Rev. Monsignor Franklyn M. Casale became president of St. Thomas University in April 1994. Prior to joining St. Thomas University, Msgr. Casale was the vicar general, chancellor and moderator of the Curia of the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey.

He is active in a wide range of community organizations and has been a significant presence in Miami since his arrival. His involvements also include the Archdiocese of Miami; Board of Governors for the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce; Academic Leaders Council of the Beacon Council; One Community One Goal; Holocaust Documentation and Education Center Inc.; member of the Orange Bowl Committee; and he was appointed by former Gov. Jeb Bush to serve on the Governor’s Haiti Advisory Group. He is the spokesperson on human trafficking for the Institute for Intercultural Human Rights at St. Thomas University School of Law, and has testified before the United States Congress on the reauthorization of the human trafficking act.

Msgr. Casale’s leadership positions in higher education associations include, chair of the board of directors, Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities; board of trustees, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges; governing board, Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities; President’s Council of Independent Colleges & Universities of Florida; Florida Association of Colleges & Universities; and Haiti-Tech, an organization he helped found that organizes and maintains a vocational/technical school in Haiti and educates more 700 students yearly.

He received his B.A. in humanities with a concentration in philosophy from Seton Hall University, a bachelor’s in sacred theology from the Catholic University in Washington, D.C., and a master’s of divinity from the Immaculate Conception Seminary in Darlington, New Jersey.