Brian W. Casey was born and raised in New Jersey. As an undergraduate at the University of Notre Dame, he earned a B.A. in philosophy and economics, was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and graduated summa cum laude, receiving the Economics Award for his class. Casey was also captain of Notre Dame's varsity swim team and was the University's "Scholar-Athlete of the Year" in 1985.
He went on to earn his J.D. from Stanford University Law School in 1988, graduating with honors. He was a member and article editor of the Stanford Law Review.
After pursuing a career in law, he earned his Ph.D. in the history of American civilization from Harvard University. His field of specialization was the history of American higher education and American intellectual history. Dr. Casey's dissertation examined "Nostalgia and the Campus: Emotion and American Higher Education, 1880-1940."
As Assistant Provost at Brown University, he was charged with academic planning across the arts and sciences. He spearheaded an initiative to introduce students to a multidisciplinary approach to the study of commerce and entrepreneurship, and to support faculty research in commerce, organizations, and entrepreneurship. He was also a key figure in efforts to develop academic programs with Brown's institutional neighbor, the Rhode Island School of Design. He also helped to develop a multidepartmental program that brought faculty, students, and visiting fellows together who were involved in the study of America's past via an international seminar that highlighted and strengthened faculty work across Brown's departments of history, English, American civilization, anthropology, Africana studies, and the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America.
As Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at Harvard University, he had responsibility for faculty appointments, recruitment and development, as well as strategic academic planning across the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. In 2008, he accepted the office of the President at DePauw University.
Brian W. Casey Papers
Inaugural Speech (Text)
Inaugural Speech (Video)