Thepresident ofOhio Wesleyan University is the institution's chief administrator andex officio chair of the Board of Trustees.[1] He is appointed by and is responsible to the other members of the Board, who delegate to him the day-to-day running of the university.[1] Since Wesleyan's beginning, just 15 men have held the title of Ohio Wesleyan University president, while a few have served as interim president. Those who have held the office include lawyers, literary scholars, politicians, businessmen and clergymen.
Mark Huddleston was named university president following a meeting of the Ohio Wesleyan Board of Trustees on Saturday morning, June 12, 2004. He succeeded Thomas Courtice, who held office for 10 years before retiring that year.[2] Huddleston's academic specialty ispublic administration, a field in which he has published widely, focusing on the seniorfederal career service and a variety ofinternational issues.[2]
The service of Ohio Wesleyan's presidents to the college spans nearly 170 years now. About a quarter of them, in the beginning of the college's history, were appointed by the Methodist church. Early in the beginning of the 20th century that link was severed and the appointment ofArthur Flemming marked the beginning of independent appointment to the position of presidency of the college.
The first presidentEdward Thomson, one of the two founders of the university in 1842. His father, a druggist, influenced Edward toward the study of medicine, which he pursued at theUniversity of Pennsylvania. He retained the post of the presidency until 1860. Thomson was a vocal clergyman and a defender of the rights of women to co-education, on equal terms with men, and engaged in antislavery activity at that time, including many acts of civil disobedience.
On August 5, 1846, Thomson delivered hisinaugural address. He maintained that the college was a product of theliberality of the people ofDelaware and that it was fortunate that Ohio Wesleyan was founded in a community divided in religious and political opinions because the friction of a mixed society preventeddogmatism and developed energy and pointed out that the spirit of the college is the spirit of liberty.[3]
Accounts of Thomson focus on his scholarly work and his firm anti-slavery social stance. By the end of the presidency, Thomson had written three books on 18th centuryEurope andAsia. He helped to give the campus a certainabolitionist tinge ofreform, as was the case withOberlin College, along these lines by stating that the school would not obey thefugitive slave law and would be willing to suffer the extreme penalty in case of need.[4]
Under Frederick Merrick's presidency (1860–1873), the school focused as much oncurriculum expansion as it did on fundraising. Less teacher than some of the others, Merrick's zeal significantly increased the school's coffers, but disappointment followed at the failure of his attempt to abolishfraternities in 1870-1872 and anxiety during the years of the construction of Merrick Hall.[5]Charles Payne's presidency lasted between 1876 and 1888. He was an 1856Wesleyan University alumnus graduate and during his presidency, enrollment in the college increased three times andmusic education experienced a decidedrenaissance.[6] While no major buildings were built during his administration, Paynes' fame was strongly related to hisreputation of being adisciplinarian.[7]
The Payne age of transition, was followed by Bashford's era of transformation during 1889-1904. The need of new departments and the value of specialized instruction were recognized. Bashford's aim was to improve theplant and offerings of the college; to make the school'scurriculum and buildings on par with its new academic position.[8] The building history during that period included Monnett extensions, University Hall and Slocum Library.Athletics andphysical education facilities were established and a start was made for a newgymnasium.[9] Development during the Bashford years meant establishments of departments fornatural science (physics,zoology,geology), and new departments ofspeech,history,French,English andeconomics.[10] The new ideal ofspecialization brought an emphasis onprofessional preparation on theDoctor of Philosophy degree and on travel and study inEurope. Threeprofessional schools were established during his presidency (ofLaw, ofMedicine and ofTheology) and the Doric Front was demolished.[8]
During the 1920s, underHerbert George Welch's and John W. Hoffman's presidencieschapel service was dropped,sororities came in.[11] Edgar Hall came into use and Selby Stadium was built; Austin Manor andPerkins Observatory was constructed and Stuyvesant Hall was planned.[11]
The presidency of Thomas Wenzlau span three decades between 1969-1984.[12] The first challenge for Wenzlau was campus unrest: Wesleyan students took over theROTC building, demanded its shut-down and eventually eliminated its presence in 1970.[13] Students demanded participation in departmental meetings and faculty committees. The period saw a furthering of the democratic process in the governance of Wesleyan.[14] His presidency witnessed decline in students' test scores, an unusually high attrition rate, lack of adequate research to identify potential major donors and a growing "party school" image,[15] leading to a rocky relationship between him and the student body.[16] In 1979-1982, the campus newspaperThe Transcript severely criticized Wenzlau's presidency blaming it for "severely affecting the reputation of the college".[17] The exchange between the president andThe Transcript led to aWashington Post report on the school that eventually led to the end of Wenzlau's presidency.[18]
The leadership of David Liles Warren increased admission standards for students, engaged students in a "live-in" presidency, expanded media exposure and established a National Colloquium, whose objective was to focus on the liberal arts.[19] Warren engaged in forty-one interviews on theABC andNBC networks.[20]
Mark Huddleston, was elected after a Board meeting on June 12, 2004. He succeeded Thomas Courtice, who held office for 10 years.[21] Huddleston's specializes inpublic administration, a field in which he has published widely, focusing on the seniorfederal career service and a variety ofinternational issues.[21] Before coming to Ohio Wesleyan, Huddleston served in the faculty of theUniversity of Delaware for 24 years, ultimately as the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. Huddleston has been an active consultant for both theU.S. government and international organizations in the past. He worked previously in theBalkans, southernAfrica, and central and southeastAsia. He gainedinternational development experience inBosnia as an advisor on rebuilding financial and administrative infrastructures following theDayton Accords. He has authored the following books:The Public Administration Workbook,Profiles in Excellence: Conversations with the Best of America's Career Executive Service,The Higher Civil Service in the United States, and The Government's Managers.[22]
Under Huddleston, Wesleyan continued to undertake construction projects. The Memorial Union Building was renovated in 2001 to accommodate the Economics Department, the Academic Resource Center, the Information Systems department, and the Woltemade Center for Economics, Business and Entrepreneurship. TheConrades-Wetherell Science Center opened in 2004 to provide 52,000 square feet (4,800 m2) of additional space for the science departments.
