When The Cavalier Daily prints its first issue of the 2010-11 academic year in August, it will be the first time in 20 years the paper has gone to press with a president other than John T. Casteen, III at the University's helm. Instead, Teresa A. Sullivan will reside at Carr's Hill after making the transition to the president's office this summer. Sullivan will be the University's eighth president and its first female leader. The challenges placed before her are anything but simple. Preceding Sullivan in office is one of the more iconic and longest-tenured presidents in University history, one who worked tirelessly to strengthen the University's financial position. Giving up the reins of a university that is both fiscally and academically sound, Casteen is leaving quite a void to fill.
Since matriculating at the University as an undergraduate student in 1961, Casteen has earned three degrees in English, served as the dean of admission, taught as an English professor at both the University and the University of California, Berkeley, been the state's secretary for education and become the seventh president of the University - all within 30 years. Referring to his years at the University as "all but magical for my family and me," Casteen has cultivated a community distinguished by its financial independence, allowing the University to cope with the backbreaking budget cuts implemented by the state in recent years.
His most touted achievements lie in this realm of finances. Casteen played a key role in the formation of AccessUVa - the University's financial aid program that has reduced student debt from loans and guarantees to meet 100 percent of demonstrated financial need. During lean economic times - such as the economic downturn from the past few years - tuition prices often increase, but this program serves as a financial buffer for students who otherwise could not afford to attend the University. Along with financial aid, Casteen increased per annum fundraising to record-breaking levels; the University's fundraising has jumped from $50 million per year to more than $300 million in recent years.
These achievements were not without sacrifice. When Casteen started as president, he was able to interact with students and faculty members regularly by teaching classes and remaining on Grounds as much as possible. This drastically changed, however, when state funding plummeted from 28 to 13 percent of the University's general budget during those first few years, University spokesperson Carol Wood said. Less money from the state translated into more time required for the president to spend away from the University soliciting donations from all corners of the nation and the world. And as state funding has continued to dwindle to new lows each year, so has Casteen's time spent on Grounds.
Although the benefits of having a president who is more involved in University life are clear, Casteen's ability to develop a steady flow of capital in the face of declining state funding has been pivotal to the University's success in recent years. A great deal of resources are needed to keep the institution functioning, particularly during a recession, and Casteen has made charting the University's path toward financial independence his legacy.
Casteen certainly faced his fair share of controversies during his time as president. The living wage controversy left a poor taste in the mouths of many members of the University community, and Casteen has been vocally criticized by some for not being proactive or committed enough in his response to sexual assault crimes on Grounds. On balance, this president never sought to change radically or redefine the University from which he received three degrees. Instead, he identified what he perceived to be the institution's greatest long-term threat - diminishing financial resources - and worked relentlessly to stave off funding deprivation. All told, his two decades of service as president stand out as an anomaly in the modern landscape of higher education, where college administrators change jobs much more frequently than in the past. Indeed, it may be unlikely that the University sees another president who bears witness to 20 commencements and graduations on the Lawn.
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