Otterbein’s 2024 Model Citizen Award was givento Education Professor Paul Wendel in May.
Wendel is known for setting an example for others through his sustainable living practices. He is a favorite among his students for his approachable teaching style using classroom experiments to help explain physics in fun and informative ways.
This year on April 8, he made Memorial Stadium his classroom with the planning and implementation of a memorable solar eclipse viewing party for the whole campus. Wendel worked collaboratively with his students to create demonstrations to show the science of the eclipse to the campus community, while the Center for Student Engagement offered eclipse-themed treats and giveaways. It was a once-in-a-lifetime event, led by a Model Citizen of the Otterbein community.
The Coalition for the Common Good named Diane White, Ph.D., as the founding dean of the Antioch Graduate School of Nursing and Health Professions. The creation of this school represents an important step forward in the collaborative efforts of the Coalition for the Common Good. It will be the future home of Antioch’s graduate Family Nurse Practitioner and Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner programs, as well as the Master of Science in Athletic Training, all of which will be transferring from Otterbein University. The Master of Science in Allied Health, which already transitioned from Otterbein, is enrolling students now. A new Nurse Anesthetist Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree and a Master of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics are currently under development.
Otterbein’s Office of Social Justice and Activism collaborated with WeRISE for Greater Westerville and the Westerville Queer Collective to bring Westerville’s Juneteenth celebration to campus this year.
Otterbein students Zach Brinson, Racheal Idowu, and Joshua Goshay attended the event on June 24 at The Point at Otterbein.
Otterbein has earned the Highly Established Action Plan Seal from the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge for its nonpartisan democratic engagement action. Otterbein is one of 192 campuses that has earned this recognition so far for the 2024 election cycle. The seal recognizes higher education institutions with strong action plans to increase nonpartisan democratic engagement by promoting civic learning, political engagement, and college student voter participation.
At Otterbein, the plan is an institution-wide effort supported from the top down. “It is the role of higher education institutions like Otterbein to encourage thoughtful civic and political engagement to model how to engage on these matters respectfully, and, hopefully, to listen, learn, and grow as a person from these experiences,” said President John Comerford. “The student leaders and administrators at Otterbein have always led by example, and this plan not only formalizes that behavior, but turns it into action.”
For his role as a champion of democracy, President Comerford was invited to join the College Presidents for Civic Preparedness, a unique consortium convened by the Institute for Citizens & Scholars. He joins 91 participating presidents who are dedicated to preparing the next generation of well-informed, productively engaged, and committed citizens; defending free expression, civil discourse, and critical inquiry as essential civic norms; and increasing thoughtful engagement and better understanding by students for the effective functioning of our democracy. The consortium was established in August 2023 with 15 members.
The participating presidents represent diverse institutions from across the country, but they all share the perspective that it is the responsibility of higher education to equip students with the critical civic skills to participate effectively in a democracy, engage in civil discourse, and express themselves responsibly.
In the latest U.S News Best Colleges rankings, Otterbein jumped seven spots to rank 13th among 163 peers in the Regional Universities–Midwest category. It is in the top three regional universities in Ohio. Otterbein was recognized as a Best Value School, Top Performer on Social Mobility, and for its Undergraduate Engineering Program.
In its 2024 College Guide and Rankings, Washington Monthly ranked Otterbein seventh among 589 Master’s Universities in the service category, which encompasses community and national service.
Otterbein’s Mechanical Engineering Program has earned accreditation by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology), an internationally recognized agency that accredits programs in applied and natural science, computing, engineering and engineering technology offered by American universities.
Otterbein’s Department of Education earned the Frank Murray Leadership Recognition for Continuous Improvement from the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP). The 21 recipients of the award provided evidence and data trends to achieve accreditation with no stipulations or areas for improvement.
Professor of Health and Sport Sciences Shelley Payne received the prestigious Malcolm Knowles Memorial Self-Directed Learning Award from the International Society for Self-Directed Learning.
Some lucky Cardinal athletes found adventure and competition abroad over the summer.
Members of the men’s basketball team, along with coaches and families, traveled to Costa Rica for team bonding and exhibition games. In addition to victories over a pair of Costa Rica’s top professional teams — Roswell (W 63-60) and San Ramon (W 78-74) — the team enjoyed whitewater rafting, zip lining, and saw a volcano and hot springs.
Members of both the men’s and women’s tennis teams, coaches, and relatives traveled to Italy for sightseeing and exhibition games unlike anything they have played before — on red clay courts, a surface that most Otterbein players had never been able to hit on before. (Clay courts accentuate spin and put a higher premium on both slice and topspin.) The group had free time in Rome, Vatican City, and Florence.
