-
John L. Comerford, Ph.D. - 21st President
Otterbein University
John L. Comerford, Ph.D., began his duties as president of Otterbein University on July 1, 2018.
Since then, he has been growing Otterbein University’s commitment to being inclusive, innovative and intentional. He has a strong record of commitment and advocacy for higher education and liberal arts colleges, which he brought to Otterbein when he took his post as the University’s 21st president.
-
Kathy Krendl Inauguration - Twentieth President
Otterbein University
Kathy A. Krendl, Ph.D., served as the 20th president and the first woman to lead Otterbein University from July 2009 through her retirement in June 2018. During her tenure at Otterbein, the university won national recognition for its distinctive undergraduate curriculum and its focus on experiential learning. Otterbein is consistently recognized on the President’s Honor Roll of community-engaged institutions. It also consistently ranks in the top tier of institutions for its commitment to a student-centered learning environment.
During her tenure President Krendl served on a number of central Ohio boards including the Osteopathic Heritage Foundation, YWCA Columbus, Ohio Campus Compact, Westerville Area Resource Ministry, and I Know I Can. She also co-chaired the Ohio Foundation for Independent Colleges Women’s Scholarship Initiative.
-
C. Brent DeVore Inauguration - Nineteenth President
Otterbein University
Dr. C. Brent DeVore, Otterbein’s nineteenth president, brings to the College a solid combination of experience, enthusiasm and high expectations. He looks confidently ahead to the school’s bright future. The College’s Board of Trustees unanimously approved the selection of Dr. DeVore as president from a field of 365 candidates. He assumed office July 1, 1984. Dr. DeVore has said his top priority as president is “maintaining a consistent quality in the total academic program.” Another goal is to make Otterbein ''the independent college in central Ohio.”
-
Thomas Jefferson Kerr, IV - Eighteenth President
Otterbein University
After reviewing the credentials of more than one hundred applicants, the Board of Trustees selected Dr. Thomas Jefferson Kerr, IV as the eighteenth president of Otterbein College. He assumed office on July 1,1971. Although he is young in years. Doctor Kerr has a wide range of experience as a scholar, teacher and college administrator. Having received a B.S. degree from Cornell University in 1956 and an M.A. from the University of Buffalo in 1959, he joined the department of history and government at Otterbein College in 1963. Syracuse University awarded him the Ph.D. degree in social studies in 1965.
-
John Gordon Howard Inauguration - Fifteenth President
Otterbein University
Dr. Howard's job will be a big one. But he is well qualified to undertake it. through the inspiration of his parents, both of who are graduates of Otterbein, he has described the home of his parents, as a "school of learning, a temple for worship, a laboratory for social experiences and a meeting place for friends."
From the Public Opinion Newspaper, November 18, 1945
-
John Ruskin Howe Inauguration - Fourteenth President
Otterbein University
With the inauguration of John Ruskin Howe as President on November 4,1939, Otterbein College took another step along the path she has been treading for the past ninety-two years. The dominant spirit of this step, as well as of those taken in the past, is progress. Having arrived at her present position only through the untiring efforts of her leaders, constituency, alumni, and friends, Otterbein proposes to look onward continually to new eras of service.
-
Rev. Lewis Bookwalter, D.D., Inauguration - Eleventh President
Otterbein University
President Bookwalter demonstrated that strong leadership can produce significant accomplishments even in a short presidency. Trustees appointed him after he had extensive experience in United Brethren college presidencies, two years at Westfield College (IL) and ten at Western College (IA). As Trustees intended, he spent most of his time with off campus constituencies. In four years, he increased enrollment from 401 students to 551. Three Otterbein fraternities formed, without University approval.
President Bookwalter's remarkable fund raising and construction record included Cochran Hall (1907, $31,000), Carnegie Library (1908, $40,000), Lambert Hall (music, 1909, $28,000), and a heating plant. He resigned in 1909.