Presidential Communications
President Bob Caslen shares his vision for academic excellence, research and diversity at the University of South Carolina.
Meet our President: Bob Caslen
Bob Caslen, the University of South Carolina’s 29th president, is a retired Army lieutenant general and former superintendent and president of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
“I am at South Carolina because of my love of the next generation of men and women who are going to be the leaders and contributors in service to their communities,” Caslen says. “I want to give back to this next generation.”
During his time at West Point, the academy was recognized as the nation’s No. 1 public college by U.S. News and World Report and Forbes magazine. After retiring from the Army in 2018, Caslen became the senior counsel to the president at the University of Central Florida and served as interim chief financial officer.
Caslen grew up in Vermont, where he worked in his family’s ski lodge business and was on the high school ski and football teams. From there, he was recruited to play football at West Point. Along with his bachelor’s degree from West Point, Caslen holds an MBA in finance from Long Island University and a master’s in industrial engineering from Kansas State University. He and his wife, Shelly, have been married for 42 years and have three sons and four grandchildren.
First Lady Shelly Caslen
Shelly Caslen grew up in Highland Falls, New York, not far from the U.S. Military Academy. She was recognized for her work with Army spouses while stationed in Hawaii. The couple has been married for 42 years and they have three sons and four grandchildren.