Heidelberg University is a

private university Private universities and private colleges are institutions of higher education, not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. They may (and often do) receive from governments tax breaks, public student loans, and grant (money ...

Tiffin, Ohio Tiffin is a city in and the county seat of Seneca County, Ohio, United States. Developed along the Sandusky River, which flows to Lake Erie, Tiffin is about 55 miles southeast of Toledo. The population was 17,963 at the 2010 census.United Church of Christ The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Calvinist, Lutheran, and Anabaptist traditions, and with approximatel ...

History

Heidelberg University was founded by the

German Reformed Church German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

as a college in 1850 in Ohio. It is affiliated with the

United Church of Christ The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Calvinist, Lutheran, and Anabaptist traditions, and with approximatel ...

, the successor to that denomination. In the mid-nineteenth century, there were a significant number of German immigrants in Ohio. The German Reformed Church had seventy-four churches in the state when members decided to establish the college. The college had five students enrolled in the first classes. By the end of the year, 149 students were enrolled.

Transition

On the morning of October 25, 2008 the Heidelberg College Board of Trustees unanimously agreed to transition to Heidelberg University. The name change went into effect at the beginning of the 2009–2010 academic year. According to a statement issued by former interim President Dr. James Troha to all Heidelberg students: "In considering the transition from college to university, the board and senior administrators addressed such issues as competition and trends in higher education and the perception of "university" among prospective students in the U.S. and abroad. Thorough research of both internal and external audiences indicated strong support to become Heidelberg University."

Campus

Heidelberg is situated on enclosed in

Tiffin, Ohio Tiffin is a city in and the county seat of Seneca County, Ohio, United States. Developed along the Sandusky River, which flows to Lake Erie, Tiffin is about 55 miles southeast of Toledo. The population was 17,963 at the 2010 census.Seneca County, in northwestern Ohio. The campus is located on the east side of Tiffin on College Hill, within a half mile of downtown Tiffin.

Architecture

Heidelberg's campus includes 26 buildings, 10 of which are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. The architecture ranges from pure Greek Revival and Victorian Gothic to English Gothic and the functional style. Many of the buildings are formed in gray Bloomville limestone with cut Bedford stone for trim, bringing a sense of overall unity to the various styles.

Academics

Heidelberg offers 36 undergraduate courses of study, four graduate programs, 16 minors, and 13 pre-professional programs. The university has an honors program, The Life of the Mind, that focuses on four thematic components: the artist, the citizen, the scholar, and the scientist. Its American Junior Year program at

Heidelberg University } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

Heidelberg, Germany Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

, is the oldest exchange program between an American university and a German university. Heidelberg is also home to the renowned National Center for Water Quality Research and The Center for Historic and Military Archaeology.

Faculty

Eighty-five percent of the senior faculty members hold a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

or the highest degree in their core competency. The student-to-faculty ratio is 14:1 and the average class size is 20 to 25.

Student life

Students

Students are culturally and geographically diverse, originating from all parts of the country. Eight percent of the students come from other countries. Fifty-three percent are male and forty-seven percent are female. Roughly eighty-five percent of students live in campus-owned housing, which includes seven traditional residence halls, senior apartments, and an average of ten Cooperative Learning Communities (CLCs). CLCs are themed houses that provide students with the opportunity to develop initiatives and programs that will benefit the Heidelberg and/or greater-Tiffin communities.

Greek life

Heidelberg University has ten different social Greek organizations: five fraternities, four sororities, and one co-ed society. Each of the Greek organizations are local and specific only to Heidelberg University. They are governed by the Greek Life Council. In addition to this, Greek Life is accompanied by a chapter of the

Order of Omega The Order of Omega is an undergraduate Greek society recognizing "fraternity men and women who have attained a high standard of leadership in inter-fraternity activities." It functions as an adjunct to traditional fraternal organizations, rather ...

, an honorary Greek life organization. Sororities *The Philalethean Society *Kappa Psi Omega *Delta Sigma Chi *Zeta Theta Psi Fraternities *Nu Sigma Alpha *Alpha Phi Tau *Sigma Tau Nu *Rho Eta Delta *The Excelsior Men's Society Co-Ed Societies *The Euglossian Society

Athletics

Heidelberg is affiliated with

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that choose not to offer athletic scholarships to their stu ...

athletics and is a member of the

Ohio Athletic Conference The Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) was formed in 1902 and is the third oldest athletic conference in the United States. Its current commissioner is Sarah Otey. Former commissioners include Mike Cleary, who was the first General Manager of a profe ...

. Heidelberg is the oldest member of the Ohio Athletic Conference which is the third oldest conference in the Nation and was founded in 1902. Heidelberg has won 46

championships in the history of the athletic program which dates back to 1892. The school is known for its distinctive "Student Prince" mascot, originating from the

Sigmund Romberg Sigmund Romberg (July 29, 1887 – November 9, 1951) was a Hungarian-born American composer. He is best known for his musicals and operettas, particularly '' The Student Prince'' (1924), '' The Desert Song'' (1926) and '' The New Moon'' (1928). E ...

