Tag: 3

Westerville Community Diversity Leader Connects with Otterbein

The new executive director of Westerville for Racial Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice Engagement (WeRISE) has moved into an office provided by Otterbein’s Office of Social Justice and Activism.

WeRISE Executive Director Renée Thompson points to Otterbein President John Comerford’s words of how “we can do so much more when we are not siloed” in her vision for the organization, which was established with assistance from Otterbein, the City of Westerville, Westerville City Schools, and the Westerville Public Library.

“Being on campus and having the opportunity to learn from and work with young people is so important. These are the future leaders for our world, and they are not afraid to affect changes they see needing to happen. This campus space is the perfect fit for WeRISE,” Thompson said.

Otterbein Student Government Welcomes First Latinx President

Vice President Cayla Andrick ’22 and President Joseline Martinez-Cortez ’22
(pictured L to R).

The Otterbein student body elected two women to serve as the Otterbein University Student Government president and vice president for 2021-2022 — including the first Latinx president to lead the organization. President Joseline Martinez-Cortez ’22 and Vice President Cayla Andrick ’22 share their visions and hopes for the Otterbein community.

“We want to make sure to pay special attention to university transparency, diversity, student involvement, and mental health, as we begin to heal from the difficult pandemic semesters we’ve had recently,” Martinez-Cortez said. “Something near and dear to my heart is diversity and making sure that we are constantly working towards those goals and keeping our community accountable.”

Andrick said their team of officers is poised to achieve great things. “The combined backgrounds, as well as our willingness to meet other students in the middle, make us able to represent all of campus,” she said.

New Network Provides Family Connections and Support

Members of the Family Engagement Network, Kathy Cleveland Bull P’22, Tricia Ohler P’22, Mike Rudolph P’23, and Pate Rudolph P’23 (pictured L to R) welcomed families during new student move-in.

The Family Engagement Network launched in April 2021 to provide a voice for parents and family members of current students. This advisory network provides insights on communications and programming targeting our extended members of the Cardinal community.

Future opportunities for parents and family members include a virtual town hall with President Comerford and a session with the career development team on supporting your student in the job search process.

Contact family@otterbein.edu to inquire about joining the Family Engagement Network, and be sure to check out our monthly Cardinal e-News just for parents and families.

Launching the LGBTQIA+ Alumni Network

For nearly 30 years, LGBTQIA+ Otterbein students have benefitted from the support, resources, and social interactions provided through the student organization FreeZone. But alumni connections were missing from their toolkit of resources.

The Alumni & Family Engagement team was approached by Suzanne Ashworth, professor of English and advisor to FreeZone, and James Prysock ’09, MBA’19, director of the Office of Social Justice and Activism, about starting an LGBTQIA+ alumni network. Their hope was to provide meaningful connections between alumni and students.

A series of small focus groups were held in spring 2021 that included alumni from multiple generations located throughout the United States. These alumni shared their personal experiences as students and highlighted what they hope to see in an alumni network.

A petition to formally recognize this network will go before Alumni Council in spring 2022.

Philanthropy in Action

Along with faculty member Dan Steinberg, communication students Felicity Boykin (left) and Malachi Brooks (right) met with former parent, donor, and CEO of Huntington Bank Stephen Steinour P’15 (center) at his office earlier this summer to express their gratitude for receiving the Kaitlin Steinour ‘15 Communications Endowed Scholarship, established by the Steinour family to honor their daughter and Otterbein alumna, Kaitlin, who graduated with a degree in public relations.

The Hargis Family Foundation, established by Jonathan R. Hargis ’79 and Gretchen Freeman Hargis ’77 and their family, have made a generous $100,000 pledge as the lead supporters of a new four-year initiative, Every Student Will. The program will provide a custom education and career path for every student at Otterbein.

In July 2021, Virginia Phillippi Longmire ’55 made a gift of $35,000 to support the Campus Center Renovation Initiative. Her support will help revitalize the Campus Center and make it the heart of Otterbein’s student community once again. We are also grateful for her continued support of the Otterbein Fund with a leadership gift of $10,000.

 

In honor of his retirement from Deloitte after 41 years of service, Kenneth and Lynn Weixel designated a donation to the Brittany Weixel Endowment. This fund, established by Jean Weixel Reynolds ’77, is named in memory of their daughter and provides critical support to the Office of Student Affairs’ eating disorder educational efforts.

 

The Class of 1971, in honor of their 50th Golden Reunion, has established the Class of 1971 Promise House and Community Garden Endowed Fund to help offset barriers to college success as a result of food insecurity.  Major donors include Jim ’71 and Linda Ancik ’71 Augspurger, Jim Francis ’71, David Phillips ’71, Wendy Roush ’71, Candace Scott Simms ’71, and Tom ’71 and Cheryl Kirk ’72 Turner.  The funds raised so far total more than $68,000.

