He graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Harvard University.
Oden then served in administrative positions, first as headmaster of The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Connecticut from 1989 to 1995, and afterwards as president of Kenyon College from 1995 to 2002, when he accepted the presidency at Carleton College.
While president he held a faculty appointment in the religion department at Carleton, and regularly taught a fly-fishing course at the college.
[4] He said of his decision to come to Carleton, referring to his childhood just across the border from Minnesota: "Perhaps all Americans have come to know parts of this great country in which we feel special comfort and a sense of being at home; it is this that has meant for [me and my wife] Carleton College's special appeal.
"[5] Oden is a longtime recreational runner who enjoys the trails of Northfield's Cowling Arboretum, and is also an avid fly-fisherman.