Dr. John T. Casteen IIIUniversity of Virginia President Emeritus Dr. John T. Casteen III, a transformative leader who dramatically expanded educational access and diversity during his 20-year tenure, died last week following a brief battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 81.
Casteen, who served as UVA’s seventh president from 1990 to 2010, was honored by Diverse: Issues In Higher Education in 2013 with the prestigious Dr. John Hope Franklin Award for his exceptional commitment to diversity and inclusion in higher education.
“John Casteen is simply inseparable from the story of UVA,” current UVA President Jim Ryan said in a statement. “As president, he transformed UVA into a world-class university. As a teacher, mentor, colleague and friend, he was beloved.”
During his two decades of leadership, Casteen oversaw significant increases in the enrollment of women, international students, and students from underrepresented minority groups. His visionary AccessUVA program dramatically expanded financial aid, opening doors for first-generation and low-income students who previously could not have considered attending the prestigious institution.
“While we had our share of challenges as students in Jefferson’s academical village, we also had one of the highest percentages of Black students amongst public institutions at that time because John made it a priority during his tenure,” remembered Dr. Paul Harris, an associate professor in the Department of Counseling and Special Education at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Born in Portsmouth, Virginia in 1943, Casteen’s journey in higher education began as a first-generation college student at UVA. This personal experience informed his passionate advocacy for educational access throughout his career. Under his leadership, UVA implemented a need-blind admissions policy and committed to meeting the full demonstrated financial need of all undergraduate students—practices that continue today.
Casteen’s administration grew the university’s endowment from $488 million to $5.1 billion, helping insulate the institution from significant state budget cuts. He also expanded academic offerings with 20 new degree programs while enhancing UVA’s global reputation and research profile.
“It is impossible to overstate the contributions John Casteen made to this university and how profound a loss his passing is for his family and for the community he loved and served so well,” UVA Rector Robert Hardie said.
Leonard W. Sandridge, who worked alongside Casteen for more than 20 years, noted that Casteen’s experience as a first-generation student drove his commitment to educational equity.
“He had an appreciation of what education could do for you, and he demonstrated that for himself,” said Sandridge. “Therefore, he wanted to make sure he did everything he could to make it available to everyone else.”
Upon his retirement in 2010, former UVA Rector W. Heywood Fralin aptly called Casteen “the father of our modern University.”