About Me

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Intro

The first thing I hear when I'm introduced is, "Where's Bluffton?"

And the answer: somewhere great.

Okay, I'm in northwest Ohio. What? Ohio's pretty great. It's friendly, it's homey, and it's got some amazing views of cornfields...so many cornfields.

Cornfields aside, I'm a small university that's all about community. With just over 1,000 students total, you're never more than ten feet away from a friend. 

Along with my close-knit community, I really value respect, charity, and hard work—that's my Mennonite heritage coming through. I'd rather study than party. I want to change the world, and how can you do that if you piddle away your time playing video games?

Between my Mennonite roots and my Midwestern location, it should come as no surprise that I specialize in lending a hand. My top majors include fields like early childhood education, social work, business administration, and food, nutrition, and wellness studies. 

On weekends, you can usually find me volunteering in town with my friends or taking a hike in the gorgeous nearby nature preserve.

Or sleeping in. I like to do that, too.

Name

J. Denny and Jenny Beaver

Hometown

Just drive out to northwest Ohio, take a right at the cornfield—no, not that one; the next one—and you'll be greeted by the quaint little village of Bluffton, Ohio.

Our little community may not offer much by way of big city attractions, but we do have a movie theater, great eating places—did you hear the Whippy Dip is open?—and even a roller skating rink. If that's not your style, Findley and Lima (yeah, like on Glee) are just a short drive away.

Birthdate

1899

Body Type

While I only have 910 undergraduates and 101 graduate students, don't let my small numbers fool you; we beavers are just as fierce as we are resourceful. And, like real beavers, we stick together—though we don't kick it in houses made of sticks and mud.

With such a small student body, you'd think my campus would be tiny...but you'd be wrong. I've got a luxurious 235 acres of pure, rural elbow room, including a river and plenty of groves of trees that are great for hiking through. I could spend hours just wandering around campus, admiring the trees and dodging people on skateboards.

Current Living Situation

In the interest of keeping the community close-knit, I require all my students to stay in my historic dorm buildings for their entire college careers unless they can commute from home. I offer singles, doubles, triples, and new apartment-style digs.

Most of my dorms are co-ed, except for Hirschy Hall (which is ladies-only) and Hirschy Annex (which is gents-only). The white cinder block walls may not be appealing at first, but it's nothing a few posters and some lights can't fix; by the time they're seniors, my students are pros at turning a dorm into a home. Plus, the dorm communities are amazing.

Relationship Status

Defiance and I have a longstanding rivalry. Obviously, my sports teams are better, but I sometimes let Defiance win a game or two so he doesn't feel too bad.

Religion

I'm affiliated with the Mennonite Church, so my core values center around service and peacemaking. There are plenty of church services available if you want them, and I require you to take a couple of religion courses. 

However, as a Mennonite, I also believe that faith is voluntary; if you're not really hearing the call and don't want to commit, that's okay by me. Just make sure you're on board with my peace and justice values, and we'll get along just fine.

Politics

I'm a liberal arts college in rural Ohio, so there's a pretty big range of experiences and political beliefs. While my professors tend to lean a little more left, I encourage my students to explore and discuss their own beliefs in and outside the classroom. And when I say discuss, I mean have a friendly chat over pizza and ice cream.

You should apply to me if...

solving world problems while sitting in a class of twenty is your thing.

Website

http://www.bluffton.edu/