WESTERVILLE, Ohio, Dec. 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Otterbein College is proud to announce that Dr. Kathy A. Krendl, Executive Vice President and Provost of Ohio University, has agreed to become the College's 20th president. Dr. Krendl will be the first woman to lead Otterbein, a school with a rich history of inclusiveness. Otterbein was one of the first schools to admit women on an equal basis with men, and has admitted women to its full-time academic programs since its founding in 1847. Dr. Krendl will succeed President C. Brent DeVore, who will retire at the end of the academic year following 25 years as Otterbein's president. She will assume her role in July 2009.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081205/DC50297)

Dr. Krendl received a BA in English from Lawrence University (Wisconsin), an MA in Journalism from Ohio State University and a PhD in Communication from the University of Michigan. After holding teaching positions at Ohio State, Southern Illinois, and Indiana University, Dr. Krendl joined OU in 1996 as a Professor of Telecommunications and Dean of the University's Scripps College of Communication. In 2004, she was appointed Provost and became responsible for eleven colleges on the OU campus. In 2007, she was promoted to Executive Vice President and Provost.

Dr. Krendl was chosen to lead Otterbein following an eight-month nationwide search by a 14-person Search Committee. The Committee included representatives from all Otterbein constituencies, including trustees, faculty, students, administrators, support staff and alumni. The search culminated in a series of two-day visits to the Otterbein campus by three finalists, each of whom met with members of the school's various constituency groups.

Thomas C. Morrison, who chaired the Search Committee and who serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees said "We are thrilled that Dr. Krendl has accepted our offer to succeed President DeVore. We had a wealth of highly qualified candidates who applied for the position but Dr. Krendl stood out from the start. Her experience as Dean of the Scripts College of Communications and, subsequently, as OU's Provost and Executive Vice President, together with her intelligence, personality and energy make her the right person to lead Otterbein at this time."

Dr. Krendl was introduced to the Otterbein and Westerville communities on Friday, December 5 at a news conference in Roush Hall on Otterbein's campus. For more information, go to www.otterbein.edu.

SOURCE Otterbein College