Rocky Mount, N.C.— The Chairman of North Carolina Wesleyan College’s Board of Trustees, Dr. William B. Pittman, announced today the appointment of Dr. Stanley P. Caine as Interim President of the College. Dr. Caine will assume his duties in July, following the departure of Dr. Ian Newbould, who announced last March that he will leave Wesleyan to become President of Richmond, The American International University in London. Dr. Newbould has served as Wesleyan’s President since the fall of 2001.

 
“The appointment of Dr. Caine culminates an intense, extensive, and rather exhaustive search process begun very shortly after Dr. Newbould announced his pending resignation,” Dr. Pittman said.

“Dr. and Mrs. Caine plan to spend several days of orientation on campus in June and will be here permanently around the middle of July,” Dr. Pittman said. “Dr. Caine is prepared to serve as Interim President for up to a year and until a new President is appointed and assumes office.”

Dr. Caine comes to Wesleyan from Adrian College in Adrian, Michigan, where he served as President from 1987 through 2005 and was honored with President Emeritus status upon his retirement. At Adrian he proved himself an extremely capable administrator and fund-raiser. He accomplished a major library expansion/addition and looks forward to the library addition currently in progress at Wesleyan.

Prior to that, he served as Vice President for Academic Affairs and Professor of History at Hanover College for 12 years. More recently, he was Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs and Academic Dean of Wilmington College in Wilmington, Ohio, where he remains on the Board of Trustees.

“Dr. Caine is very student centered, and I understand he could call most students at Adrian College by name,” Dr. Pittman said. “He believes in the importance of athletics in the collegiate experience. Overriding is his belief in the importance of academics and particularly of academic excellence.”

Dr. Caine earned his bachelor’s degree at Macalester College, majoring in history with minors in philosophy and political science. He earned his M.A. and Ph.D. in history at the University of Wisconsin. He has published a book, The Myth of a Progressive Reform (1968), which was awarded the D.C. Everest Prize in Wisconsin Economic History. He also has authored numerous articles and book reviews and has received many awards and honors. In the year he retired from Adrian College, the newly completed student center was named for him.

“Dr. Caine and his wife, Karen, are very excited about the opportunities and challenges presented by this appointment,” Dr. Pittman said. “They consider themselves a team, and both are enthusiastic. Mrs. Caine volunteered her time to coach the tennis team at Adrian and continues to coach a high school tennis team in the community. Both she and Dr. Caine are very energetic, intellectually curious, and dedicated to the advancement and well-being of young people. They have both been quite active in their present community.

"I am confident that Dr. Caine will serve the College well in this interim period and that he will provide outstanding leadership as we go forward in carrying out our special mission,” Dr. Pittman said.

North Carolina Wesleyan’s Board of Trustees is currently in the process of appointing a search committee of trustees, faculty, staff, alumni, and students that will first be tasked with selecting an academic search firm to work with the committee in finding candidates for the position of Wesleyan President. Candidates selected will then be presented to the Board of Trustees for consideration.

“We find ourselves faced with challenging opportunities for new beginnings and new directions,” Dr. Pittman said. “We want to take full advantage of this special time.”