Charles "Chuck" Zimmerman has died of cancer after a prolonged battle with the disease.
Affectionately known in the campus community as "Doc Z", Zimmerman died Sunday night at 11:15 p.m., he was 68.
Zimmerman served at Otterbein for more than 20 years in the Religion and Philosophy department beginning in 1991. He became department chair in 2002 and served there until 2007.
Zimmerman earned many awards such as the Faculty Access Award in 2008 which was awarded for his work accommodating students with disabilities, The Otterbein Master Teacher of the Year Award in 2011 and the Exemplary Teaching Award from the United Methodist Governing Board in 2014.
Andrew Mills, longtime friend and colleague wrote in an email to Otterbein360, "Chuck Zimmerman was my colleague, my mentor, and my friend. He was the very first person I met when I came for my job interview 16 years ago (he met me when I walked off the airplane!), and I knew in five minutes that I wanted to be this man's colleague. Thankfully, I got my wish, and have worked across the hall from him for the last 16 years. It was a privilege to work with him, to learn from him, and to get to know him. He was a remarkably gifted teacher--any of his hundreds and hundreds of students can attest to that--but what struck those of us who worked closely with him over the years is what a wonderful human being he was. He was kind and funny. He loved telling a good story. He was patient and wise. He knew what was important, and what wasn't important, and he never let petty, insignificant squabbles blind him to what was important: his teaching and his family.
Simply put, he changed lives at Otterbein. He changed the lives of those of us who worked with him, and he changed the lives of those students who took his classes. I grieve now, and will miss him more and more with each passing year. His kind won't come around again, and I count myself fortunate to have been able to share so much of my working life at Otterbein with Chuck."
A celebration of life is planned for May 30 at 1p.m. in Riley Auditorium at the Batelle Fine Arts Center. The family has requested that instead of flowers, donations be made to Otterbein University for the Charles Zimmerman, "Doc Z," Scholarship.
