NAICU News

McDaniel College President Roger N. Casey Elected Chair of the NAICU Board of Directors

February 05, 2020

 
  McDaniel College (MD) President and incoming NAICU Board Chair Roger N. Casey accepts the Board Chair's gavel from Meredith College (NC) President and outgoing Board ChairJo Allen.
Roger N. Casey, Ph.D., president of McDaniel College (MD), and one of the longest-serving independent college presidents in the State of Maryland, has been elected chair of the Board of Directors for the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU).  Casey leads a list of four new board officers, four national committee chairs, and 16 new board members who took office today at the close of the 2020 NAICU Annual Meeting and Advocacy Day held in Washington, DC.
 
NAICU board members set the association’s agenda on federal higher education policy, actively encourage support for the association’s priorities and initiatives, and oversee the organization’s financial administration.  Board members serve three-year terms, while officers serve one-year terms.  National committee chairs lead efforts to examine the impact of public policy on independent colleges and universities and formulate association positions and actions.
 
Casey succeeds Jo Allen, Ph.D., president of Meredith College (NC), who remains on the board as immediate past chair.
 
“Roger Casey brings significant experience to the role of NAICU board chair and possesses a keen understanding of the political environment in Washington,” said NAICU President Barbara K. Mistick, D.M.  “Since arriving at McDaniel, Roger has been a proven leader at the state and national level, working on behalf of independent colleges and universities, including chairing several of NAICU’s leadership committees. Well-regarded and widely-known leader among the NAICU membership and nationally, I look forward to working with him over the next year.”
 
“These are challenging times for colleges and universities. Presidents are feeling pressures from many different sides.  The landscape in Washington, with reauthorization of the Higher Education Act on the agenda in Congress and frequent shifting in the regulatory environment, adds to the tumult,” said Casey.  “I am humbled by this election and look forward to working with a strong board and the NAICU team to help our member presidents succeed in this evolving environment and serve the needs of our talented students.”

With more than 1,000 colleges, universities, and associations as members, NAICU serves as the unified national voice of independent higher education and reflects the diversity of private, nonprofit higher education in the United States.  Member institutions include major research universities, church-related colleges, historically black colleges, art and design colleges, traditional liberal arts and science institutions, women’s colleges, two-year colleges, and schools of law, medicine, engineering, business, and other professions.

Casey Background

Roger Casey has served as the ninth president of McDaniel College of Westminster, MD, and Budapest, Hungary, since 2010.  During his tenure, Casey has overseen the donor-funded construction of Kenneth R. Gill Stadium and McTeer-Zepp Plaza. He has supervised major renovations of the Gill Physical Education Learning Center, Englar Dining Hall, Hoover Library, WMC Alumni Hall, and five residence halls.
 
Further, under his leadership, McDaniel received the largest scholarship bequest in the college’s history, which funds the Dorsey Scholars program. He also successfully led the “Enduring Commitment,” a $50 million fundraising effort in celebration of the college’s 150th anniversary.

Casey’s initiatives include creating the Center for Experience and Opportunity (CEO), a single office comprehensively supporting experiential learning; Global Fellows, a program allowing students to internationalize any major; The Encompass Distinction, an entrepreneurship curriculum; and the Legacy Scholarships — Educators, Military, Alumni — $100,000 scholarships for children of school employees, veterans, or alumni.
 
Casey teaches cultural studies, drama, and leadership. He has spoken around the globe to over a hundred organizations and authored the book, Textual Vehicles: The Automobile in American Literature. His cultural analysis has appeared in The New York Times, Forbes, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, USA Today, and on CNN, ABC, and CBS. His current scholarship addresses generational issues in organizations. A Kellogg Fellow, Casey has traveled to over 100 countries, studying the role of vision in creating diverse communities.

A Recognized Leader

Casey chairs the Centennial Athletic Conference and is on the NCAA Division III Chancellors/Presidents Advisory Group, where he serves as an advisor to the Division III Presidents Council, the highest governing body in the division. He is serving a three-year term on the Board of Directors of the American Council on Education (ACE), the major coordinating body for the nation’s colleges and universities. In 2019, he was named an Influential Marylander by The Daily Record (Baltimore, MD) for his contribution to higher education and leadership in Maryland.
 
