Cincinnati Hears DePauw's Uncommon Success Story

November 6, 2002

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November 7, 2002, Cincinnati, Oh. - [DOWNLOAD AUDIO: "Important Decisions" 188KB] "Obviously, there are a lot of colleges in the country. You have a lot of important decisions to make and we're really pleased that so many of you in Cincinnati are exploring DePauw as one of your options," DePauw University President Robert G. Bottoms said tonight as he welcomed 60 prospective students, their parents and DePauw alumni who gathered for a presidential reception at Procter & Gamble's corporate headquarters in downtown Cincinnati. The event provided an opportunity for students who are interested in DePauw to learn more about the University first-hand from faculty, administrators and alumni who made the trip to the Queen City to tell DePauw's story.

[DOWNLOAD VIDEO: "Bright Students" 662KB] "We're proud of our students' accomplishments," Dr. Bottoms told the crowd. "The median SAT score [of this year's incoming class] is 1230, the grade point average was 3.74... If you want to be with bright people, DePauw is a good place," the President said.

DePauw's 2,300 students come from 41 states, the Virgin Islands and 15 foreign countries. About 15% of both the student body and the faculty are minorities. [DOWNLOAD VIDEO: "Valuing DIversity" 366KB] "We value diversity, and we've come to believe that you really can learn a lot by being in an environment where there are some people who are different," Bottoms stated.

With 222 full-time faculty members, and a faculty student ratio of one to ten, [DOWNLOAD AUDIO: "Student-Faculty Interaction" 363KB] "you will get to know the faculty very well. And some of you might not like this, but they'll get to know you very well -- your strengths and your weaknesses-- and they'll help you build your strengths and attempt to eliminate your weaknesses," the president said. He also noted that many DePauw faculty members also publish books and made mention of the recently announced National Science Foundation grant of $841,000 that will support an interdisciplinary research collaboration involving seven DePauw faculty members in four departments as well as 21 students (read more here).

[DOWNLOAD AUDIO: "A Compliment" 493KB] "Now that may not mean much to you, unless you think about it and realize how many colleges and faculties compete for these awards, and how few are given at a time when money is so tight, and reflect on what a compliment it is to our whole Science faculty that people from DePauw were chosen to receive this rather large grant."

The DePauw community boasts outstanding facilities, as well. "We can say with confidence, if you come to Greencastle and visit us, you'll be impressed with our campus," the President said, noting the the renovated and expanded Julian Science and Mathematics Center (which is the home base for 361°, DePauw's technology initiative), the national award-winning indoor tennis and track center and the new Peeler Art Center, which is dedicated to DePauw alumnus and former professor Richard Peeler '49. The major gift that made the building possible came from Steven M. Rales '73 and Christine Plank Rales '74. Dr. Bottoms says that speaks volumes about the faculty-student relationships at DePauw that enhance learning and lives. [DOWNLOAD AUDIO: "The Rales' Gift" 350KB] "The reason [they] gave the money -- there were two reasons: one, the close relationship they had with a faculty member which later in life, even as chairman of a company in Washington, D.C., he still remembered; and two, he said 'It was at DePauw that I was first exposed to art, and this means a lot to me.'"

The President told the students and parents that DePauw's unique internship oppoptunities, profiled last week in the Christian Science Monitor (read more here), help young people hone in on what it is they want to do with their adult lives. [DOWNLOAD AUDIO: "Perfect Fits" 456KB] "That may be one of the most distinctive features about DePauw... people have a chance to try their wings, to test things, to see what they want to do. And sometimes they find that what they thought they wanted to do is not at all checking out with reality-- that's a good experience, that's a good thing to learn while you're in college. And sometimes they find perfect fits."

Despite its location in the small town of Greencastle, Indiana, Bottoms says DePauw offers students a world of opportunities. [DOWNLOAD AUDIO: "Clear Perspective" 748KB] "If you come to DePauw, you're coming and going all the time. You're having the experience of Winter Term internships, studying abroad, semester-long internships, of perhaps working with the Bonner Scholar program on-and-off campus. And this dialogue between what you're learning in class and where you're going, whether it be the workplace or community service placements, gives you a perspective that when you think about where you want to be in five years, if you've chosen to be a student at DePauw and if you have excelled, you have a very, very good idea of what you'd like to do with your life."

Another presidential ceception is planned for November 19 at General Mills in Minneapolis. You can register for that event and learn about other DePauw University admission programs, by clicking here

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