2009-2010 Graduate Catalog

Nov 26, 2024

2009-2010 Graduate Catalog [Archived Catalog]

The College and the Community

Mission
Philosophy of the College
Educational Purpose
History
Governance
Facilities
Westerville and Central Ohio
Campus and Local Maps
Frequently Requested Telephone Numbers

Mission

The mission of Otterbein College is to educate the whole person in a context that fosters the development of humane values. Otterbein College is a private, church-related, four-year 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.

Philosophy of the College

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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

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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 judgements
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 responsibilities 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.

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 Brethern 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 about 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.

The evolution to a comprehensive college has been a natural one for Otterbein. As noted in one of the College’s early histories, in the first sixty years of the College, “students prepared mainly for teaching, the ministry, and professional careers.” Historically, we have viewed liberal arts and preprofessional education as complementary.

Similarly, while Otterbein has always emphasized undergraduate education, the more recent decisions to offer graduate degrees and form The Graduate School are also consistent with our history and mission. The College offered Ph.D. degrees from 1883 to 1895 and M.A. degrees until 1912, and when graduate programs in Education, Nursing, and Business were added in 1989, 1993, and 1997, one important rationale was that these programs would provide important benefits to the undergraduate curriculum.

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, 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. Its first two graduates were females. 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 three elected student trustees and three elected faculty trustees as full voting members of the Board.

Third, in more recent history, Otterbein created in 1968 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 (now, the Association of American Colleges and Universities). Recent revisions of the program underscore the themes of coherence, breadth of understanding, and intellectual community.

Governance

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Students at Otterbein have a unique opportunity to take part in campus governance. Through informal student groups, membership in the College Senate and its standing committees, the Student Forum, and representation on the Board of Trustees, graduate students are encouraged to take part in developing the decisions that govern and guide the entire college community. If you have questions about committees, the Senate or the Board of Trustees, please contact the Office of Student Affairs, 823-1250 or the Office of the President, 823-1656. Your comments and suggestions are always welcome.

The Otterbein College Board of Trustees has legal authority over all actions of the Senate. Two voting student seats and two voting faculty seats are on the 26-member Board of Trustees.

Facilities

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Otterbein’s 140 acre campus includes 50 buildings. The historic Towers Hall was constructed in 1872. The college completed interior renovation of Towers Hall designed to update the facilities and technology and still recapture the essence of the time period in which Towers was built are evident throughout the facility. Towers Hall houses Mathematics, English, Foreign Language, History and Political Science, and Religion and Philosophy departments. Other offices in Towers include the Continuing Studies, the Registrar’s office and the Office of Sponsored Programs. The Edwin L. and Mary Louise Roush Hall was dedicated June 1993. Roush Hall is the first general purpose academic facility built on the Otterbein campus since Towers and houses Academic Affairs, the Business, Accounting, and Economics Department, the Education Department, and the Office of Graduate Programs. Cowan Hall houses theatre and speech facilities, including an extensive scene shop. Cowan underwent renovation in 2004-05. Major improvements were made to the acoustics, the scene shop, the lobby and the Fritsche Theatre. The Battelle Fine Arts Center is the home for programs in music and dance. The Department of Art relocated to a new facility in fall 2006 which was renovated with the special needs of artists in mind, including light and space. The new Miller Gallery is also located in this building. The other half of the same building is the new home to the Department of Communication, including the student newspaper, yearbook and radio (WOBN) and television (WOCC) stations. Schear-McFadden Science Hall has science and nursing laboratories and classrooms as well as the Weitkamp Planetarium/Observatory, and its renovation is almost complete, as is the new Equine Center, home to one of the finest equine programs in the country. Other facilities on campus include Courtright Memorial Library, which provides availability of over 300,000 volumes of print, non-print and electronic materials and access to state-wide resources through OPAL and OhioLink, and the Clements Recreation Center, which houses athletics and physical education facilities and offices.

