Vice President for Student Affairs Jim Caswell has announced he will retire effective May 31, 2007.

He made the announcement at the close of a Division of Student Affairs fall staff retreat Thursday, Aug. 3.

“I’m at the official retirement age at SMU,” Caswell said in a phone interview with The Daily Campus. “I’m very nostalgic. Two-thirds of my life has been here at SMU.”

Caswell said he made the decision to retire and informed University President R. Gerald Turner of the decision at the time of his annual evaluation in April.

Caswell, who will be 65 in October, has been a part of the SMU community for more than 40 years. He began the association as an undergraduate in the fall of 1959.

Turner has appointed Tom Barry, vice president for executive affairs, to head up the search committee. Barry said two steps have been taken to get the search underway. First, a national search consultant, Academic Search, Inc. was retained to help identify leading candidates for the position. Second, a group of faculty, students and staff have been contacted and asked to serve on the search committee.

Barry declined to name the members of the search committee because they have not all accepted the invitation, but Student Body President Taylor Russ said he has accepted an invitation to serve on the committee.

Russ said he is sad to be seeing Caswell leave, but added Caswell has assured him that this school year will be the “year of the students,” and there will be many new student affairs initiatives put in place.

“This is his year to go out with a bang,” said Russ.

Russ added that he hopes the search committee will find a candidate who is not only experienced, but also is passionate about working with students.

Turner said Caswell would be very difficult to replace because of his vast experience and history with the university, as well as the many tasks his job encompasses.

“There are so many things [Caswell does] we take for granted,” Turner said.

Turner added that because Caswell is an alumnus of SMU, as well as an ordained Methodist minister on top of his role as a university vice president, he is an individual “students from over four decades tie back to.”

Among his greatest contributions to the university include his involvement in the construction of the Hughes-Trigg Student Center and the Dedman Center for Lifetime Sports.

Caswell said the organizational changes in the Division of Student Affairs implemented over the summer were made, in part, to “set the stage” for his successor.

Dee Siscoe, associate vice president for student affairs and dean of student life, said Caswell “has provided leadership for the university for a long time,” and described him as someone who is “passionate about students.”

Siscoe said that while she has aspirations of being a vice president in her career, she is unsure if she would pursue Caswell’s position. She added that whoever replaces Caswell would “have to be interested in student empowerment,” and “really want to help students grow outside of the classroom.”

Turner said he had no preference as to whether Caswell’s successor comes from inside the university or from an external source; his main concern is finding the most qualified candidate.

Caswell’s successor will have a role in the upcoming Centennial Campaign, but Turner said just because he is retiring, Caswell is not off the hook.

“I intend for Dr. Caswell to be helping us,” said Turner. “He may be retiring from his role as vice president, but he’s not disappearing.”

Arlene Manthey, who was recently appointed to the position of student affairs development officer this summer, called Caswell a “pillar of this institution,” and added it will be difficult to see him leave.

“I’m thankful I’ve had the opportunity to have worked with Dr. Caswell, learned from him – I’m so fortunate for the opportunity,” Manthey said.

Ryan Williams, coordinator of student activities and Greek affairs, said he was “excited for him [Caswell] and excited for the university.” Williams added Caswell would be remembered as someone “who had a significant impact on the university and is known for his work in student affairs, specifically fraternity and sorority affairs, around the country.”

Caswell, who holds a Master of Sacred Theology and a Bachelor of Divinity from the Perkins School of Theology, said he is in discussions with St. Andrew United Methodist Church in Plano to take a position there after he leaves SMU.

Caswell earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from SMU before attending Perkins School of Theology. He also holds masters’ and doctoral degrees from Columbia University.

While he was a student, he worked at the SMU bookstore in the textbook department and later served as a residence hall director.

After graduating, Caswell served in various capacities in the Division of Student Affairs before being named vice president of the division in 1988 by former university president A. Kenneth Pye.