Frank A. Cassell (G66, 68)
President, University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg

When Frank A. Cassell arrived at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg, one of Pitt's four regional campuses, the school needed to define and develop itself.

Cassell, who served from 1997 until June 30 of this year, says the board of trustees wrote him a blank check to build enrollment, upgrade the physical plant and add academic programs — as long as he made sure the check wouldn't bounce.

"I had a pretty broad mandate as long as I could raise the money," he says. "The campus had 1,150 students. We quickly ran it up to 1,700. ... We had to raise money for new buildings. We've put up 14 in 10 years. They're still building them as we speak."

Under Cassell's leadership, Greensburg broadened its academic programs, co-founded the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference in NCAA's Division III athletics and doubled its base of students residing on campus to about 600 by creating "academic villages" around humanities, behavioral sciences, natural sciences and new technologies, and international affairs. "It's a great way to enrich the undergraduate educational experience," Cassell says.

Prior to arriving in Greensburg, Cassell spent six years at Roosevelt University in the Chicago area, leading the creation of a new northwest suburban campus.

Cassell earned both a master's and doctorate in history from Northwestern, which at the time offered a four-year program, enabling him to become an assistant professor at age 26. Colleges and universities "were so short of college teachers in the '60s, largely because you had all of these Baby Boomers coming along, and [schools] were desperate to train PhDs to teach," he recalls.