Notable Alumni of Otterbein University

Otterbein University, located in Westerville, Ohio, boasts a diverse and accomplished alumni network. As a liberal arts college affiliated with the United Methodist Church, Otterbein has fostered an environment of intellectual curiosity and personal growth, producing graduates who have made significant contributions in various fields. With a total student enrollment of approximately 3,100, Otterbein University provides a personalized educational experience that prepares its students for success in their chosen careers.

Academics and Campus Life

Founded in 1847 by the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, Otterbein University was named for United Brethren founder, Philip William Otterbein. Since 1968, as a result of a division and two mergers involving the Church, the university has been associated with the United Methodist Church.

The Otterbein campus is located in Westerville, Ohio, between Alum Creek on the west and State Street (Ohio State Route 3) on the east. West Home Street runs through the center of campus. The north end of the campus is home to most underclassman housing, the health and physical education department, athletic facilities, as well as the Clements Recreation Center. Otterbein offers 74 majors and 44 minors, as well as eight graduate programs, conferring B.A., B.S., B.F.A., B.Mus., B.M.E., B.S.E., B.S.N., MAE, MBA, MSN, and DNP degrees. Since Fall 2011, the university has run on the semester calendar. Twenty-eight percent of Otterbein students study abroad.

The Department of Music at Otterbein offers the degrees of Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Music Education, and Bachelor of Arts in several majors including music theory and composition, music history and literature, jazz studies, and general music studies. The music program at Otterbein includes multiple genre programs, as well as an opera theatre program. The Concert Choir tours nationally and internationally. Other ensembles include Marching Band, Opus One vocal jazz, Cardinal Singers (formerly Women's Chorale), Vox Otterbein (formerly Men's Chorus), Otterbein Singers, The Anticipations rock cover band, Jazz Combo, Early Music, and Red Noise, the new music ensemble. Since 2021, string players have played in the OtterCap Orchestra, an ensemble consisting of music students from Otterbein University and Capital University. The music department is housed in Battelle Fine Arts Center. Professional training is offered in the areas of Acting, Design/Technology, and Musical Theatre with BFA degrees offered in all three programs and a dance concentration in the latter.

Otterbein's history of social Greek organizations dates back to 1908. There are six sororities and eight fraternities at Otterbein; all six sororities are local, while six fraternities are local and two are national.

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Notable Alumni Across Various Fields

Otterbein University's alumni have achieved prominence in diverse fields, including arts and entertainment, politics, business, sports, and military service. This section highlights some of the most notable graduates and their accomplishments.

Arts and Entertainment

Rachael Harris: An American actress and comedian, Rachael Harris enrolled at Otterbein University in 1989 to study theatre. She is known for her numerous acting roles, such as starring as Dr. Linda Martin in the Fox/Netflix series Lucifer, as Nora Parker in the Disney+/Hulu series Goosebumps (2023), her role in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid film series, and as a guest star on numerous TV shows.
David Graf: Paul David Graf was an American actor, best known for his role as Sgt. Eugene Tackleberry in the Police Academy series of films.
Cory Michael Smith: An American actor, Cory Michael Smith is best known for his main role as Edward Nygma / The Riddler in the Fox television drama series Gotham. He appeared in 2013 in Breakfast at Tiffany's on Broadway, which starred Emilia Clarke. He has also appeared in several of Todd Haynes's films, including Carol (2015), Wonderstruck (2017), and May December (2023).
Sam Jaeger: Samuel Heath Jaeger is an American actor and screenwriter.

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Jeremy Bobb: An American actor who has appeared on stage, television and in feature films. He had a recurring role in CBS's 2013 drama Hostages as White House Chief of Staff Quintin Creasy and co-starred as Herman Barrow in the Cinemax TV series The Knick. In 2014, he played Stevie in the crime-drama film The Drop. In 2019, Bobb appeared in the Netflix series Russian Doll. In 2023, he appeared as Detective Mayhew in the Peacock mini series The Continental.
Ashley Palmer: An American actress and singer best known for her appearance in the 2007 hit horror film, Paranormal Activity.
Dee Hoty: An American actress known for her work in musical theatre. Over the course of her career, she has appeared in numerous Broadway productions and earned three Tony Award nominations for Best Actress in a Musical, for The Will Rogers Follies (1991), The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public (1994), and Footloose (1999).
Grandma Lee: Frances Lee Strong, better known by her stage name Grandma Lee, was an American stand-up comedian who was a talent show contestant on America's Got Talent in 2009. She began performing when she was in her 60s and became known for her off-color humor.
Tom P. Cardinal: A stage, television, and movie actor/singer.

