Our people and programs are making news every day.

Newsroom

At Otterbein, our president is focused on college affordability. Our professors are leading the way in curriculum development. Our Center for Community Engagement is winning awards for its dedication to serving others. These are only a few of the people and programs you’ll read about in our Newsroom.

Media inquiries can be directed to:

Jenny Hill 
Director of Communications
jhill@otterbein.edu 
(614) 823-1284
(614) 370-3221 (cell)

Media Resources

Otterbein Fast Facts:

Location: Westerville, Ohio
Founded: 1847
Control: Private not-for-profit
Carnegie Classification: Master's Colleges & Universities
Size & Setting: Four-year, small, highly residential
Enrollment: 3,000
President: John Comerford, Ph.D.
Colors: Tan and Cardinal
Mascot: Cardinal

News Stories:

Otterbein Full- and Part-Time Faculty Members Honored for Teaching Excellence


News - November 22, 2023
Each year, Otterbein honors outstanding teachers for their impact on their students, colleagues, and the University. This year’s awards ceremony was held Nov. 17, 2023. Congratulations to these dynamic and dedicated full- and part-time faculty who contribute so much to the Otterbein community both in and outside the classroom: Amy Karns, Psychology, Excellence in Part-Time Teaching Bennett Grooms, Biology, New Teacher of the Year David Sheridan, Biology, Teacher of the Year Cindy Laurie-Rose, Department of Psychology, was given the Exemplary…

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Alumnus Tony Bishop Talks Sports and Social Change with Students


News - November 22, 2023
Tony Bishop III ’15 MSAH ’18 never misses a chance to come back to campus to visit the people who helped him become a leader and talk to the next generation of leaders. And current students can learn a thing or two from Bishop, whose path to his current job has been more of a zigzag than a straight line. In November, Bishop was invited to speak to the students of Senior Instructor Dan Steinberg’s Freshman Year Experience class, Sports…

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Kenny Goble Celebrates 30th Anniversary of Hanging Otterbein’s Holiday Wreath 


News - November 16, 2023
Thirty years ago, a tradition began at Otterbein when Kenny Goble, a carpenter in Service Operation and Maintenance, hung a large evergreen wreath on Towers Hall. This year, Goble celebrated the 30th anniversary of the tradition by once again climbing the ladder to hang the wreath that ushers in the holiday season on campus.  Otterbein itself is a tradition for Goble’s family. His uncle and great-uncle also worked at the University. “For a short time, we were all working here…

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Otterbein Sorority Collecting Food for Local Families this Thanksgiving


News - November 14, 2023
By Maggie Nicol ’25 Spreading love can be shown in various ways. With the holidays fast approaching many express their love through making food or giving to those in need. Otterbein sorority Theta Nu has partnered with the Mid-Ohio Food Bank to donate canned foods for the upcoming holidays. The food bank is based out of Grove City and collects and distributes food to families who are in need. The food bank’s mission is: “To end hunger one nourishing meal…

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Cardinals Volleyball Headed to NCAA Championship for Fourth Year in a Row


News - November 13, 2023
Saturday’s Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament Championship match evolved into a two-hour marathon in the Rike Center, giving every volleyball fan in attendance the full price of admission (and then some) with it all on the line. It ended with the newly crowned OAC champion team from Otterbein earning a spot in the NCAA Championships for the fourth year in a row. Otterbein will play the University of La Verne out of California on Thursday, Nov. 16. THE HEADLINES: Top-seeded Otterbein, playing…

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Theatre & Dance presents “Dance 2023: Escape to Wonderland”


News - November 10, 2023
The Otterbein University Department of Theatre and Dance presents “Dance 2023: Escape to Wonderland” at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday Nov. 16; at 8 p.m. on Nov. 17 and 18; and at 2 p.m. on Nov. 19 in the Fritsche Theatre at Cowan Hall, 30 S. Grove St., Westerville. Tickets cost $22. Call 614-823-1109 or www.otterbein.edu/drama.   Inspired by Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland,”the production is a fanciful journey through Alice’s dreams and imagination. With the Mad Hatter as our guide, audiences…

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Men’s Soccer Opens NCAA and Volleyball Advances to OAC Championship Match


News - November 10, 2023
It’s an exciting weekend to be a Cardinal, with two great teams making plays for national spotlights. The Otterbein men's soccer team will make its second NCAA appearance in the last three years On Nov. 11, making a quick trip over to Gambier for its first-round match against Washington College (Md.). Host Kenyon will open the regional pod (one of 16 in this national bracket) on Saturday morning against Dominican. The Cardinals and Shoremen will then take the pitch for…

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Otterbein Celebrates Its First-Generation Students, Staff, and Faculty 


News - November 9, 2023
Nov. 8 is National First-Generation College Celebration Day and this is the time to celebrate students, staff, and faculty who are the first in their family to pursue an undergraduate college degree.   Otterbein’s Office of Social Justice and Activism partnered with the Counseling Center in hosting the University's very own First-Generation College Celebration earlier today. At the event, Wendy Sherman Heckler, Otterbein’s provost and senior vice president of Academic Affairs, shared her story of becoming a first-generation student herself.   The…

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Otterbein Volleyball Completes Unbeaten Ohio Athletic Conference Regular Season 


News - October 30, 2023
Make it the first perfect Ohio Athletic Conference regular season in history for the Otterbein volleyball program, which punctuated its league schedule 9-0 on Friday night with an impressive sweep over Mount Union in the Rike Center.  The Cardinals, already defending their regular-season title on Wednesday, showed no letdown effect in blowing past the Purple Raiders by scores of 25-21, 25-15, 25-16. Otterbein (which dropped just two sets in league play all season) will be the top seed in the upcoming…

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Men’s Soccer Wins Ohio Athletic Conference Regular Season Outright 


News - October 30, 2023
It was a Super Saturday for the Otterbein men's soccer team at Memorial Stadium, as the Cardinals earned their first outright OAC regular-season title since 2017 with a multi-goal victory over nationally ranked Mount Union! The win officially marks the program's second league title in the last three years, having shared the 2021 regular-season crown with John Carroll.  The Cardinals, ending the league schedule at 8-0-1 overall, beat the No. 8-ranked Purple Raiders by a 2-0 final to cement the top…

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