Former UConn President John T. Casteen III Dies At 81

STORRS, CT — John T. Casteen III, who served at the University of Connecticut's president from 1985 to 1990, has died, school officials announced Thursday.

Casteen died Tuesday after a brief bout with pancreatic cancer at the age of 81, UConn officials said.

Casteen's presidency at UConn focused on undergraduate program reform, expansion of the graduate program and support for the research of a growing faculty — all initiatives meant to strengthen the liberal arts core of UConn.

Under his leadership, UConn had a growing emphasis on international education and scholarship, including programs in Poland and Turkey.

He also oversaw enhancements to the school's library systems and special collections, along with a series of capital and programmatic growth initiatives intended to give "a sound financial footing to a growing institution," UConn officials said.

In 1987, UConn became the first public university in New England to ascend to the top-tier ranking of Doctoral Universities-Very High Research Activity (R1) of the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.

Casteen left UConn in 1990 to become the president of the University of Virginia, a position he held for 20 years before retirement, when he was named president emeritus. Casteen had been Virginia’s secretary of education when he was named to the UConn presidency.

See more on his life on the UConn Today site.