[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Pages 12490-12491]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO C. BRENT DeVORE

 Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, today I honor the career of Dr. C. 
Brent DeVore, the dean of higher education presidents in central Ohio. 
For 25 years, Dr. DeVore has served Otterbein College, its students, 
and the Westerville, OH, community. He retires at the end of this 
academic year.

[[Page 12491]]

  A son of Zanesville, OH, who earned degrees from Ohio University and 
Kent State University, Dr. DeVore has dedicated his professional life 
to improving higher education for America's young people.
  Dr. DeVore became president of Otterbein College in 1984. He helped 
develop the institution from a small, liberal arts college to a 
nationally ranked, comprehensive college. Dr. DeVore put Otterbein on 
stable financial footing, increasing the school's endowment by 
fifteenfold. He oversaw a transformation of the campus infrastructure, 
including the construction of new academic buildings, residence halls, 
athletic facilities, and an expansion of the library.
  More importantly, Dr. DeVore helped transform the human capital of 
the college. The graduate education program was added in 1989, the 
graduate nursing program in 1993, and the MBA program in 1997. The 
number of faculty holding advanced degrees nearly doubled. Student 
diversity increased, enrollment doubled, retention rates soared, and 
the quality of incoming students skyrocketed.
  Throughout Dr. DeVore's career, he has worked to develop innovative 
and comprehensive programs to encourage young people to engage in 
community and volunteer service and oversaw the creation of Otterbein's 
Center for Community Engagement. In 2007, Otterbein was one of only 
three schools across the country to receive the Presidential Award for 
General Community Service in the President's Higher Education Community 
Service Honor Roll.
  While, Dr. DeVore's leadership at Otterbein will be missed, his 
legacy will remain for generations. Dr. DeVore has made Otterbein 
College better, he has made Ohio better, and he has made our Nation 
better. I wish him well and hope that his service to Ohio will continue 
in the next phase of his outstanding career.

                          ____________________