Digital Commons @ Otterbein

William Henry Fouse (1868-1944) was Otterbein’s first African-American graduate. Fouse was a renowned educator who, according to Otterbein historian Dr. Harold Hancock, “taught school in Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky, serving as principal of Dunbar School in Lexington, Kentucky, for twenty-four years. In Kentucky, he organized the Bluegrass Oratorical Association and Bluegrass Athletic Association, instituted the Penny Saving Bank Plan in schools, and guided the development of Dunbar School into a modern school. He became president of the Kentucky National Education Association [in 1937]. Just before he retired in 1937, he received an M.A. from the University of Cincinnati.” Fouse graduated from Otterbein in 1893. In his own words, “I worked my way through college blacking boots, off bearing tiles for a great man Mr. John Everal[,] waiting table in Columbus and elsewhere. But I must say that I am glad I did so since it prepared me to be of some little service to my own people and to the community in which I live…” In 1937, Otterbein awarded him an honorary PedD (Doctor of Pedagogy) for his many services to his people and community. This collection includes examples of his written works, articles about him, and related documents and photos.