Our mission at Otterbein is to educate the whole person. The Academic Affairs Division oversees the curricular and educational programs that fulfill this mission.

Academic Affairs Division

The Academic Affairs Division provides leadership for and oversight of programs and services that support student learning and experiences, programmatic initiatives, faculty support, and policies and regulation.

Wendy Sherman Heckler

Greetings from the Provost

Let me tell you what I love most about Otterbein: the people I get to learn from and with, every single day. I am continually in awe of students, faculty, and staff who are committed to, and actively engaged in, improving everything and everyone around them. In class, a student challenges me to interpret readings and arguments in unexpected ways. In a committee meeting, faculty, staff and students work side by side to scrutinize a newly-proposed process and imagine potential opportunities and oversights in its enactment. At a faculty gathering, I learn about how a colleague is applying research she conducted with her students to help enhance health and wellness in our surrounding community. Walking through The Point, I eavesdrop on a discussion in which students are working alongside industry professionals to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the a newly designed technology. This is our campus.

Although my official responsibility is for our academic degree programs, our experiential learning initiatives, and all of the offices and centers that support student learning, I work regularly with others in all corners of campus. That’s because Otterbein is about more than what happens in our classrooms and academic spaces. Together, we aspire to be a model community of educators, leaders, and learners who set the pace for higher education and contribute to the common good. I invite you to explore what we have to offer, and to take your place in our dedicated, awe-inspiring community.

– Wendy Sherman-Heckler, Ph.D., Provost and Senior Vice President

Enrichment Programs

On campus, we are in constant dialogue about the events and ideas that surround us, locally and globally. Each year, we create multiple opportunities for our community to learn from prominent visitors to Otterbein, as well as from our faculty, staff, and students. You can also take advantage of the chance to visit our learning partners in programs outside of Ohio. Explore with us!

College is about so much more than choosing a major. It is about becoming a scholar, a dreamer, a thinker. We don’t teach you the answers, we help you understand how to ask the questions.