An athletic fundraising campaign began in 2005.[23][24] The campaign is named after Branch Rickey, class of 1904, who broke the racial barrier in professional baseball.[25] It is directed at renovating the facilities used by the 22 varsity teams by adding a new turf facility, new field house and a pool, and a gateway connecting all sports facilities on campus.
In April 2007, Huddleston accepted a position as president of theUniversity of New Hampshire and left Wesleyan on June 30, 2007, giving him the second shortest presidential reign in Wesleyan's history, behind David Lockmiller, 1959–1961. On 29 May 2007, the appointment of current university provost Dr. David O. Robbins as interim president was unanimously endorsed by OWU's Board of Trustees.[26] Dr. Robbins' term as Interim President began on 1 July 2007.[26]
| # | Image | President | Wesleyan Class | Tenure | Life | Events |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Edward Thomson | -- | 1842–1860 | 1810–1870 | -- |
| 2 | Frederick Merrick | -- | 1860–1873 | 1810–1894 | -- | |
| – | Lorenzo Dow McCabe[27] | -- | 1873–1876 | 1817–1897 | Acting/Interim | |
| 3 |  | Charles H. Payne | -- | 1876–1888 | 1830–1899 | Wesleyan Female College merged with Ohio Wesleyan University |
| – | Lorenzo Dow McCabe | -- | 1888–1889 | 1817–1897 | Acting/Interim | |
| 4 |  | James Whitford Bashford | -- | 1889–1904 | 1849–1919 | -- |
| – | William F. Whitlock | -- | 1904–1905 | 1833–1909 | Acting/Interim | |
| 5 |  | Herbert George Welch | -- | 1905–1916 | 1862–1969 | -- |
| 6 | John W. Hoffman[28] | -- | 1916–1928 | 1871–1953 | -- | |
| 7 | Edmund D. Soper | -- | 1928–1938 | 1876–1961 | Stuyvesant Hall built | |
| – | Edward Loranus Rice | -- | 1938–1939 | 1871–1960 | Acting/Interim | |
| 8 | Herbert John Burgstahler | -- | 1939–1947 | 1886–1976 | Last of long line of Methodist-appointed Presidents | |
| – | Clarence E. Ficken | -- | 1947–1948 | 1894–1975 | Acting/Interim | |
| 9 |  | Arthur Sherwood Flemming | 1927 | 1948–1953 | 1905–1996 | -- |
| – | Clarence E. Ficken | -- | 1953–1955 | 1894–1975 | Acting/Interim | |
| – | Frank J. Prout | 1906 | 1955–1957 | 1883–1967 | Acting/Interim | |
| 9 | | Arthur Sherwood Flemming | 1927 | 1957–1958 | 1905–1996 | -- |
| – | George W. Burns | -- | 1958–1959 | 1913–1994 | Acting/Interim | |
| 10 | David Lockmiller | -- | 1959–1961 | 1907–2005 | -- | |
| 11 | Elden T. Smith | 1932 | 1962–1968 | 1910–2006 | Residential Buildings significantly expanded - Smith, Welch and Lucy Hayes Dormitories built | |
| – | Robert P. Lisensky | -- | 1968–1969 | 1928–2019 | Acting/Interim | |
| 12 | Thomas E. Wenzlau | 1950 | 1969–1984 | 1927–2018 | Branch Rickey Arena Built; Joint Statement on Rights and Freedoms of Students adopted Built | |
| 13 | David L. Warren | -- | 1984–1993 | -- | Hamilton-Williams Campus Center Built | |
| – | William C. Louthan | -- | 1993–1994 | -- | Acting/Interim | |
| 14 | Thomas Courtice | -- | 1994–2004 | born 1943 | Science Center Built; Establishment ofFive Colleges of Ohio, Fine Arts Center | |
| 15 | Mark Huddleston | -- | 2004–2007 | born 1950 | Major $250 Million Campaign | |
| – | David O. Robbins | -- | 2007–2008 | -- | Acting/Interim | |
| 16 | Rock Jones | -- | 2008–2023 | born 1958 | Theory to Practice Grant Program; Renovation of Merrick Hall; Renovation of Slocum Hall | |
| 17 | Matthew vandenBerg | -- | 2023–present | -- | Closure of Beeghly Library for remodel, Reconstruction of Panhellenic House into 1842 |
Ohio Wesleyan Female College had three presidents before merging with Ohio Wesleyan University.
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