Ottawa University is a private, non-profit, faith-based liberal arts college located in
OttawaOttawa is a city situated along the Marais des Cygnes River in the central part of Franklin County, located in east-central Kansas, 50 miles southwest of Kansas City, Mo., in the central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 12,649. It is the county seat and most populous...
,
KansasKansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
. It was founded in 1865 and is affiliated with the
American Baptist Churches USAThe American Baptist Churches USA is a Baptist Christian denomination within the United States. The denomination maintains headquarters in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. The organization is usually considered mainline, although varying theological and mission emphases may be found among its...
. Ottawa has approximately 1,000 students on its main campus, with a total of about 3,000 across all campuses.
History
Early Roots
From 1837 to 1855, Reverend
JothamJotham Meeker was a Baptist missionary, printer, who lived and proselytized among various Native American peoples, including the Delaware, Ottawa, and Shawnee...
and Elanor Meeker worked to improving the lives of the
Ottawa Native AmericansThe Odawa or Ottawa, said to mean "traders," are a Native American and First Nations people. They are one of the Anishinaabeg, related to but distinct from the Ojibwe nation. Their original homelands are located on Manitoulin Island, near the northern shores of Lake Huron, on the Bruce Peninsula in...
. Their work with the tribe inspired "a hunger for education and Christianity." Another missionary, John Tecumseh (Tauy) Jones continued the Meekers' commitment to the tribe after the Meeker's death. Jones worked and served as an interpreter and Baptist minister. Through his efforts, he was able to set up a meeting between the Baptists and the Ottawa Indians.
The meeting resulting in the Ottawa Tribe donated 20000 acres (80.9 km²) for "a university to ensure the education of their children." The Baptists agreed to build and also to operate the school and promised "free education to the Ottawa Indians." As of 2008, Ottawa University offers tuition-free undergraduate educatioon to any enrolled member of the
Ottawa TribeThe Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma is one of four federally recognized Native American tribes of Ottawa Indians. The other three tribes, the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Little River Band of Ottawa Indians and the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, are located in...
.
Ottawa University was officially established in 1865. The first building on campus was destroyed by fire in 1875 and was rebuilt in 1876. That building, Tauy Jones Hall, is still standing as of 2008.
Adult Campus Expansions
Ottawa University was one of the early schools promoting adult education in the United States and opened its first adult campus in Kansas City in 1974. Additional campuses centering on the demands of working adults have been established in Arizona (1977), Wisconsin (1992) and Indiana (2002). Degree-completion programs were also developed internationally beginning in 1986.
Criticism
The agreement and land trade with the Ottawa tribe came under criticism in the 1800s. Critics argued that the tribe gave up its land and all its wealth, then was moved hundreds of miles away and the university was only used for the benefit of white people. A group of white men gained control of the board of trustees, sold some of the land, the proceeds of which were never accounted for.
Academic Profile
Today, Ottawa University offers Bachelor degree programs in over 25 disciplines. A Master of Business Administration as well as Master of Arts programs in Human Resources, Counseling and Education are also available.
The following Bachelor's degree programs are offered at the school:
- Accounting
- Art
- Biology
- Business Administration
- Communication
- Education
|
English
History
Human Services
Individualized
Information Technology
Mathematics |
Music
Physical Education
Psychology
Religion
Sociology
Theatre |
Department of Church Relations
The Department of Church Relations maintains the University's long-standing relationship with the clergy and churches within the American Baptist Churches USA. Church Relations also works to recruit students from American Baptist Churches across the country.
Music, Drama, and other events
The Music and Drama department offer productions for the community and serve as host for community related events.
Athletics
Ottawa University athletic teams are known as the "Braves" and participate in the
National Association of Intercollegiate AthleticsThe National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics is an athletic association that organizes college and university-level athletic programs. Membership in the NAIA consists of smaller colleges and universities across the United States. The NAIA allows colleges and universities outside the USA...
and the
Kansas Collegiate Athletic ConferenceThe Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NAIA. It is commonly called "The Kansas Conference", and as the name implies, all members are located in Kansas...
. The school provides seven intercollegiate sports for men, seven intercollegiate sports for women, and a varied intramural program. The school is the home of recently-renovated
Peoples Bank FieldPeoples Bank Field, formely known as Cook Field, is a sport stadium in Ottawa, Kansas. The facility is primarily used by the Ottawa University football, soccer, and track & field teams...
.
Campus
The main campus is located in
Ottawa, KansasOttawa is a city situated along the Marais des Cygnes River in the central part of Franklin County, located in east-central Kansas, 50 miles southwest of Kansas City, Mo., in the central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 12,649. It is the county seat and most populous...
and is referred to as the "Residential College" by the staff.