“Pick up the baton and LEAD this community with courage”
— Shawn Harper
Racial Healing Circles Serve as the Foundational Workto Build Upon Diversity, Equity,Inclusion, and Belonging.
When Otterbein was selected by the American Association for Independent Colleges and Universities in 2020 as the first university in Ohio to host a Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation (TRHT) Campus Center, it challenged its community to begin the difficult work ahead.
Shawn Harper
Since then, the TRHT program has trained facilitators, hosted Racial Healing Circles and other programs, and completed an oral history project. Four student fellows, working with faculty mentors, recorded interviews with alumni of color about their Otterbein experiences. The Otterbein University Alumni of Color Oral History Project embodies the “Truth” component of TRHT in seeking to look honestly at the ways educational institutions have embodied racial hierarchy. The goal of the project was to assemble the fullest, most honest account of Otterbein’s history, because understanding its history is necessary in order to dismantle racial hierarchy and transform the culture of its campus and community.
Last summer, Otterbein’s co-founding partner in the Coalition for the Common Good, Antioch University, was named a TRHT Campus Center. With that addition, Otterbein’s TRHT team saw an opportunity to serve even more people through collaboration. On Jan. 16, 2024, the joint team held a day of coordinated conversations online, reaching 100 participants in Ohio and at Antioch’s campuses in Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Seattle, and Keene, New Hampshire.
“We held an all-day TRHT event in honor of the seventh National Day of Racial Healing that incorporated a number of faculty, staff and students participating in Racial Healing Circles from both Otterbein and Antioch,” said Otterbein’s Chief Diversity Officer Frank Dobson Jr., Ph.D. “That was a great 2024 starting point for more TRHT-related programming in collaboration with Antioch.”
Racial Healing Circles are discussions that allow participants to work toward equity and inclusion. The Coalition held Racial Healing Circles from morning to evening, scheduled to accommodate everyone who wished to participate regardless of their location.
“This experience allows community members to listen for understanding. In addition, healing circles — a form of restorative practice — serve as a safe space where individuals can freely express their emotions, fostering connection, empathy, and understanding among participants,” said Dobson.
“Racial Healing Circles serve as the foundational work to build upon Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging,” added Lemuel Watson, Ed.D., Antioch’s senior associate vice chancellor for academic affairs and vice provost for community engagement.
Selethia Benn, Ed.S.
Selethia Benn, Ed.S., director of Otterbein’s Office of Social Justice and Activism, has worked extensively to plan programming around issues of TRHT, including Otterbein’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation.
This year’s convocation featured Shawn Harper, a former NFL offensive lineman and motivational speaker. Harper invites individuals to find their own purpose as they fulfill a calling to serve others.
“My encouragement for you today is to pick up the baton … and lead this community with courage,” Harper told the campus community, holding up a baton to emphasize the importance of his sentiment. “I will not go with the flow. I will fight injustices and be a superhero. The darker the night, the brighter the light.”
Harper’s passion for helping others is a reflection of King’s legacy.
The 2024 Pack Scholar-in-Residence, Brian Smedley, also has connections to upcoming TRHT programming. April is National Minority Health Month, which coincides with the visit of Smedley, an equity scholar and senior fellow at the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C. He has studied unconscious bias and stereotyping among healthcare providers in the U.S., which lead to lower quality of care for patients of color.
Otterbein is continuing to explore these and other issues of social injustice independently and collaboratively with Antioch University through Otterbein’s TRHT programs and initiatives, continuing the University’s rich history of confronting issues of equity dating back to its earliest days.
Watson said he is encouraged by Otterbein and Antioch University’s shared commitment to education for a more just society — including building and preserving democracy. “College campuses serve as the ideal setting for students to develop skills and connect with others from diverse backgrounds. Through active listening and understanding, students can create meaningful relationships and foster a sense of community that promotes healing and growth.”
Otterbein’s Signature Series packed the seats this spring, engaging audiences in discussions on some of the most relevant topics of the day.
The George W. and Mildred K. White Science Lecture Series
What happens when the pharmaceutical drugs we take end up in wastewater? How do “forever chemicals” from consumer products end up in surface water? And what will we do about the emergence of “superbugs” that are resistant to treatment? Renowned environmental chemist Diana Aga answered those questions and more when she visited campus for the George W. and Mildred K. White Science Lecture Series.