 

Trustee Dr. Mindy Phinney ’85 made a generous $100,000 commitment to support the President’s Fund for Strategic Initiatives, which will help Otterbein launch special initiatives and capitalize on opportunities that will benefit the University and its students. The gift also supports the Otterbein Fund, helping to offset the University’s most pressing annual needs and opportunities.

 

Curt Moore ’64 made a $10,000 gift in support of Access and Affordability as part of the For the Love of Otterbein fundraising initiative. He also made a gift of $1,250 to provide flu shots to Otterbein students in need.

 

James Shilling ’77 and his wife, Hyo, have documented a $250,000 planned gift to support Otterbein’s unrestricted endowment. The couple has generously supported the University and the Otterbein Fund for 23 years. Shilling currently serves as the George L. Ruff Endowed Chair in the Department of Finance and Real Estate at DePaul University in Chicago.

 

Lois Szudy MAE’99, retired director of the Courtright Memorial Library, made a $52,000 gift from her IRA to endow funds for the Library and Department of Equine Science. She had previously made a planned gift to these funds in her estate.

 

Jack Whalen ’66 and Karen Persson ’67 Whalen made a $15,000 commitment over three years to expand the Every Student Will initiative. They feel strongly about investing in extraordinary out-of-classroom learning opportunities for students, including internships, research, study abroad, and other professional development experiences.

 

Otterbein is grateful to the Fotis Family for gifting $50,000 to endow two funds at Otterbein. The Eleanor Fotis Endowed Scholarship will fund a major in the Department of Sociology, Criminology and Justice Studies. The William Fotis Experiential Learning Endowed Fund will support students who want to expand their knowledge outside the classroom.

 

Deborah Banwart Lewis ’77 in Altadena, CA, gave a substantial planned gift along with a current use gift, both to the Department of Theatre and Dance.

 

Otterbein is grateful for $55,000 from William “Bill” Cole ’54, who established in the spring through an estate gift, the William E. Cole and Barbara Seabrook Cole Class of 1954 Athletic Endowment. This will be the first endowed fund for the Otterbein athletic director’s use. He also continued his gifts toward enhancing Memorial Stadium, which began with the Cole Victory Bell. Sadly, Bill passed away in September 2021 on his 94th birthday.

 

A lead gift from the late John Howard established a fund to honor two Otterbein families. The families were linked by marriage through multiple siblings. In total, 19 were alumni, trustees, and one was an Otterbein president. The Howard/Norris Endowed Scholarship Fund, at more than $41,000, was created in loving memory of these individuals.

 

Ann Harting P’94 established a fund with a gift of $25,000. She and her late husband, Bob, are parents of Annette Harting Boose ’94 and Robert Harting. Son-in-law, Andrew Boose ’06, and granddaughter, Elisha Boose ’14, are also alumni. The Robert J. and Ann M. Harting Endowed Award is created to continue their legacy.

 

Otterbein is grateful to William W. Davis and Ellen D. Gagne for an additional contribution to the Dr. William and Mary Davis H’01 Memorial Scholarship. William and Mary participated in numerous Otterbein activities. They leveraged their education to improve others’ lives; to honor this, their family made the endowment in 2019.

 

Annbeth Sommers Wilkinson ’56 has supported Otterbein with a commitment of $45,000 earmarked for the Campus Center Fund, Otterbein Fund, and Robert and Annbeth S. Wilkinson Scholarship. Wilkinson is a member of the Class of ’56, which celebrated its 65th reunion this year!

 

Grants, Corporate and Foundation Support

The Vida S. Clements Foundation

Otterbein remains grateful for the ongoing generosity of the Vida S. Clements Foundation, which recently pledged $30,000 to support the Department of Chemistry with replacing its nuclear magnetic resonance equipment. The Foundation also made a $3,000 gift to support digitization initiatives for Otterbein’s archives, in addition to support for the “O” Club.

NetVue

This grant will fund six faculty liaisons from each division to focus and re-imagine the faculty role in student discernment of vocation in preparation for the implementation of Every Student Will in 2022. The six faculty liaisons will be charged with learning and understanding the role of vocation in higher education during the fall of 2021 and, in the spring of 2022, helping to develop and implement training to their faculty peers. The goal will be to transform the faculty advising relationship from one focused on transactional academic progress, to one that focuses on exploring vocation. Additionally, all faculty and staff instructors for the First Year Seminar and Senior Experience courses will participate in a retreat focused on vocational exploration for students embedded in their curricular experiences.

