University of Virginia President John T. Casteen III will be the guest speaker at the eighth annual Walter Ridley Scholarship Event at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Virginia Historical Society, 428 N. Boulevard. Former Gov. Gerald L. Baliles will moderate “An Evening with U.Va. President John Casteen,“ a reception, silent auction and forum sponsored by the U.Va. Club of Richmond.

Teresa A. Sullivan, a sociologist praised for the extensive range of her experience in higher education, takes over Aug. 1 as U.Va.‘s eighth president.

Teresa A. Sullivan will succeed President John T. Casteen III on Aug. 1 as head of the state flagship university. She has been provost and executive vice president for academic affairs for the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, since 2006.

A 19-member committee has been appointed to find a successor to University of Virginia President John T. Casteen III, who will retire Aug. 1, 2010. Serving on the committee are nine members of the board of visitors, six faculty members, two former rectors and two students. R. William Funk & Associates of Dallas will assist in the presidential search.

In 1962, Douglas MacArthur delivered his farewell address to cadets at the United States Military Academy. He opened, “As I was leaving the hotel this morning, a doorman asked me, ‘Where are you bound for, General?‘ and when I replied, ‘West Point,‘ he remarked, ‘Beautiful place, have you ever been there before?‘“ We can envision a similar scene in which John Casteen leaves a Charlottesville hotel and tells the doorman he is on his way to the University of Virginia.

March 9, 1990—Casteen is named U.Va. president after a five-month search that included 150 candidates. He is inaugurated Oct. 6.
  Jan. 29, 1991—U.Va. makes public a decision by Casteen to broaden its nondiscrimination policy to include homosexuals.
  Feb. 12, 1991—Casteen orders the university’s law school to rescind its ban on recruiters from military and government agencies.

University of Virginia President John T. Casteen III will retire next summer after 20 years at the helm of one of the nation’s Public Ivies. Calling his time at U.Va. “magical,“ Casteen, 65, told the board of visitors yesterday that he will step down Aug. 1, 2010, and said he is “eager to applaud what comes next.“ Under Casteen’s leadership, the university founded by Thomas Jefferson has consistently ranked at the top of academic standings.