Students, faculty and staff at Otterbein University walk through Towers Hall every day, passing the archways adorned with painted bookcases on each side of the building. These bookcases, mirroring the building’s entrances, once led to a chapel standing in the heart of Towers Hall. Today, those same walls now hold the computer science department, and the painted bookshelves honor the names of prominent donors and past Otterbein presidents.
Founded in 1847, Otterbein University’s architecture and landscape holds forgotten history that’s shaped the cardinal community for years. In the new video series Inside the Nest, the university provides viewers a behind-the-scenes look at these history-rich places on campus and beyond.
The series is headed by the office of alumni relations in an effort to foster community during a time that in-person events can’t be held. The majority of programming by alumni relations had been face-to-face up until March. Since then, the office found a different way to interact with alumni, parents, friends and community members.
“We wanted to create some opportunities to engage with folks in a way that works for them right now that’s safe, that still allows them the opportunity to learn, but also to feel connected to Otterbein and to other alumni,” says Stacey Rusterholz, assistant director of Otterbein’s office of alumni relations.
Filming during a pandemic has been no easy feat. The office worked to ensure that filming is safe with the use of face masks and social distancing.
In addition to Inside the Nest, the office is producing Cardinal Fly By, an online five-minute lecture series posted weekly in which viewers can learn about niche topics from Otterbein experts including alumni, faculty, staff and students.
“It’s to create community. It’s also to inform people about what’s going on and just stay connected to everyone in our community,” says Rusterholz.
For Inside the Nest, the office decided to focus on places that people don’t know much about but are important to the university. The first episode features Otterbein’s museum and galleries, headed by Janice Glowski. As an art historian and the museum and galleries director at Otterbein, Glowski gives viewers a peek into the way the university finds new artists and decides which artwork to display.
In a two-part second episode, university archivist Stephen Grinch shares insightinto the history of Towers Hall. The third episode highlights The Promise House, a student-led group that works to break down socioeconomic barriers and help students succeed. Rusterholz says she has really enjoyed seeing old pictures and learning about unique aspects of buildings like Towers Hall.
“It’s just sort of little things that I found really fascinating about (Towers Hall), a new appreciation for what I walked by every day,” says Rusterholz.
More episodes are in the works, offering a behind-the-scenes look at how different campus facilities are responding to the pandemic.
“We talked with a member of our facilities team who gave us an overall insight into what it takes to run the campus on a daily basis,” says Steve Crawford, executive director of Otterbein’s office of alumni relations. “We were exploring what it takes to keep Otterbein just looking beautiful and pristine.”
The office is also producing an episode exploring the university’s equestrian center.
Outside of just highlighting on-campus history, the office is working with alumni to produce behind-the-scenes videos of their workplaces. One upcoming episode includes a tour of a TV news station with a local reporter.
“I have loved how willing campus partners have been to participate in the series,” says Crawford. “This has been such an easy process, at a time when we are in such a unique work environment. So that campus camaraderie has been absolutely phenomenal.”
David Rees is an editorial assistant. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
