Lt. Gen. Robert L. Caslen (Ret.) is a United States veteran who served in the U.S. Army for 43 years. His military career culminated in 2018 as the 59th superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point. He also served as the 29th president of the University of South Carolina.
Under his direction as Superintendent, the Academy was recognized as the Number One public college in the nation by Forbes Magazine and the Number One public college by U.S. News and World Report. Caslen refined West Point’s leadership program with a focus on professional ethics as an essential part of leadership and character development.
As the University of South Carolina’s president, Caslen successfully led the university through its most challenging period, the 2020-21 Pandemic. Keeping the university’s strategic plan functional during the pandemic, the university remained open, profited an additional 50 million dollars, opened a national on-line program, increased its enrollment applications by 21%, and hired the most diverse senior executive staff in the history of the University.
Working with the West Point Director of Athletics, Caslen revamped the athletic program, made it self-sustaining, and fielded 25 competitive intercollegiate teams. He created partnerships with the NCAA and Department of Defense to conduct research into preventing and treating concussions and traumatic brain injury that have led to significant improvements in prevention and care. And, fulfilling a pledge he made soon after becoming Superintendent, he led a sweeping reversal of Army’s football program and developed a culture of excellence through winning with character, culminating in Army defeating Navy in 2016 for the first time in 14 years, and beating both Air Force and Navy in 2017 to win the Commander-in-Chief’s trophy for the first time in 21 years, as well as 100 national and conference championships in team sport athletics.
Before becoming the West Point Superintendent, Caslen served in numerous combat and overseas deployments to include operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, Central America, Honduras, and Haiti. Caslen also served as the Commandant of the Army’s Senior Staff College.
Lt. Gen Caslen holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Long Island University and a Master of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from Kansas State University. He is currently earning his doctorate in business management from Salem University, where he also serves as one of their trustees. He is a Distinguished Graduate of the United States Military Academy, a member of the Kansas State Engineering College Hall of Fame, recognized for a Life Time of Service Award from the American Red Cross, the 2018 Gerald R. Ford Legends Award for lifetime service as a former football offensive center, the NCAA Theodore Roosevelt Award for a former NCAA student-athlete who is a distinguished citizen of national reputation exemplifying the ideals to which collegiate athletics programs and amateur sports competition are dedicated, and was recognized with an honorary Doctorate from Long Island University. Caslen is also the honored recipient of UNICO’s Fornelli award – the largest Italian-American service organization recognizing the most distinguished military service of Italian-Americans. He is also the co-author of The Character Edge – Leading and Winning with Integrity, and has recently published The Impossible Mission, which is about the drawdown of U.S. forces in Iraq.
Lt. Gen Caslen is married to the former Michele Pastin, from Highland Falls, N.Y. for 47 years and has 3 adult sons and 5 grandchildren.