Pasadena City College President Casey to Retire

Pasadena City College President John W. Casey has announced that he will resign on Dec. 31.

Casey said Thursday that a back injury from an automobile accident that occurred the year after he took his post in 1983 has forced early retirement at age 59 from his $83,000-a-year post.

“While I had planned to be here for a much longer period of time, the persistent pain is more than I am willing to tolerate,” Casey said. He said his doctor recommended that he retire.

Surprise Announcement

School officials said the news took them by surprise. College Vice President Henry P. Kirk and Faculty Senate President Harry Kawahara praised Casey’s leadership, which began at a time when the college was in the midst of a financial crisis and torn by faculty unrest.

Kirk said the school is now on a sound financial footing that that relations with teachers are much improved.

Kirk said Casey introduced and strengthened several programs during his three-year tenure, including one that this year sent 44 Pasadena City College students and three faculty members to Oxford for one semester. Casey introduced a program of discussions with state legislators, streamlined the administration and restored several faculty positions that had been cut, Kirk said.

Joseph Sargis, president of the college’s Board of Trustees, praised Casey’s leadership. “His professionalism has enhanced the entire operation of the college,” he said.

A community college that awards associate of arts degrees in a wide variety of programs and prepares students for transfer to four-year colleges, Pasadena City College has maintained an enrollment of 18,500 for several years.

Casey said the Assn. of Community College Trustees will send a representative to the board meeting Thursday to offer help in the search for a new president.