Office of the President

It is my pleasure to welcome you to Heidelberg University – a place of great tradition, great academic and extra-curricular offerings, great sense of family community and great promise.
 
We’ve come a long way since 1850 when five students attended classes in a commercial building in downtown Tiffin.  Through the decades, we’ve maintained our commitment to provide a quality education that enriches our students’ many opportunities and that leads our graduates to lives of purpose with distinction.  Today, our liberal arts curriculum and professional programs not only honor our founders’ hopes and dreams, but prepare our students to begin to build successful careers.
 
Heidelberg University provides an education that engages students' minds by encouraging integrative thinking and the ability to synthesize ongoing change effectively. Classroom experiences, coupled with many opportunities to hone leadership skills by participating in campus organizations, challenge students, support their goals, draw them into new experiences, and teach them how to succeed.  Our goal is to develop confident and responsible individuals who are engaged not only in the Heidelberg community but in the local community as well.
 
In recent years, Heidelberg has made a conscious effort to be a welcoming, inclusive campus for all ethnicities. We believe firmly that learning and living in a diverse, multicultural community is a critical element in preparing our students to succeed in a global environment. During academic year 2008-09, a total of 11 percent of our students represented minorities and an additional 3 percent were international students, and these numbers are increasing. Learning about and respecting different cultures and ideas – including the 32 different faith traditions represented on our campus – is part of our dynamic Campus Ministry program that offers a variety of worship opportunities and mission projects. Heidelberg is affiliated with the United Church of Christ.
 
A few additional Heidelberg “Hei-lights:

  • We offer 36 undergraduate courses of study, 16 minors and 13 pre-professional programs. Many of our students choose to major in education, and almost 100 percent of our graduates pass the Praxis II test for their teaching licenses. With exceptionally strong programs, music, biology, business and sport management majors also have traditionally attracted high numbers of students.
  • At Heidelberg, your education is about more than your classes. Through our 70 student organizations, intramurals, Greek life and athletics, you can develop leadership skills and lifelong friendships, and make important connections to others on campus.
  • This summer, Heidelberg added its fourth program in graduate studies, in music education. The university also offers master’s degrees in the highly sought areas of education, business administration and counseling.
  • Students have the opportunity to conduct individual and group research projects under the direction of the Heidelberg faculty.  Students are encouraged to participate in research and each year they present the results of their work at the “Minds at Work” Student Research Conference.  Often students travel to professional regional and national conferences with faculty members to share their findings.  Special funds are available on campus to help support the student research projects.
  • The award-winning Honors Program, “The Life of the Mind,” is a comprehensive approach toward empowering students to explore their abilities within a community of scholars and learners.  The program is comprised of four intellectual areas: the Scholar, the Scientist, the Artist and the Citizen, and culminates with a senior honors project, completed with a faculty mentor.
  • Through special seminar courses, freshmen students participate in the First-Year Experience, which allows them to explore ideas, topics or events and begin to develop critical thinking and writing skills required in college.
  • We encourage students to step outside their comfort zone and explore the option of study abroad. Programs are available to fit students’ individual needs, including studying in another country for a year, a semester or a summer term. Heidelberg has exchange programs with several colleges and universities abroad, including our unique American Junior Year program at Germany’s oldest university, the University of Heidelberg.
  • Our Center for Historic and Military Archaeology is one of the very few programs of its kind that offers students hands-on study in this field.  Academic research and experiential learning will come to life when you examine history by participating in excavations at Johnson’s Island Civil War Prison site.
  • The National Center for Water Quality Research, located in Gillmor Science Hall, is a leader in surface and ground water research in the Great Lakes and beyond. Students have opportunities to be involved in the lab’s research activities as interns or employees in lab or field research. Taking advantage of the team approach, faculty members often mentor student research projects, helping prepare our graduates for entry into the working world.
  • As a student-athlete, you’ll be part of the prestigious and competitive Ohio Athletic Conference, one of three athletic conferences in the nation that are 100 years old.  Since its founding in 1902, the OAC has maintained its focus of “student” before “athlete,” although that doesn’t diminish the spirit of competition on the field of play.
  • You will get to know your professors in a meaningful way outside of the classroom. They serve as advisors and mentors, teachers and coaches.  And they are committed to helping you build your success.

I hope that by exploring these pages, you begin to get a great sense of this special place called Heidelberg University.  But the best way to make that determination is to visit our campus.
 
As always, if we can provide additional information or answer specific questions you might have, we would be pleased to speak with you.
 
I look forward to meeting you on campus!
 
Thank you.
 

Robert H. Huntington, Ed.D.
President