 

AMOUNT
$10,000

RECIPIENTS
Jen Bechtold, Co-Principal Investigator
Kate Lehman, Co-Principal Investigator

AWARDED BY
The Council of Independent Colleges and the Lilly Endowment

Mary B. Thomas ’28 Commitment to Otterbein Award Winners

The Mary B. Thomas ’28 Commitment to Otterbein Award was established by President Emerita Kathy Krendl and the University Board of Trustees to recognize extraordinary philanthropic leadership, service, and advancement of Otterbein’s mission. It is the highest honor Otterbein bestows upon its community members for transformational leadership and commitment. Two awards were conferred at this year’s Celebration of Otterbein event at Homecoming and Family Weekend on Sept. 18.

Alan Goff ’75 and Coral Harris are deeply committed to Otterbein and making a difference in the lives of our campus community and beyond. After relocating from Maine to Westerville in 2018, the couple fully immersed themselves into life on campus. Together they embrace Otterbein’s work toward creating a model community of leaders and learners and they epitomize what it means to work collaboratively with the University and its faculty, students, and staff.

Goff and Harris have been advocates for a number of causes, from sustainability to lifelong learning to COVID-19 support and more. Their involvement and philanthropic support can be seen in a number of areas in which they are passionate. In addition to supporting the Where We STAND Matters campaign, they established the Dr. David Deever Mathematics and Computer Science Endowed Fund, Innovative Sustainability Fund, Rolling Green Fund, and the sustainable water feature and outdoor lab at The Point. They are also dedicated supporters of the Otterbein Fund, Promise House, Friends of the Library, Department of Theatre and Dance, and the Kathy A. Krendl Distinguished Lecture Series. The couple has also earmarked a planned gift for Otterbein to be used in support of the University endowment that will have a major and lasting impact.

Joyce Strickler Miller ’61, president of the Westerville Otterbein Women’s Club, accepts the Mary B. Thomas ’28 Commitment to Otterbein award from President Comerford.

Also honored this year was the Westerville Otterbein Women’s Club, an organization that has had a remarkable impact on countless students and our community for 100 years. The Westerville Otterbein Women’s Club was established in October 1921 by 30 visionary alumnae, faculty, and their spouses to honor outstanding Otterbein women and provide financial support to the University. For the past century, the selfless members of the Westerville Otterbein Women’s Club have never wavered from their mission.

In the beginning, members hosted teas, luncheons, and picnics for new faculty, senior women students, the campus community, and guests visiting Otterbein. The club’s first donation was shortly after its founding when they donated $5,000 in 1922. In 1952, the Club established a volunteer-run thrift shop on campus to help fund donations to Otterbein under the leadership of volunteers Carol Frank and Vida S. Clements. Known simply as the Thrift Shop, the Westerville Otterbein Women’s Club has donated more than $1 million dollars to support the University since it was established, and continues to donate between $30,000-$35,000 each year.

In total, more than 30 volunteers work over 2,000 hours each year to operate the shop two days a week. All proceeds go directly to support the endowed scholarships the club has founded, including the Westerville Otterbein Women’s Club Scholarship, Donna L. Kerr Scholarship, Westerville Otterbein Women’s Club Service Scholarship, and Diamond Jubilee Grant, which provides emergency assistance to a student or students who experience unexpected financial hardships.

Common Book Program Welcomes Anna Rosling Rönnlund

The 2021 Common Book is Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong about the World—and Why Things Are Better than You Think. Swedish physician and academic Hans Rosling collaborated with his son, Ola, and daughter-in-law, Anna, on the book, which was published after his death in 2017. In Factfulness, the Roslings argue against assumptions that we make based on preconceived “instincts,” and they outline the instincts that prevent us from recognizing facts. The authors conclude that our resulting negative view of the world — on topics like poverty, natural disaster, and the environment — can be corrected and made more positive if we recognize our biases and respond with logic. Anna Rosling Rönnlund discussed the book at the annual convocation on Oct. 26.

Otterbein University Common Book Convocation

Otterbein Makes Big Jump in U.S. News, Earns Honors in National Publications

Otterbein University has been collecting honors this fall, as it is recognized in national publications for its programs and values, including U.S. News & World Report, Colleges of Distinction, and Washington Monthly.

In the U.S. News & World Report 2022 edition of “America’s Best Colleges,” Otterbein jumped from 21st place to 12th, placing it in the top 8% among 157 peers in the Regional Universities–Midwest category. Along with its overall ranking, Otterbein was recognized on these lists: Best Undergraduate Teaching, Best Value School, A+ School for B Students, Top Undergraduate Nursing Programs, and Top Performers on Social Mobility. The entire survey can be viewed at U.S. News Best Colleges.

Additionally, Otterbein has once again been recognized as one of the nation’s Colleges of Distinction, with program-specific recognition in Business, Education, Engineering, Nursing, and Career Development.

Thanks to the ongoing voting registration and education efforts led by a non-partisan, student-run campus group called Raise Your Voice, Otterbein has been named one of “America’s Best Colleges for Student Voting 2021” by Washington Monthly and a “Voter Friendly Campus” by the Campus Vote Project.