Dan Carey served as president of Edgewood College in Madison, Wis. from 2004 to 2014. He led Edgewood College through remarkable growth and progress by diversifying revenue, developing new academic programs, starting an online initiative for several graduate programs and reaching out to new student populations. Student retention rates achieved record levels while more than doubling the percentage of students of color. He developed and ran for nine years a summer program for those “Aspiring to the Presidency” with many participants now serving as presidents and chancellors.
Since retiring as president, Dan has begun work as a higher ed consultant and executive coach. He temporarily left retirement to serve for 21 months as the Interim President at Notre Dame de Namur University beginning in January 2020 at a critical juncture in the University’s history.
From 1995 to 2004, Dan served as president of Benedictine College. His success there included building enrollment and dramatic improvement in student retention. He revitalized the campus through strategic planning and a conservative budgeting philosophy. Dan served as vice president at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas and at St. Louis University.
He earned his B.A. degree from Benedictine College and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Northern Colorado. Carey attended Harvard’s Institute for Educational Management. He was awarded a Fulbright grant to study in the Federal Republic of Germany.
Dan Carey, Colonel (ret.) is a decorated Vietnam War veteran. He was a platoon leader and company commander in the U.S. Army. He later served as a squadron commander in the U.S. Air Force Reserve and retired as a full Colonel.
Dan served as chair of the board for the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. He served on the board for the Council of Independent Colleges and continues to serve on the board of the Westerman Foundation.
