 1963 he served as a Captain in the United States Air Force, where he was head of his department at Toul, France. Upon his return, he became assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at University of Illinois, where he also conducted research and published numerous articles. After spending several years as a physician at William Clinic, he started a private practice in 1975.
Philander was also a member of numerous societies and organizations.  A Fellow of American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, he was also Diplomate of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology and a consultant at several hospitals. He was chairman of the department of OB-Gyn at Evangelical Hospital and was also a member of Sigma Psi, an honory medical society. He served his alma mater by sitting on the Alumni Association Board of Govenors.
