Administration and Board of Trustees

President

President Kathy A. Krendl took office July 1, 2009, becoming Otterbein College's 20th president. She is the first woman to lead Otterbein, a school with a rich history of inclusiveness. Otterbein was one of the first schools to admit women on an equal basis with men, and has admitted women to its full-time academic programs since its founding in 1847.

President Krendl received her bachelor's degree in English from Lawrence University (Wisconsin), her master's degree in journalism from The Ohio State University and her doctorate degree in communication from the The University of Michigan. After holding teaching positions at Ohio State, Southern Illinois, and Indiana University, President Krendl joined Ohio University in 1996 as a professor of Telecommunications and dean of the University's Scripps College of Communication. In 2004, she was appointed provost and became responsible for 11 colleges on the University's main campus. In 2007, she was promoted to executive vice president and provost.

President Krendl was chosen to lead Otterbein following an eight-month nationwide search by a 14-person Search Committee. The Committee included representatives from all Otterbein constituencies, including trustees, faculty, students, administrators, support staff and alumni.

President Krendl is joined at Otterbein by her husband, Richard Gilbert, who will take on teaching duties beginning in the fall of 2009. Gilbert has worked in university press book publishing, holds a master's degree in creative nonfiction writing from Goucher College and was a Kiplinger Fellow in Journalism at Ohio State.

The couple has one son, Tom, a college sophomore, and one daughter, Claire, who attends Penn State.

Also see the Office of the President site.

Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost
Abíódún Gòkè-Paríolá
agoke-pariola@otterbein.edu
(614) 823-1556

Vice President for Academic Affairs and PRovost Abíódún Gòkè-Paríolá joined the College in 2006. Prior to assuming his current position he served as Dean of the Evans School of Humanities and Social Sciences and Professor of English at Berry College, in Rome, Georgia. Before then, he was Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs and Professor of English at Georgia Southern University. He began his career in higher education 33 years ago, and has held faculty and administrative positions at several universities and colleges in the United States and abroad. The author of over 30 scholarly articles and a book, he holds a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Ife, Nigeria, and a doctorate in English language and literature from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Dave Mead has been Vice President for Business Affairs at Otterbein College since 2006. He has oversees accounting and finance, human resources, information technology, and campus facilities. He has thirty years of experience in accounting and finance specifically with strategic planning, benchmarking, and financial analysis. He has had extensive experience with mergers and acquisitions including financial modeling, negotiations and transition implementation. He has also managed new debt and equity securities offerings.

Mead earned his undergraduate business degree from Otterbein College and his MBA from Xavier University and is also a Certified Public Accountant. Mead started his career at Arthur Andersen & Co. in Columbus, Ohio. He then joined Huntington Bancshares Incorporated in Columbus, Ohio as Controller. Mead then served as Chief Financial Officer for two publicly traded institutions, Capital Holdings, Inc. in Toledo, Ohio and First Place Financial Corporation in Youngstown, Ohio.

Prior to his present position he was Associate Professor of Finance at Marietta College. Mead currently serves on the board of directors and compensation committee of Peoples Bancorp, Inc., a publicly traded bank holding company headquartered in Marietta, Ohio. He is a member of Financial Executives International and currently a director of the Central Ohio Chapter. He is also a member of the Ohio Society of Certified Public Accountants.

Thomas H. Stein, better known as Tom, currently serves as Vice President for Enrollment at Otterbein College. He was hired in June, 1992 after serving eight years at Bethany College in West Virginia as the Dean of Admission. Tom began his career in higher education as an admission counselor at his alma mater, Ohio Northern University, and soon discovered that higher education was his passion. He earned his master's degree in administration from the University of Dayton and his doctoral of Philosophy in Higher Education from the University of Toledo. Tom has served in leadership positions within state organizations, state boards and committees, and numerous local educational entities.

Bob Gatti began his career at Otterbein in 1978 as a residence hall director, progressively moving to various positions until 1992, when he was appointed Vice President and Dean for Student Affairs. He oversees a variety of areas including the Office of Residence Life, Student Conduct and Wellness, Center for Community Engagement, Center for Career Planning, chaplain, counseling, food service, diversity, university health services, international studies, security, athletics, and Greek life.