Otterbein University

Awards and Recognition

Otterbein’s community service is getting attention from all over the country, including the White House. We first landed on the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll in 2006, its inaugural year, as a finalist for Excellence in General Community Service. In 2007, we won top honors. Since then, we have been recognized with distinction on the honor role each year. In 2010, Washington Monthly named us a Top 50 school for contributions to the public good.

In 2012, we were named a finalist for the President’s Award for General Community Service as part of the 2012 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll through the Corporation for National and Community Service. Otterbein is the only school in Ohio to be honored as a finalist this year. Read more.

Center for Community Engagement Student Awards

The Center for Community Engagement also recognizes those who contribute the most to service on campus. The DeVore Humanitarian Award and the Citizen Award are two ways we honor our volunteers.

Student Awards

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DeVore Humanitarian Award
The Carl and Helen DeVore Memorial Humanitarian Award was established in 1995 to recognize a junior or senior student for outstanding commitment to public service. It acknowledges a spectrum of efforts, from individual service to the ability to create an organization and involve others. The award recognizes results accomplished through the student's initiative and his or her ability to translate ideas into practical results. The award is named after Otterbein Past-President C. Brent DeVore's mother and father and was funded in their memory by his family and friends.

2011 Award Recipients
Danielle Fabian served for three years as the CardinalCorps Leader Event Coordinator for all of our annual service activities, including planning the logistics, advertising, outreach, and recruitment efforts. Danielle provided incomparable leadership for her Troop 1847 Service Organization. She designed events and weekly programming for a highly diverse group of student volunteers and young girl scouts whose mothers are incarcerated. She received the Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter Foundation Academic Service Entrepreneur grant for her project “Granola Girls” to fund supplies for the girls to learn more about their bodies, explore wellness and health education, and teach others about new pathways to healthy lifestyles. Danielle travelled to Mexico, where she served as a Spanish interpreter worked with individuals who lack access to consistent and adequate health care. She will leave behind at Otterbein a legacy of service, a phenomenal service program, and several cohorts of volunteers touched by her commitment to strengthening the wellness of our community.

Lucas Homan serves as a tireless, enthusiastic leader of Sports Pals, working with Avalon Elementary school youth on character building activities and friendship. He is a past Vernon Pack Fellow, which allowed him to develop a community-based research project as part of Sports Pals. Lucas brings a great energy and dynamic to the CCL group. As a Nursing major, Lucas took his nursing skills to an international level, traveling to Quito, Ecuador and Nuevo Progreso, Mexico. Not only did he gain a deeper appreciation for culture and diversity, but he had the opportunity to serve in health clinics and provide education and care to a community. Here at home, Lucas has been instrumental in the success of the community garden this year, taking on total responsibility for various projects and being a gardening resource. He volunteers with our Westerville Schools garden programs, Germinators and SOIL, connecting immediately with the kids and getting them even more excited about being in the garden. Lucas is confident, responsible, and dependable and inspires those around him to become involved in service as well.

Previous DeVore Humanitarian Award Recipients
2011 - Danielle Fabian & Lucas Homan
2010 - Breanna Watzka
2009 - Chelsea Merriman & Whitney Prose
2008 - Lindsey Schramm
2007 - Katie Starling
2006 - Colleen Shaver
2005 - Lauren Suveges
2004 - Jon Juravich
2003 - Shawn Robinson
2002 - Jason Jenkins
2001 - Tricia Johnson
2000 - Joyce Ray & Katie Thompson
1999 - Melissa Johnson & Katie Pearce
1998 - Jessica Shultz
1997 - Nicole Buran
1996 - Simeon Frazier
1995 - Zenia Dacio

Nominate Someone for the Award
Faculty, staff and students may submit nominations to be reviewed by the committee. The committee will recommend up to two recipients to the university president, who will make the final selection(s) based on the following criteria:
- Has exemplified the mission of Otterbein Community Engagement through a committment to social justice, life-long learning, and community development.
- Has shown evidence of outstanding public service during his or her time at Otterbein.
- Has developed an effective approach to social, educational, environmental, health, and economic or legal issue within the community.
Citizen Awards
Established in 2005, the Citizen Awards recognize exemplary contributions of service to the community. Five awards are given each year to students, staff, faculty, and a community partner who are commendable citizens who display the values that lie in Otterbein’s mission to develop the whole person. They achieve this through:
- A high level of social conscience
- Commitment to the welfare of others outside of one’s immediate sphere
- The willingness to commit time and energy to enhance the human condition
- The ability to work collectively for social justice
- An understanding of the richness of diversity
- An intention to create broad social or institutional change
Previous Citizen Awards Recipients
2010-2011 Recipients
Patti Wilson (Citizen Teacher)
Paula Russell (Citizen Community Partner)
Chelsie Lakeman (Citizen Student)
Bonnie Connor (Citizen Student)
Paul Baldridge (Citizen Staff)
Erica Phillips (Citizen VISTA)

2009-2010 Recipients
Cynthia Laurie Rose (Citizen Teacher)
Cheryl Wooten, WARM (Citizen Community Partner)
Amanda Markiecki (Citizen Student)
Rachel Lichtcsien (Citizen Student)
Stacia Coffing (Citizen Student)
Lisa Patterson Phillips (Citizen Staff)

2008-2009 Recipients
Shirine Mafi (Citizen Teacher)
Cynthia Bailey (Citizen Community Partner)
Kristin Sutton (Citizen Student)
Tiffany Faust (Citizen Student)
Caitlin Tully (Citizen Vista)
Jeff Akers (Citizen Staff)

2007-2008 Recipients
Linda Brownstein (Citizen Student)
Matt Lofy (Citizen Student)
Gina Kengla (Citizen Staff)
Caitlin Tully (Citizen Vista)
Scott Habrun (Citizen Student)
Alex Dear (Citizen Student)

2006-2007 Recipients
Lindsey Schramm (Citizen Student)
Terry Hermsen (Citizen Teacher)
Suzanne Kile (Citizen Community Partner)
Emily Van Buren (Citizen Student)
Allison Develvis (Citizen Staff)

2005-2006 Recipients
Nancy Nikiforow (Citizen Staff)
Barbara Parker (Citizen Community Partner)
Karen Robinson (Citizen Teacher)
Lucia Jeantine (Citizen Student)
Shenita Miller (Citizen Student)
Molly Gilbride (Citizen Vista)

CCE in the News

Otterbein University Recognized by President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for Sixth Year

Otterbein University was named a finalist for the President’s Award for General Community Service as part of the 2012 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll through the Corporation for National and Community Service. Otterbein is the only school in Ohio to be honored as a finalist.

This is the sixth year Otterbein has been recognized on the Honor Roll with Distinction. Otterbein was one of the first institutions to receive the additional honor of winning the President’s Award for General Community Service for the 2007 Honor Roll.