Biography

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. He went on to earn his J.D. from Stanford University Law School in 1988, graduating with honors. 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.

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. In addition, he 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 July 2008, he was appointed the President of DePauw University. In the intervening months, he has spearheaded intensive conversations across the community regarding the further invigoration of the University’s intellectual life, current and long-term campus planning and the ways and places in which community members interact on campus.