In addition to the residential college, OU has adult campuses in
Overland Park, Kansas-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 149,080 people, 59,703 households, and 39,702 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,627.0 people per square mile . There were 62,586 housing units at an average density of 1,102.9 per square mile...
;
PhoenixPhoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
and
Chandler, Arizona-Demographics:As of the Census of 2010, there were 236,123 people, 86,924 households, and 60,212 families residing in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 73.3% White, 4.8% Black or African American, 1.5% Native American, 8.2% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 21.9% Hispanic or Latino, and 8.3%...
;
Brookfield, WisconsinBrookfield is a city located in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. It had a population of 37,920 in the 2010 census. Brookfield is the second largest city in Waukesha County, and the leading commercial suburb of Milwaukee. The City of Brookfield was formed in 1954 from the Town of...
;
Jeffersonville, IndianaJeffersonville is a city in Clark County, Indiana, along the Ohio River. Locally, the city is often referred to by the abbreviated name Jeff. It is directly across the Ohio River to the north of Louisville, Kentucky along I-65. The population was 44,953 at the 2010 census...
.
Student life
Ottawa views attending college as an opportunity to interact with people, learn new skills and discover new talents. The university offers over 30 student groups, clubs and organizations including a radio station and the oldest student-run newspaper in Kansas. Additionally, the school offers Drama, music, honor societies, campus ministry opportunities, and other activities.
Song
Notable among a number of songs commonly played and sung at various events such as
commencementGraduation is the action of receiving or conferring an academic degree or the ceremony that is sometimes associated, where students become Graduates. Before the graduation, candidates are referred to as Graduands. The date of graduation is often called degree day. The graduation itself is also...
and
convocationA Convocation is a group of people formally assembled for a special purpose.- University use :....
, and athletic games are the Ottawa University Fight Song,
O'er The Stands. O'er the stands of shining yellow OU banners fly; Cheer on cheer like volley'd thunder echoes through the sky. See, the OU tide is turning, gaining more and more. So fight, fight, fight, for a win tonight: OU forever more.
Notable alumni
- Wayne Angell
Wayne Angell is an Economist and was Governor of the Federal Reserve Board.-Biography:He graduated from Ottawa University, from the University of Kansas with an M.A. in 1953, and a Ph.D...
, former Federal Reserve governor, Kansas State Representative and Bear Stearns chief economist
- Mitch Barnhart
Mitch Barnhart is the athletics director for the Kentucky Wildcats athletics program at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky. Barnhart was hired by the university in 2002 succeeding Larry Ivy. Barnhart served in the same capacity at Oregon State University from 1998-2002. He is the...
, Athletic DirectorAn athletic director is an administrator at many American colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and related staff involved in intercollegiate or interscholastic athletic programs...
, University of KentuckyThe University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...
- Leonard Erickson, notable researcher of DNA repair
- Howard K. Gloyd
Howard Kay Gloyd was an American herpetologist who is credited with describing several new species of reptile, such as the Florida Cottonmouth, Agkistrodon piscivorus conanti...
, herpetologist, credited with describing several new species of reptile
- Robin Harris
Robin Hughes Harris was an American comedian and actor, known for his recurring comic sketch about Bébé's Kids.-Childhood:...
, comedian
- Timon Marshall
Timon Marshall is an American football wide receiver who currently plays for the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz of the Arena Football League...
, Arena Football League player
- Merritt C. Mechem
Merritt Cramer Mechem was a territorial Supreme Court justice and fifth Governor of New Mexico.Mechem was born in Ottawa, Franklin County, Kansas to Homer C. Mechem and Martha Mechem. He graduated from public school in Kansas and attended the University of Kansas and Ottawa University in Ottawa,...
, territorial Supreme Court justice and one-term Republican governor of New MexicoNew Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
- Dorothy C. Stratton
Dorothy Constance Stratton was the director of the SPARS, the United States Coast Guard Women's Reserve during World War II. She is the namesake of the Coast Guard's third National Security Cutter, the USCGC Stratton .-Early life and Coast Guard career:Stratton was born in 1899 in Brookfield,...
, director of the United States Coast Guard Women's Reserve (SPARSSPARS was the United States Coast Guard Women's Reserve, created 23 November 1942 with the signing of Public Law 773 by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The name is a contraction of the Coast Guard motto: Semper Paratus and its English translation Always Ready...
) during World War II
- Derrick Ward
Derrick LaRon Ward is an American football running back for the Houston Texans of the National Football League. He was originally drafted by the New York Jets in the seventh round of the 2004 NFL Draft. He played college football at Fresno State University and Ottawa University...
, National Football League
External links