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...

of the same name. On September 5, 2008, a redesigned "Student Prince" mascot was unveiled. Men's Sports *Baseball *Basketball *Cross country *Football *Golf *Lacrosse *Soccer *Tennis *Track (indoor and outdoor) *Wrestling Women's Sports *Basketball *Cheerleading *Cross country *Golf *Lacrosse *Soccer *Softball *Tennis *Track (indoor and outdoor) *Volleyball Heidelberg University's long and storied history of intercollegiate athletics dates back to 1892, when The Berg beat Findlay in football, 20–0. Since then, the athletic program has grown to 22 teams competing at the NCAA Division III level in the Ohio Athletic Conference. Volleyball has qualified for the NCAA Tournament eight times (2007–2012, 2015–2016). They have won six OAC regular season titles (1986, 2009–2011, 2013, 2015) and two tournament titles (2010, 2015). On the gridiron, the Student Princes won the 1972 Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl under the guidance of head coach Pete Riesen. Their longest stretch of success was under the tutelage of College Football Hall of Famer Paul "The Fox" Hoernemann. The Fox led The Berg to a record of 102-18-4 in 14 seasons. After falling on hard times in the 2000s, head coach Mike Hallett turned the program around. Hallett snapped a nation-worst 36-game losing streak in the first game of the 2007 season. By 2012, Hallett guided the Student Princes into the Division III Tournament. Recently, the football program helped rewrite the NCAA record books. On November 16, 2013, tailback Cartel Brooks set an NCAA All-Divisions record with 465 yards of rushing in a win over Baldwin Wallace. On November 3, 2018, punter Austin Baker set a D-III record with a 95-yard punt in a loss at John Carroll. Men's cross country has had four-straight seasons of qualifying for the NCAA Championship, (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009) and seventh overall in school history (1997, 1998, 1999). They also captured their fourth OAC Championships in 2009, which added to their titles in 1998, 1999 and 2000. The Berg men's cross country team also was honored by the USTFCCCA in 2009 by having the second highest GPA in NCAA DIII and the fourth highest in the nation among all cross country teams in any division. Wrestling has had five straight successful seasons in the OAC, and placed as high as sixth in the nation in the past five years. They captured OAC Tournament Championships in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. The wrestlers were also OAC Regular Season Championships in 2006, 2008 and 2009. Baseball has also had success over the past decade with two Regional titles, and seven OAC Championships. They were OAC Tournament Champions 2004, 2008, 2009 and 2010; and Regular Season 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2015 and 2019. Also in 2010, they captured their first NCAA Regional Championship and finished fourth in the nation at the NCAA DIII Baseball World Series. Heidelberg hosted, and won, the first-ever Mideast Super Regional in 2019—sweeping The College of Wooster. The men's track and field team also had success when it placed 14th in the nation in 2007. The team also captured its third OAC Outdoor Track and Field Championship in 2010, adding it to championship years of 1999 and 2000. The Heidelberg men's running program (Cross Country, Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field) in the 2009–2010 school year finished as the 14th best program among NCAA DIII schools because of their high event finishes at the NCAA Division III National Championships.

Notable alumni

* Franklin Gene Bissell, college football coach for the

Kansas Wesleyan Coyotes The Kansas Wesleyan Coyotes are the athletic teams that represent Kansas Wesleyan University, located in Salina, Kansas, in intercollegiate athletics as a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing ...

Jim Boeke James Frederick Boeke (September 11, 1938 – September 26, 2014) was an American football offensive tackle in the National Football League for the Los Angeles Rams, Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints. He played college football at Heidelbe ...

- NFL player in the 1960s. * Bob Briggs - Former NFL player for the San Diego Chargers, Cleveland Browns, and Kansas City Chiefs. *

John Buccigross John Buccigross (; born January 27, 1966) is an American sportscaster. He has been an anchor for ESPN since 1996.

– ESPN broadcaster *

Donteea Dye Donteea Dye Jr. (born August 20, 1993) is an American football wide receiver who is a free agent. He played college football at Heidelberg University. Professional career Even though Dye impressed scouts at the NFL Scouting Combine by running a ...

- NFL wide receiver for the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

Bill Groman William Frederick Groman (July 17, 1936 – June 17, 2020) was an American professional football player who was a wide receiver in the American Football League (AFL). He played college football at Heidelberg College, and played professionall ...

- NFL Player in the 1960s with the Houston Oilers, Denver Broncos, and Buffalo Bills. *

Sue Myrick Sue Myrick (née Wilkins; born August 1, 1941) is an American businesswoman and the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 1995 to 2013. She is a member of the Republican Party. She was the first Republican woman to represent North Caroli ...

- former Mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina and member of the US House of Representatives *

Michael Preston Michael Preston (born Jack Davies; 14 May 1938) is an English international film and television actor, and singer, sometimes credited as Mike Preston. Life and career Preston was born in Hackney, London, England. He was a boxer and then bec ...

– Former NFL wide receiver for the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...

* Brian Regan – Comedian *

Frank Seiberling Franklin Augustus “Frank” Seiberling''Find A Grave'', database and imageshttps://www.findagrave.com: accessed 24 August 2019), memorial page for Franklin Augustus “Frank” Seiberling (6 Oct 1859–11 Aug 1955), Find A Grave Memorial no51433 ...

– Co-founder of

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company is an American multinational tire manufacturing company founded in 1898 by Frank Seiberling and based in Akron, Ohio. Goodyear manufactures tires for automobiles, commercial trucks, light trucks, motorcycles, ...

* Gene Smith – Former General Manager for the Jacksonville Jaguars *

Doug Stephan Doug Stephan is an American radio talk show personality who independently syndicates and hosts several national syndicated radio shows for Radio America. Radio Programs Doug Stephan's "DJV Show" is a morning talkradio program airing live Mon ...

- American radio talk show personality.

References

External links

Official websiteOfficial athletics website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Heidelberg College 1850 establishments in Ohio Buildings and structures in Seneca County, Ohio Education in Seneca County, Ohio Educational institutions established in 1850 German-American culture in Ohio Liberal arts colleges in Ohio Private universities and colleges in Ohio United Church of Christ in Ohio Universities and colleges affiliated with the United Church of Christ