Dr. Frank A. Cassell is Professor Emeritus and President Emeritus at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg.  He earned the B.A. degree at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana, and his M.A. and Ph. D. degrees at Northwestern University.  He taught and served as an administrator at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Roosevelt University in Chicago before taking the presidency at Pitt-Greensburg.

Cassell has published books and articles on the colonial and early national periods of American history, the Columbian Exposition of 1893, social history in Indiana in the 19th century, and his experiences as a university president. He has also won awards for excellence in teaching, outstanding historical research, and community service.  The Florida Book Awards awarded his book about the Palmer family in Sarasota County, Suncoast Empire, the 2017 silver award for nonfiction.

He retired and moved to Sarasota with his spouse, Beth, in 2007 and now serves as a member of the Sarasota County Historical Commission and on the board of the History and Preservation Coalition of Sarasota County. His latest book, Creating Sarasota County, was written to provide historical support for the Sarasota County Centennial 2021 celebration.