President Brian Casey reflects on his eight years as president in front of a sparsely populated Thompson Hall Sunday night. Casey answered questions from students and explained the progress he made during his tenure. SAM CARAVANA / THE DEPAUW
Sunday marked the first ‘Tiger Talk’ with University President Brian Casey and DePauw students, hosted by DePauw Student Government. DSG established this event to encourage dialogue between Casey and the DePauw community, to discuss the development of the campus and community and to address the challenges the next president will face.
And while those who attended found the 45-minute presentation and the following question and answer session meaningful and informative, only about thirty individuals total--students, faculty and staff combined--made it out to the event in Thompson Hall.
“I expected there to be a lot more people there,” sophomore senator Tom McEvily said. “I was expecting a full crowd with people standing in the back.”
Casey remained unfazed by the turnout, though. He addressed the DePauw 2020 plan, specifically examining the quality of the students, the quality and nature of the academic programs, the experience of the students and the layout of campus. He said that when he arrived in 2008, the same academic curriculum had been in place since 1982. In his second year as president, he made a point to revamp the academic programs and curriculum. Another revision is scheduled for the 2016-17 academic year, though details of that revision remain foggy.
The financial health of DePauw was also a big talking point. Students learned that endowments, tuition, and gifts are the main monetary sources for the University.
“Alumni give roughly seven million dollars to the University that can go towards anything,” Casey said. “The University spends $40,408 on average per student a year. The average net tuition is $18,892 per student, meaning the university loses $21,516 per student.”
Casey said that one of the next major funding projects will go toward putting a stop to skyrocketing tuition costs, making endowments even more essential.
Also essential to improving DePauw? “Emerging common spaces away from residential halls,” according to Casey. Casey and his administration wanted to dedicate funding to spaces that all students will have a use for so they--along with faculty and staff--can enjoy it together; hence the construction of Hoover Hall, the Welch Fitness Center, The Hubbard Center and the future reconstruction of Roy O’ West Library.
When asked to reflect on his presidency, Casey simply said, “I am proud of many things but disappointed in more.”
“I am far more emotional than I thought and I think the conversations are richer now. ...In terms of challenges, September 23, 2015 comes to mind and how wrong I got it,” he said with regards to the campus climate conversations sparked by the multiple visits from Brother Jeb protesters.
“My eyesight is better now,” he said. “It's all about relationships. You have to know these people.”
And while Casey has certainly gotten to know members of the student body over the years and what their needs are, he also looks to the next president to solve some of the challenges that Casey himself was not able to accomplish in his eight years: finish the Campaign for DePauw, finish the planning and implementation of a five year diversity and inclusion plan, build a relationship with the city of Greencastle, invest in faculty, create new academic programs and build new residential housing.
“You take care of [the University] the best you can and then you hope the next person will come in and do the same,” he said.
When the presentation ended, students took turns posing questions they might not have otherwise gotten the chance to ask the outgoing president.
“I have a new appreciation for President Casey after hearing about all the things he has done for DePauw,” sophomore Forrest Nettles said after the event. “What a true legend.”
McEvily appreciated the talk not because it opened his eyes to what Casey has done for DePauw, but rather what Casey sees as his faults.
“While his accomplishments are numerous, he was not afraid to admit he failed in some aspects as well,” McEvily said. “It gave me a new appreciation for what he’s done for the school. The next president has some big shoes to fill.”
And while the crowd was small, McEvily thinks that may have served the event well.
“Because there weren’t as many people there, it created a more personal atmosphere,” he said. “At one point [Casey] just sat down on the stage with his legs dangling off of it.”
As Casey sat at the edge of that stage, leaning back on his palms and coming face-to-face with the students to whom he has dedicated the last eight years of his life, he admitted that he by no means accomplished everything that he did on his own.
“What I have learned the most since being President is that you can't do anything alone,” he said. “You have to get a lot of people working together to complete a vision. ...start important conversations, intellectual conversations, conversations about diversity and who we are as a community.”
-Julie Block also contributed to this article.