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Politics and Law

Chris Jansing: Christine Ann Kapostasy-Jansing is an American television journalist. ET weekdays on MSNBC, having replaced MTP Daily in May 2022.
Kazuya Shimba: A Japanese politician, the general-secretary of the Democratic Party for the People (DPFP). He is serving as a member of the House of Councillors.
Ahmed Naser Al-Raisi: A high ranking police officer in the United Arab Emirates. He currently serves as the 30th president of Interpol and the Major general of the United Arab Emirates' interior ministry.
Alan Eugene Norris: Alan Eugene Norris is a Senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
Chalmers Wylie: Chalmers Pangburn Wylie was an American politician and lawyer from Ohio, who served in various public offices in that state before serving thirteen terms as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1967 to 1993.
George W. Meeker: George W. Meeker was the 23rd mayor of Columbus, Ohio and the 21st person to serve in that office. He served Columbus for one term. His successor was James G. Bull after 1870. He died in 1890.
David L.: State of Ohio who was Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives 1896-1898.
John Karefa-Smart: Politician, Lawyer

Business and Entrepreneurship

Henry Clay Frick: Henry Clay Frick was an American industrialist, financier, and art patron. He founded the H. C. Steel manufacturing concern and had extensive real estate holdings in Pittsburgh and throughout the state of Pennsylvania. He founded the H. C. Steel manufacturing concern. He had extensive real estate holdings in Pittsburgh and throughout the state of Pennsylvania. He later built the historic Neoclassical Frick Mansion (now a landmark building in Manhattan), and upon his death donated his extensive collection of old master paintings and fine furniture to create the celebrated Frick Collection and art museum. However, as a founding member of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, he was also in large part responsible for the alterations to the South Fork Dam that caused its failure, leading to the catastrophic Johnstown Flood. His vehement opposition to unions also caused violent conflict, most notably in the Homestead Strike.

Sports

Paul O'Neill: Paul Andrew O'Neill is an American former baseball right fielder who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Cincinnati Reds (1985â1992) and New York Yankees (1993â2001). O'Neill compiled 281 home runs, 1,269 runs batted in, 2,107 hits, and a lifetime batting average of.288. He won the American League batting title in 1994 with a.359 average. He was a five-time World Series champion and a five-time All-Star (1991, 1994, 1995, 1997, and 1998).
Jeff Gibbs: Jeffrey Gibbs is an American professional basketball player for the Koshigaya Alphas of the B.League. Gibbs played college basketball for Otterbein University and is a professional player since 2004.
Frank Truitt: Frank Wilson Truitt, Jr., was a multi-sport collegiate coach and a veteran of World War II.
Harold Anderson: W. Harold Anderson was an American college men's basketball coach at Bowling Green State University and the University of Toledo. As a player, he played at Otterbein College, a small liberal arts college outside Columbus, Ohio. As a coach he was one of the first to win more than 500 games on the collegiate level. Anderson was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1985 and the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.
Dominic Jones: Dominic Jones is a former American football defensive back. He played college football at the University of Minnesota before being dismissed from the program and transferring to Otterbein College. He attended Brookhaven High School in Columbus, Ohio.

Military Service

Lance W. Lord: General Lance W. Lord is a retired four-star general in the United States Air Force who served as Commander of Air Force Space Command at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado.
Charles L. Donnelly, Jr: Charles Lawthers Donnelly Jr. was a general in the United States Air Force who served as Commander in Chief, United States Air Forces in Europe/Commander, Allied Air Forces Central Europe from 1984 to 1987. Donnelly was also a fighter pilot in the Vietnam War. He died of cancer in Malcolm Grow Medical Center at Andrews Air Force Base on July 3, 1994, at the age of 64.

Science and Technology

Agnes Meyer Driscoll: Agnes Meyer Driscoll, known as "Miss Aggie" or "Madame X'", was an American cryptanalyst during both World War I and World War II and was known as "the first lady of naval cryptology."
Gerald Rosselot: Gerald A. Rosselot was an American physicist and engineering executive at the Georgia Institute of Technology, the Georgia Tech Research Institute and Bendix Corporation (now owned by Honeywell). He was an IEEE Fellow.

Other fields

Jack Hanna: Jack Bushnell Hanna is a retired American zookeeper and director emeritus of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. Commonly nicknamed "Jungle Jack", he was director of the zoo from 1978 to 1992, and is viewed as largely responsible for elevating its quality and reputation. His media appearances, particularly with David Letterman, James Corden, Good Morning America, and Maury Povich made him one of the most notable animal experts in the United States.
John Magaw: John William Magaw is an American former police officer and administrator for the United States Federal Government. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in education from Otterbein College, in Westerville, Ohio in 1957. He began his career in public service in 1959 as a state trooper with the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
Bryan Thao Worra: Bryan Thao Worra is a Laotian American writer and poet.
Lillian Resler Harford: Lillian Resler Harford was an American church organizer, editor, and author. She was an active worker in the Woman's Missionary Association of her church, the United Brethren in Christ, and delivered lectures for the Women's Missionary Society. In 1880, she was one of the two delegates sent by the Association to the World's Missionary Conference in London She became the longest-serving president of the Association. Harford died in 1935.

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