Westerville and Central Ohio

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Otterbein College is located in Westerville, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus, the State Capital.

The town of Westerville was only nine 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.” In 2008 the city will celebrate 150 years since its incorporation.

Westerville still retains the advantages of a small town while offering the amenities that go with a larger community. At Otterbein you are only a short walk from the shops and restaurants of uptown Westerville with its maintained 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, water ski and sometimes ice skate. In 2007 Westerville was ranked one of the top 50 cities in the U.S. by Money Magazine.

Columbus, the 15th largest city (711,470) and one of the largest metropolitan areas in the country, is centrally located in Ohio. As the State Capital, Columbus is one of the fastest growing cities in the country. An innovative city, it is known world-wide for the large presence in its economy of progressive businesses and for its quality work force. Corporations with reputations for excellence such as Cardinal Health, JP Morgan Chase, Battelle Memorial Institute, Chemical Abstracts, Nationwide Insurance Enterprise, Worthington Industries and the Limited Inc. call Columbus home. These businesses also provide excellent internship opportunities for Otterbein students.

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 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 Polaris Amphitheatre, bringing concerts of all types to town.

Columbus also supports 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 of Science and Industry and 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.

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 and Local Maps

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Campus Map

Map of Central Ohio

Frequently Requested Telephone Numbers

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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.

Actuarial Science	614-823-1218
Art	614-823-1792
Athletic Training	614-823-3528
Black Studies	614-823-1837
Broadcasting	614-823-3380
Business/Accounting/Economics	614-823-1310
Chemistry/Biochemistry	614-823-1316
Computer Science	614-823-1218
Education	614-823-1214
English	614-823-1218
Environmental Science	614-823-1517
Equine Science	614-823-1843
Foreigh Languages	614-823-1361
Health Education	614-823-3528
Health Promotion and Fitness	614-823-3528
History	614-823-1361
Honors Program	614-823-1211
Integrative Studies	614-823-1210
International Studies	614-823-1361
Journalism	614-823-3380
Language/Culture Deaf Community	614-823-1361
Legal Studies	614-823-1361
Liberal Studies	614-823-1356
Life and Earth Sciences	614-823-1517
Mass Communication	614-823-3380
Mathematics	614-823-1218
Molecular Biology	614-823-1517
Music	614-823-1508
Nursing	614-823-1614
Organizational Communication	614-823-3380
Physical Education	614-823-3528
Physical Science	614-823-1316
Physics	614-823-1316
Political Science	614-823-1361
Psychology	614-823-1615
Public Relations	614-823-3380
Religion and Philosophy	614-823-1361
Sociology	614-823-1837
Speech Communication	614-823-3380
Sport Management	614-823-3528
Theatre/Dance	614-823-1657
Women’s Studies	614-823-1361

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.

Academic Dean	614-823-1556
Academic Support Center	614-823-1610
Admission (graduate Programs)	614-823-3210
Admission (traditional-age students)	614-823-1500
Admission (continuing education students)	614-823-3210
Athletics	614-823-3529
Bookstore	614-823-1364
Business Office (billings and payments)	614-823-1150
Campus Center	614-823-3202
Career Center	614-823-1456
Chaplain	614-823-1409
Continuing Studies	614-823-1356
Financial Aid	614-823-1502
The Graduate School	614-823-3210
Health Center	614-823-1345
International Programs	614-823-1312
Library	614-823-1215
Mail Center	614-823-1882
MBA Program	614-823-1095
Registrar	614-823-1350
Security	614-823-1870
Student Affairs (residence life)	614-823-1250
Veterans	614-823-1249

About Otterbein

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On Campus

Contact Otterbein

The College and the Community

Mission

Philosophy of the College

Educational Purpose

History

Governance

Facilities

Westerville and Central Ohio

Campus and Local Maps

Frequently Requested Telephone Numbers

Academic Offices

Administrative Offices