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DePauw pays tribute to its departing president, Brian Casey
"I love, and I will always love DePauw."
That's what Brian W. Casey shared Thursday night at the conclusion of a dinner in his honor.
"I loved being your president," he told a crowd of students, faculty, staff and alumni who gathered in the DePauw University Memorial Student Union Building.
Casey, who has led the university since 2008, is stepping down at the conclusion of the current academic year to assume the presidency of Colgate University, effective July 1.
Mark McCoy, currently dean of the DePauw University School of Music, was announced March 7 as the unanimous choice of the Board of Trustees to become DePauw's 20th president following a national search. He was among those on hand for Thursday night's event.
James B. Stewart, a 1973 graduate of DePauw and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and New York Times columnist, served as master of ceremonies for the event. He joked that Casey "has been here eight years and done 16 years of work."
Stewart, who met Casey at a New York party four years before the DePauw presidency became available and persuaded him to apply for the job, also had a message for Colgate. "We got so much out of him, I hope something is left over," he quipped.
The tributes were many.
Marshall W. Reavis IV, chairman of DePauw's Board of Trustees and a 1984 graduate, offered, "Your service to this institution has been noble, you have made DePauw a more lovely place."
Bridget L. Gourley, professor of chemistry and biochemistry, read a proclamation on behalf of the faculty, praising President Casey for his "faithful and dedicated service," saying he "always had creating a better DePauw at heart."
"You helped us to dream big dreams," noted Kathryn Fortune Hubbard '74, who spoke along with her co-chair of DePauw's Presidential Transition Committee, Gregory A. Sissel '94.
Sarah Reese Wallace '76 and R. David Hoover '67, who co-chair The Campaign for DePauw, offered an update which included news that alumni and friends have donated donated $3.045 million in Casey's name to support The DePauw Trust, which provides need-based scholarship support.
DePauw senior Daniel A. Mosbarger, representing the student body, presented Casey with a book of quotations and photos submitted by students, past and present, who were on campus during the last eight years.
"You have truly changed this place for the better and impacted so many of us," Mosbarger offered. "Thank you."
President Casey, who -- among many other things -- oversaw a reforestation of the DePauw campus and transformation of Anderson Street, which leads into campus, spoke of the university's bicentennial in 2037, and how the students who will be seniors then "are babies and toddlers now."
In an emotional address at the end of the program, he noted, "They will walk under trees that we planted and they will walk on paths that we created for them."
The evening also included the screening of a tribute video created for the event. The 11-minute vignette begins with the selection of Dr. Casey in 2008, provides an overview of how he impacted the campus over the past eight years, and includes reflections as he prepares to leave Greencastle.
The piece was conceived, written and narrated by Ken Owen, executive director of media relations at DePauw, with videography and editing by Joel Bottom, communication manager in the alumni engagement office.