He previously served on the Council of Independent Colleges’ (CIC) steering committee to assess the future of independent colleges and as chair of the Maryland Independent College and University Association (MICUA), the voice of independent higher education in Maryland.

Prior to the presidency at McDaniel, Casey served as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Rollins College (FL) and as associate dean and professor at Birmingham-Southern College (AL). He also co-founded the Associated Colleges of the South’s Teaching and Learning Workshop, earned distinguished teaching awards from Birmingham-Southern and Florida State University, and was nominated for the Carnegie National Professor of the Year.

A first-generation college graduate, Casey is a Phi Beta Kappan who earned an M.A. and Ph.D. in English from Florida State University and a B.A. from Furman University (SC).  

Other New Board Officers

Three other individuals were elected as Board officers, serving one-year terms expiring in February 2021:
  • Isiaah Crawford, Ph.D., president of University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, WA, will serve as vice chair of the board.  He is in line to assume the position of board chair in February 2021.
  • A Gabriel Esteban, Ph.D., president of DePaul University in Chicago, IL, has been named treasurer.
  • Michele Perkins, Ed.D., president of New England College in  Henniker, NH, has been named secretary.
  • Jo Allen, Ph.D., president of Meredith College in Raleigh, NC, has been appointed immediate past chair.

New NAICU Board Members

Eight individuals were elected to three-year terms ending in February 2022, representing the association’s eight national regions:
  • Marc M. Camille, Ed.D., president of Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, CT, will represent Region I (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont).
  • Andrea E. Chapdelaine, Ph.D., president of Hood College in Frederick, MD, will represent Region II (Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, and New York).
  • James A. Troha, Ph.D., president of Juniata College in Huntingdon, PA, will represent Region III (Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia)
  • Constance Ledoux Book, Ph.D., president of Elon University in Elon, NC, will represent Region IV (Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Caroline, Virginia).
  • Jeffrey R. Docking, Ph.D., president of Adrian College in Adrian, MI, will represent Region V (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin).
  • Mark D. La Branche, D. Min., president of Martin Methodist College in Pulaski, TN, will represent Region VI (Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas).
  • Michael P. Schneider, Ed.D., president of McPherson College in McPherson, KS, will represent Region VII (Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota).
  • Miles K. Davis, Ph.D., president of Linfield College in McMinnville, OR, will represent Region VIII (Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming).
In addition, Steven W. Eckman, D. Min., president of York College, in York, NE, will serve out the one-year term in the Class of 2021, created by the resignation of Rev. Brian Friedrich, former president of Concordia University, NE.  At the same time, Patrick F. Leahy, Ed.D., president, Monmouth University, NJ, will serve out the two-year term in the Class of 2022, created by the resignation of Christopher Kimball, Ph.D., retiring president of California Lutheran University.

Four additional individuals were named to three-year terms as at-large board members with terms ending in 2022:
  • Bryon L. Grigsby, Ph.D., president of Moravian College in Bethlehem, PA.
  • Pamela Gunter-Smith, Ph.D., president of York College of Pennsylvania in York, PA.
  • William R. Harvey, Ph.D., president of Hampton University, VA
  • Ann McElaney-Johnson, Ph.D., president of Mount Saint Mary’s University in Los Angeles, LA.
In addition, Pamela Lokken, vice chancellor of government and community relations at Washington University in St. Louis, MO, will serve out the one-year term in the Class of 2021, as an ad hoc non-voting government relations representative, created by the resignation of Thomas Dunne, former vice president of administration and government relations at Fordham University in New York, NY.  Christina West, associate vice chancellor for federal relations at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN, will serve as an ad-hoc non-voting government relations representative in the Class of 2023.

At the same time, four board members have been appointed as chairs of the association’s standing committees on policy and programs:
  • Gayle D. Beebe, Ph.D., president of Westmont College in Santa Barbara, CA, will chair the Accountability Committee.
  • Fayneese Miller, Ph.D., president of Hamline University in St. Paul, MN, will chair the Policy Analysis and Public Relations Committee.
  • Anne M. Prisco, Ph.D., president of Felician University in Lodi, NJ, will chair the Student Aid Committee.
  • W. Scott Cochran, president of Spartanburg Methodist College in Spartanburg, SC, will chair the Tax Policy Committee

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