The College and the Community

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The mission of Otterbein College is to educate the whole person in a context that fosters the development of humane values. Otterbein is a private, church-related, coeducational college that sponsors traditional and continuing education programs of liberal arts and professional education at Baccalaureate and Master’s levels.  Our commitment is to the liberal arts as the broad base of all learning.

Otterbein College, affiliated with the United Methodist Church, is grounded in a Christian heritage that fosters concern for purpose and meaning in life, the dignity of persons, and the significance of community.  This tradition offers dialogue with other faiths and philosophies, intellectual stimulation, openness to the day’s issues, and incentive to new understanding.  Thus, Otterbein College seeks students, faculty and staff who represent societal diversity.  The College maintains an openness to all qualified persons and does not discriminate with regard to race, sex, religion, ancestry, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, disabling condition, political affiliation, veteran status or marital status.

Educational Purpose

A liberal arts education at Otterbein College emphasizes a process of liberation from those attitudes that may narrow one’s perspective on self, society, and the world.  Through the study of the liberal arts, students develop a sense of relevance and immediacy to life situations.  Otterbein College provides focal points around which self-education may continue after graduation through quality academic programs in which students:

• acquire knowledge
• develop the ability to make critical judgments
• form a commitment to intellectual inquiry
• develop the ability to express themselves clearly
• develop the ability to participate thoughtfully in discussion and decision making
• develop the powers of synthesis

A liberal arts education involves creating an atmosphere which stimulates students to become aware of themselves and their responsibilites within a larger, multi-cultural society.  Thus, the College emphasizes community service, co-curricular and social interaction in preparing the whole person to develop to responsible commitments to society.

To accomplish these educational purposes, Otterbein strives to provide a teaching faculty of superior quality that is committed to our educational goals.  In addition to teaching, the faculty and staff at Otterbein engage in a variety of important tasks including research, advising, administration, and professional development.  Through its sabbatical leave program, Otterbein encourages professional development of its faculty as well as program development, course development, and pedagogy.

Our History

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Otterbein College was founded (as the Otterbein University of Ohio) in 1847 by the Church of the United Brethren in Christ and named after a co-founder of the Church, Philip William Otterbein, who was a German Reformed pastor and itinerant evangelist. In later years, the Church went through a merger with the Evangelical Association and became the Evangelical United Brethren Church (EUB) and then, through a second merger with the Methodist Church, became the current United Methodist Church. Otterbein was chartered by the State of Ohio in 1849, and granted its first degrees in 1857. It is currently approved by the University Senate of the United Methodist Church. From eight students in 1847, we have grown to a current enrollment of over 3,000.

The College has historically seen its mission centered in a program of liberal arts education in the Christian tradition. While Otterbein has evolved into a comprehensive college, combining traditional liberal arts disciplines and professional programs, the liberal arts remain a foundation for our educational programs.

Similarly, while Otterbein has always emphasized undergraduate education, the decisions to offer graduate degrees are also consistent with our history and mission. The College offered Ph.D. degrees from 1 883 until 1 895 and M.A. degrees until 1912, and when graduate programs in Education and Nursing were added in 1989 and 1993, one important rationale was that these programs would provide important benefits to the undergraduate curriculum. A Masters of Business Administration was added in 1997.

In addition to its Church-related heritage and its commitment to liberal arts and professional education, three other features of Otterbein’s history deserve special attention.

First, from its founding, and as a reflection of Church practices and policies, Otterbein was intentionally and uncommonly inclusive with respect to women and people of color. Otterbein was among the first coeducational colleges in America, The College and the Community and probably the first college in the United States to be founded as coeducational and to admit women to the same programs of study as male students. From its opening, Otterbein employed female faculty members, and it was probably the first college to do so. Otterbein was also one of the first three colleges in the United States to be open to students of color, and College historians have argued that it deserves to be considered the first to be founded with that philosophy.

Second, Otterbein has been unique in the development of a governance system that includes many campus constituencies in college decision-making. During the 1850s and 1860s, a number of faculty served as members of the Executive Committee. Since 1946, faculty and students have served in an advisory role on most trustee committees. In September, 1970, the College implemented a new governance system that is an extension of this inclusive heritage and that received much national attention. The new system provided for a single College Senate, composed of faculty, students, administrators, alumni, and trustees; it also added two elected student trustees and two elected faculty trustees as full voting members of the Board.

