Otteson, Schuyler F. (Schuyler Franklin), 1917-

Schuyler F. Otteson served as Dean of the School of Business from 1971 to 1982 and as assistant professor and professor of marketing from 1946 to 1971. During his career, Otteson was involved in many committees and organizations both within and outside of the University, including the American Marketing Association, Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC), and Council for Professional Education for Business (CPEB).

Schuyler Franklin Otteson ( Ott to his friends) was born on July 17, 1917, in Modena, Wisconsin. His father owned a country store in which Otteson frequently worked as a child and young adult and to which he attributed his interest in business and marketing. Otteson pursued this interest with business degrees from the University of Wisconsin and Northwestern University. After his graduation from Northwestern, he gained employment with the Fair Store in Chicago and with Montgomery Ward and Company as an assistant buyer. From 1943-1948, Otteson pursued a Ph.D. at The Ohio State University. During this time, he served on the faculty of Ohio Wesleyan University until he came to Indiana University in 1946 as an assistant professor of marketing. Otteson completed his Ph.D. in 1948 and was named a professor of marketing in 1952.

From 1952 until 1971, when he became Dean of the School of Business, Otteson maintained an extremely busy calendar. He served as Director of the Bureau of Business Research (now the Indiana Business Research Center) from 1954 to 1960 and during that time, also became the founding editor of Business Horizons, a scholarly journal. As Director of the Bureau of Business Research, Otteson did much to make the Bureau an indispensable entity in the school and the state. In 1955, he edited a 14-volume study for the Office of the Governor entitled Indiana’s Economic Resources and Potential which influenced state economic policy into the 1960s. Otteson was also named Sagamore of the Wabash, a high honor to citizens of Indiana, in 1956.

Despite the heavy responsibilities at the Bureau and teaching, Otteson also continued his service to the University during these years. In 1960, he was appointed chair of the Marketing Department and then chair of the Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) program in 1965. He was active in administering the International Business Research Institute, which brought his international interests home to Indiana. In addition, he served on many University and School of Business committees, evidence of which can be found in his personal files. For example, Otteson was the secretary of the Faculty Council from 1970 to 1971, president of the Bloomington Chapter of the American Association of University Professors, and a member of the IU Athletics Committee.

Always involved, Otteson also served (with prestige) as the national president of the American Marketing Association from 1965-1966. He was a member of the executive committee of the U.S. Department of Commerce National Marketing Advisory Committee during the latter half of the 1960s. From 1966-1968, Otteson was secretary and member of the executive committee of the International Marketing Federation. In addition, Otteson served on the Board of Governors of Beta Gamma Sigma (national business honorary society), was a co-founder of the Midwest Business Administration Association, and was president of the Indiana Academy of the Social Sciences in 1969.

In 1971, Otteson was appointed Dean of the School of Business after Dean George Pinnell became vice president of the University. During Otteson’s tenure as the sixth dean, the School of Business experienced a period of tremendous growth. When Otteson retired in December of 1982, the school had grown to include many more women and minorities, was routinely sending students to study abroad, and had gained the respect of the nation and world as a place to learn business administration.

Schuyler F. Otteson passed away at the Meadowood Retirement Community in Bloomington, Indiana, on February 5, 2001, at the age of 83. He was survived by his wife, Marie, and their four children, Judy, Marty, Karn, and John.