Casteen Steers to Retirement, But Still Studies Sagas and Champions Change

Sagas tell stories of history, of family matters and religious lives, exploration and raiding, settlement and law in medieval Iceland. Along with creating a rich culture, early writers left remarkably vivid and accurate stories of the brutality of their times, Casteen said.

As he offers an example of a saga’s narrative, before you know it, he has drawn you in to one of these tales.

The story of Melkorka in the Laxardal Saga depicts the slave trade of Irish and other women that was prevalent at the time. An Irish princess, Melkorka was kidnapped by Rus Vikings who came down from Russia, and was taken to a slave market in Gothenburg’s southern archipelago off the west coast of what’s now Sweden. An Icelandic chieftain bought her and made her his concubine. When he returned to Iceland, he gave her to his wife as a personal servant.

Irish women were often enslaved this way, Casteen said. Melkorka pretended to be deaf and unable to speak, but was caught teaching her son to read and write, speaking Irish and Norse.

Her son – called Olaf the Peacock for dressing as Melkorka did – found his Irish grandfather, returned to Iceland to become a free man, and played a major role in Icelandic affairs in the late 10^th and early 11^th centuries. 

Melkorka becomes important in promoting freedom, Casteen said. Her name shows up in different place names. The saga in which she appears is the only ancient one now generally thought to have been written by a woman. 

Casteen described a three-year project he’ll now have more time for: to create a digital resource that would include a database about Icelandic sagas, writers, material culture and what the world was like when they wrote these stories.

Previously, Casteen taught graduate seminars in the School of Education and Human Development on higher education governance and politics, and also taught students in the School of Architecture’s long-running Venice study-abroad program on that Italian city as a cultural icon.

Before becoming UVA’s president, some of the other roles and positions held show his breadth of experience. After his first faculty job at the University of California-Berkeley, he came back to serve as UVA’s dean of admission from 1975 to 1982. Then-Virginia Gov. Chuck Robb appointed him the state’s Secretary of Education, and he served for three years until moving on to lead the University of Connecticut as its president. After five years there, Casteen came back to his academic home, becoming UVA’s seventh president.

Along the way, he served on a range of boards and nonprofit education organizations, including the Association of Governing Boards of Colleges and Universities, the American Council on Education and the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

It appears he won’t have much trouble filling his time continuing to follow the scholarly interests that he cultivated while an undergraduate student on Grounds in the 1960s.

Casteen was a first-generation college student from Portsmouth when he arrived on Grounds in 1961. After earning his B.A. in English, he attained master’s and doctoral degrees by 1970.

Casteen has long made a point of emphasizing that the admission of women and African American students made UVA a much better university, setting it on the path toward academic excellence. Their contributions have transformed the academic culture in fundamental ways, he said.

“In 1961, the ‘Old U’ was simply a boys’ school. Many took pride in being backward, and they didn’t want to change,” Casteen said about his undergraduate cohort, many of whom resisted coeducation and some of whom opposed desegregation. Casteen said they were “profoundly wrong” in that regard. “Just harking back to past glory is wasting time,” he said.

“Change has brought the best things. … The whole system keeps getting better.”

“John Casteen worked tirelessly to ensure a strong UVA, not only for the present, but for future generations,” current UVA President Jim Ryan, who was a faculty member in the School of Law during Casteen’s presidency, wrote in email. “His vision for a more inclusive, more dynamic University was key to expanding access and opportunity for countless students. His forward-thinking investments in infrastructure fueled growth in research and teaching, and it continues to enhance the life of the University. Indeed, we all continue to benefit from John’s foresight and remarkable leadership.”

Casteen referenced alumni who have recently published memoirs about UVA during this decade: Frank Briggs’ “The Old U(VA) and I: 1961-1965” and Joel Gardner, for whose book “From Rebel Yell to Revolution” Casteen wrote a blurb. Gardner participated in the “Double Take” virtual storytelling event on March 5, talking about the significance of protest at UVA in the late 1960s and early ’70s.

In addition to changing student demographics, Casteen noted other top changes that took place at UVA over the years, and especially under his watch, that have made UVA better.

Computing developments and other investments, he said, have contributed to growth in the sciences and medical research, as well as in libraries, digital humanities and electronic publishing.

“While we invested in buildings in those days,” Casteen said, “the more important steps were investing in top people and in the digital infrastructure that they needed for their scholarly work.”

During his 20-year tenure, the University built or rebuilt around 135 buildings. One of his legacies, the expansion of the arts precinct off Rugby Road, was officially named the Betsy and John Casteen Arts Grounds to recognize their support.

He called the growth of UVA’s College at Wise extraordinary and credited the institution for making stronger connections to the community and bettering Southwest Virginia’s economic future. Also under Casteen, the seeds were planted for UVA to offer academic programs in other areas like Northern Virginia, plus begin to make stronger ties with the local community.

Casteen found one unique way to participate in University life during the coronavirus pandemic through President Jim Ryan’s “Arts on the Hill” program. Calling it “a household project,” he said his wife recorded him as he read Shakespeare’s sonnet 98 for the final spring 2020 episode, posted on May 24. (His reading starts at 10:25 in the video.)

The pace of being president made it harder to keep up with people, he said, and he is glad to stay in contact with other colleagues who are retired, such as former Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Leonard Sandridge and communications director Carol Wood.

“There’s nothing like watching people’s grandchildren succeed,” he added.

One of his 11 grandchildren, in fact, is a second-year UVA student, and her father teaches in the English department. They recently stopped by and made dinner for him, Casteen said.

When the pandemic prompted the quarantine, he and Betsy were at their house in Maine and stayed there until the fall. They have gone there each summer; their grown children come visit with their children. He has kept a small lobster boat for the family that has run better than any other boat or car he has owned, he said.

He and his wife will go back soon when the weather up north gets nicer.

They have both received COVID vaccinations. He said it was a moving and affirming experience to see so many UVA volunteers at work, including the doctor from UVA’s Student Health department who gave him the shot.

At this point, Casteen seems to have made peace with time.

“At 77, you know you’re not the future,” he said, “but you’re a lot more interested in the future.”