Third, in 1968, Otterbein created an innovative general education initiative, the Integrative Studies Program. Originally known as the “Common Courses” in the early history of the institution, the Integrative Studies Program was also established, in keeping with the College’s spirit of inclusiveness and community, to provide sufficiently broad study of world culture to enable students to understand the continuum of ideas, movements, and patterns which has produced the civilization of the 21st century. Like our governance system, this program has also received national recognition by the Association of American Colleges and Universities. Recent revisions of the program underscore the themes of coherence, breadth of understanding, and intellectual community.

Otterbein College is located in Westerville, Ohio, and 15 miles northeast of Columbus, the state capital.

The town of Westerville was only seven years old when Otterbein College was founded in 1847. The fertile lands had been settled earlier by people from New England, New York, and Virginia, and the township surrounding Westerville was named in honor of Blendon, Connecticut. The settlers cleared the land, built their homes, churches, and schools, and then their college. As the township continued to grow, Westerville grew too, but for many decades it was known as the “quiet, peaceful village.”

Westerville still retains the advantages of a small town while offering the amenities that go with a modern community. At Otterbein you are only a short walk from uptown Westerville with its restored buildings, brick streets, charming gift and antique shops, boutiques and cafes. The town’s many parks provide opportunities for recreation or just relaxation. And nearby you will find lakes where you can sail and water ski.

Columbus, one of the 15 largest cities and metropolitan areas in the country, is centrally located in Ohio. As the state capitol, Columbus is one of the fastest growing cities in the country. An innovative city, it is known worldwide for the large presence in its economy of progressive businesses and for its quality work force.

Recent years have seen an upsurge in arts related events as world class entertainment has come to be the standard for Columbus. The arts and cultural amenities of The College and the Community Columbus rival those of any other major city in the United States.

The art crowd gathers at the Columbus Museum of Art which holds special events throughout the year. Once a month, art lovers flock to the Gallery Hop in the Short North, an eclectic neighborhood of cafes, art galleries, antique shops and boutiques, where local businesses open their doors for late evening visits.

The Columbus Symphony Orchestra, BalletMet, Opera/Columbus and the Columbus Association for the Performing Arts (CAPA) bring world-renowned performances to the area. Also the Martin Luther King Jr. Performing and Cultural Arts Complex showcases African-American exhibits and performances, while The Ohio State University’s Wexner Center for the Performing Arts has emerged as a showplace for avant garde performances. Close at hand lies the Germain Amphitheatre, among several other venues that bring concerts of all types to town.

Columbus also is home to a variety of theater companies and venues including the Contemporary American Theatre Company (CATCO), Reality Theatre, Shadowbox Theatre, the Riffe Theatre, the Great Southern Theatre, the Palace Theatre and the Ohio Theatre.

Other attractions in downtown Columbus include the Center for Science and Industry (COSI); Thurber House, which is known for its Evening with Authors series; and German Village, the largest restored historical district in the country with its brick streets, restaurants and gift shops.

The city is also a shopper’s mecca. Easton Town Center is a popular indoor/outdoor shopping and entertainment complex. The North Market is trendy and a historic farmer’s market in downtown Columbus. Additionally, there are many malls around Columbus and the outlying suburbs, including Polaris Fashion Place and Tuttle Mall. Columbus is also known for its many specialty coffee shops and book stores including many discount book stores.

Professional sports are taking hold in Columbus with the Major League Soccer (MLS) team, the Columbus Crew; the National Hockey League (NHL) team, the Columbus Blue Jackets (located in the Arena District of restaurants, theatre and other entertainment); and the Columbus Clippers, the minor league baseball franchise.

Dining out is also one of the attractions in Columbus. You can sample cuisine from all parts of the world. Restaurants of all ethnic types are scattered throughout the city and range from fast food to fine French dining and everything in between.

Campus Map 

Map of Central Ohio 

Academic Offices

Academic Offices are open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. during the regular academic year with the exception of December when many offices are closed. Summer hours are 8:30 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. although not all offices are open in summer.

Administrative Offices

Administrative offices are open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. during the regular academic year. Summer hours are 8:30 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. Some offices have extended hours throughout the year.