McDaniel Plans a Week of Celebration to Honor Inauguration of New President

There will be a week-long party on McDaniel College’s campus next week and it has nothing to do with spring break, sports or a fraternity party.

McDaniel will install its ninth president, Roger N. Casey, in an inauguration ceremony at 2:30 p.m. April 16 in Gill Learning Center. Festivities and celebrations are planned all week.

“I feel a lot of excitement about the future. I really wanted an opportunity for the college to showcase all the things we have going on," Casey said in an interview with Patch. "I’m very excited about what we have planned for the week.”

Prior to starting his presidency at McDaniel on July 1, 2010, Casey served as vice president for academic affairs and provost and as a professor of English and media studies at Rollins College in central Florida near Orlando.

According to McDaniel’s website, Casey, a Kellogg National Leadership Fellow, traveled to 16 countries over a four-year period to examine the role of vision in the creation of community. He called it a transformational experience that has instilled in him a sense of global and local responsibility.

He has studied and traveled in more than 60 countries – from Buddhist monasteries in Thailand to the Dalai Lama’s home in India, from Maya villages in Guatemala to the Rapa Nui society of Easter Island. 

“Inaugurations offer tremendous historical moments and an opportunity for the new president to show his connection to the past and the community," Casey said. "I look forward to articulating my hopes for the future.”

Highlights of the week include a “Day of Community Service,” which kicks off the week at 9 a.m. April 9; a gala Inauguration Concert at 7 p.m. April 10 in Baker Memorial Chapel; and “American Education in the 21st Century: Achievement, Accountability and Apprehension,” a discussion forum including national and local education experts at 7:30 p.m. April 12 in Decker Center Forum.

“Part of this whole process is to bring together lots of people into the academic community, both off and on campus,” James Lightner, college historian and chair of the inauguration, said in a news release. “It enables us to think about ourselves, to celebrate ourselves and to share our enthusiasm with the larger community around us.”

The inauguration week’s theme, “Changing Lives for a Changing World,” ties in with McDaniel’s slogan “Changing Lives Since 1867.”

“We say we’ve been changing lives since 1867," said Casey. "I think a lot of colleges say they change lives and they likely do but what I’ve been really struck with here is the tremendous commitment that this college has to working with the student body and giving opportunities that really can transform their lives in four years.”

“The theme rises from President Casey’s desire to celebrate contributions of McDaniel students, faculty and alumni – locally and globally – and how they have been changing and helping change lives over the years,” said Mohamed Esa, professor of German and chair of the Department of Foreign Languages, in a news release.

Many of the week’s events are open to the public, and many alumni are expected to attend.  For more information about the events, visit http://www.mcdaniel.edu/inauguration

“One thing I’ve seen, and this is not hype, it’s happening here in a tremendous way, is the connection between the alumni is astonishing," said Casey. "I don’t think I was prepared for that; there’s nothing on paper that can prepare you for that.”

McDaniel College is a private four-year college of the liberal arts and sciences founded in 1867 as Western Maryland College. There are 1,700 undergraduates and 1,300 graduate students on the 160-acre campus in Westminster. The college changed its name to McDaniel in 2002.