BETH A. CASEY, 1935-2010: Professor started BGSU's liberal studies

Beth A. Casey, 75, of Bowling Green, a longtime Bowling Green State University administrator and instructor of literature and Canadian studies who created the university's first general studies curriculum, died last Monday at Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center.

Friends said it is likely she died of complications from a stroke.

She had no previous health problems, was avid about healthful eating and exercise, and was planning a trip to Sicily weeks from now.

Though she retired as director for the general education program at the university in 2002, she continued working full time until January, teaching courses in literature and film.

She discussed the importance of a well-rounded education with a reporter for The Blade in 2000.

"We say it's to prepare people to be active citizens," she said. "They shouldn't be fooled by scientific expertise. They should know how the economy works. They should understand other cultures and be prepared to deal with the world."

Ms. Casey created the current general or liberal studies program - which was held up as a national model for other universities - after being hired at BGSU in 1978 as director for curriculum development.

"I don't think people at Bowling Green would really understand what a gem they had in this woman until they went away to a conference, and [people] would say, 'Wow, Beth Casey is really considered a force in general education.' She had much more of a national reputation than people realized," said longtime friend Diane Regan, Fulbright Scholarship adviser at BGSU. "Beth was talking about integrated studies before anybody really thought about it."

Born July 23, 1935, and raised in Matamoras, Pa., Ms. Casey received a bachelor's degree from Penn State University in 1957 and master's and PhD degrees from Columbia University of New York in 1978.

During the course of her own education, Ms. Casey taught English literature at the University of Rochester, Bard College, and Empire State College, all in upstate New York. She was associate dean at Hobart and William Smith Colleges for two years before she was hired at BGSU.

She leaves behind an "army of friends," said longtime pal and professor emeritus in education, Adelia Peters, who was on the selection committee that hired Ms. Casey.

She was chosen for "her intellect and ability to weave together ideas from many different sources," Ms. Peters said. "She could pull from the philosophy and history of many different groups to get people thinking."

Ms. Casey was a coveted travel companion known for researching the culture and history of her destination before takeoff, Ms. Regan said. "I always made sure I sat next to Beth, and we would eat together and we would walk the sites because this woman was a great source about all that we saw."

Colleague and friend Tom Klein, who retired as an English instructor at the university in 2006, said Ms. Casey easily engaged her students in the classroom.

"I think that her curiosity and her passion related to the field that she was teaching," he said. "She had an encyclopedic capacity for knowledge, and I think she got her students excited about what she was excited about."

Ms. Casey held leadership roles in the Association for General and Liberal Studies and the Association for Integrative Studies.

Funeral and memorial services will be held at 11 a.m. Sept. 9 at St. Mark's Lutheran Church in Bowling Green.

Tributes may be made through the BGSU Foundation Inc. for scholarships she established: the Mae W. Casey scholarship in creative writing, Thomas A. Casey scholarship in literature, the Beth A. Casey Scholarship, or Canadian Lecture Fund.