David J. Bauer, Ph.D.
Director
David leads the Casagrande Institute, managing day-to-day operations and drawing on more than 20 years of experience in consulting, education, and leadership. He specializes in enhancing the effectiveness of faculty compensation practices and evaluating programs funded by government agencies and private foundations. David has a broad academic background in psychology with primary emphases in behavioral neuroscience and quantitative analytics, and additional scholarly interest in moral judgment. He has a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee and a BA from Hope College.
djbauer@viterbo.edu
608-796-3617
Frank A. Casagrande
External Consultant to the Casagrande Institute
Frank brings over 40 years of combined expertise in consulting, education, and executive compensation. He led the higher education sector at Hay Group for a decade and contributed extensively to their work on executive compensation for tax-exempt organizations, following a 10-year tenure in tax benefits and actuarial services at KPMG and Buck Consultants. With roots in education as a middle and high school teacher, and roles as an adjunct professor at Rutgers and Montclair State Universities, he is also recognized as a seasoned speaker at educational association events. He holds a BS in applied mathematics, an MA in teaching, and an Executive Compensation Certificate, complementing his background as a retired enrolled actuary.
Karen Hutcheson
External Consultant to the Casagrande Institute
Karen Hutchenson is a highly respected authority in compensation consulting with over 25 years of specialization in higher education, including former leadership of higher ed practices at Mercer and Segal. She has helped over 160 institutions with strategic compensation, performance management, and HR effectiveness initiatives. Karen focuses on developing practical, competitive, and sustainable compensation and job architecture programs that align with institutional mission and resources. She holds a BA in business administration from Boston University.
Sharon Eisenmann
External Consultant to the Casagrande Institute
Sharon brings over 30 years of experience as a human resource professional including 25 years in higher education as the Chief Human Resource Officer for St. Joseph’s University and Gwynedd Mercy University working directly with senior leadership. Most recently Sharon has been consulting with institutions across the country on a variety of HR issues and initiatives. She has a BS in Education from Chestnut Hill College and a MS in Education from Gwynedd Mercy University.
Michael Williams
External Consultant to the Casagrande Institute
For the past twenty years, Mike has worked with The Austen Group, a company to which small colleges and universities outsource some of the more complicated and tedious functions of institutional research. The Austen Group has assisted more than eighty small colleges and universities in the areas of admissions, financial aid, program mix analysis, and retention and has produced the Key Indicators Tool and the Financial Indicators Tool for The Council of Independent Colleges. The Austen Group was purchased in 2015 by Ruffalo Cody which then purchased Noel Levitz and is now Ruffalo Noel Levitz. Mike returned to his own consulting practice in 2020 and also serves as Senior Advisor for Data and Benchmarking Services for The Council of Independent Colleges.
Elizabeth Svoboda, Ph.D.
External Consultant to the Casagrande Institute
Elizabeth Svoboda, PhD, has over eight years of experience conducting research and evaluation in the social, health, and education sciences to assess impactful outcomes for individuals and communities. As a program evaluator, she has managed multiple evaluation projects funded by the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Education, and nonprofit programs. Elizabeth has expertise in experimental and quasi-experimental design, mixed methods research, and psychometric methods. Elizabeth earned a Ph.D. and M.A. in Educational Psychology from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln and a B.A. in Psychology from Creighton University.