Aga is the Henry Woodburn Professor of Chemistry and a State University of New York (SUNY) Distinguished Professor at the University at Buffalo (UB). She also serves as the director of RENEW (Research and Education in eNergy, Environment and Water) Institute at UB.
On Feb. 21, Aga packed the seats at two special talks for STEM students before presenting her public lecture, “Free Drugs,” “Superbugs,” and “Forever Chemicals” in the Environment: Occurrence and Implications, that evening.
On March 19, the Kathy A. Krendl Distinguished Lecture Series welcomed Lynn Pasquerella, president of the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), for a lecture about Educating for Democracy. Pasquerella is one of the country’s most prominent public voices and forceful advocates for the value of liberal education, the importance of access to resources and pathways, and the need for career training for jobs and citizen education for justice.
Her most recent book, What We Value: Public Health, Social Justice, and Educating for Democracy, examines urgent issues — moral distress, access to resources, and the conflict over whose voices and lives are privileged — and argues that liberal education is the best preparation for work, citizenship, and life. Pasquerella is a member of the board of directors for the Coalition for the Common Good and a past-president of Mount Holyoke College.
April is Minority Health Month, and to address the important issue of equity in the American healthcare system, Otterbein hosted Brian D. Smedley for the Vernon L. Pack ’50 Distinguished Lecture on April 4.
In addition to his public lecture, Place, Race, and Health: Addressing the Root Causes of Health Inequities, Smedley met with Otterbein students in public health, allied health, nursing, and other health-related majors to discuss what they can do as healthcare professionals to ensure equitable care for their patients.
Smedley is an equity scholar and senior fellow at the Urban Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, where he conducts research and policy analysis to address structural and institutional forms of racism that impact the health and well-being of people of color.
Westerville Central High School students with Otterbein student portrait artists at reception held at Otterbein on Jan. 16, 2024.
Otterbein students mingled with immigrant high school students and their families, talking, laughing, and admiring paintings at a reception at the Taylor Lounge in the Campus Center. One high school student introduced her entourage to her teacher, stating, “This is my father, my mother, and my artist,” with a huge smile on her face.
Pablo Chignolli (left) with Louise Captein (right)
When Pablo Chignolli, a Spanish teacher at Westerville Central High School, approached the Otterbein Department of Art and Art History with an idea to recognize cultural diversity at his school, Associate Professor Louise Captein answered the call. Chignolli, a native of Peru, wanted to create a way for WCHS students from across the world to tell their stories in a creative and supportive way.
Captein, a native of the Netherlands, organized a group of 10 Otterbein students who volunteered to paint portraits of these “New American” high school students during their free time. Each Otterbein student was paired with a high schooler to work through a weeks-long process that included multiple sketches, photos, and finally, paintings. While the Otterbein students were painting, the WCHS students were writing their memoirs.
On Jan. 16, the portraits debuted with a month-long interactive exhibition that included QR codes linked to the memoirs and a video about the project. Chignolli compiled the memoirs and art into a book available online, THE ONES AMONG US: Memoirs of Culturally Diverse High School Students in America.
Reflecting on the project, the Otterbein students said they gained more than new art skills from the experience, they gained new insights and perspectives.
“It just reminds you how everyone has a story. Everyone is unique and has their own experiences and they may be completely different from your own. But at heart, we are all still alike — we are all still human and want our voices to be heard.”
— Alina Baer ’25, Art and Journalism and Media Communication double major
“There is not a lot of representation in the media of immigrant people. Being able to see yourself in art is a way to boost self-esteem and confidence. When you see beautiful photographs or paintings of people you want to look for yourself in them.”
— Sarah Farmer ’24, BFA major with a Painting concentration and Art History minor
Two programs announced last summer have been hard at work recruiting students and preparing for competition starting fall 2024.
Nevin Horne, the inaugural director of Esports, said interest has been strong among current and prospective students. “I have had students who have recently been admitted into Otterbein already reach out to me to find out how they can be involved in the program and tell me what they want to do,” he said.
Additionally, more than two dozen current students expressed interest on the social media platform Discord, the first week it was available. Horne’s goal is to have 30 students signed up by the fall.
Chris Kline, Otterbein’s first head women’s wrestling coach, has seen a lot of interest for the first collegiate program in central Ohio and expects a strong team of recruits next fall. “We have been able to bring in over 25% of the high school senior women wrestlers in the state of Ohio for campus visits,” he said. “Otterbein hosted our first women’s wrestling prospect camp on campus in January and had 37 wrestlers attend.”
