CEDARVILLE, OHIO, May 08, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Two years earlier than expected, Cedarville University surpassed its $125 million goal for One Thousand Days Transformed: The Campaign for Cedarville. The university announced that it has received commitments of $131.8 million.
As a result of reaching this benchmark and recognizing there is great momentum and exciting new opportunities and needs to be addressed with the campaign, university trustees, during their May 5 board meeting, unanimously approved the next step by increasing the goal to $175 million and continuing the campaign through the 2025 school year. The president made the announcement to a record crowd of graduates, family, and friends attending the university’s 127th annual commencement exercises on Saturday, May 6. He also shared his excitement for Cedarville's future in a new campaign video.
“We have already seen how the One Thousand Days Transformed campaign has enabled Cedarville to equip students for career success and lifelong impact for the Gospel,” said Dr. Thomas White, president of Cedarville University. "As we watch how the Lord is working at Cedarville, we are grateful for the support from friends of the university, and we give thanks to God for the honor of stewarding the resources he has so graciously provided.”
The success of the campaign speaks to God's faithfulness and the generosity of more than 17,000 individuals and organizations that have contributed.
Extraordinary enrollment growth, construction cost increases due to inflation, and a continuing priority on student affordability all contributed to the decision to increase the campaign goal to $175 million. Cedarville's student enrollment soared past 5,000 undergraduate, graduate, and dual-enrolled high school students in 2022, and university leaders are projecting another increase in enrollment for the 2023-24 academic year.
“Now is the time to move boldly forward into this next step of the One Thousand Days Transformed campaign,” said White. "Our work is not finished. God has given us opportunities to serve a growing student body, and we need to steward every day well so that we can continue to send out highly skilled graduates who will stand for the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.”
The additional $50 million in funding will be used to keep up with this growing student body, Cedarville needs another residence hall, which will be a part of the campaign extension. This will provide additional housing opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students — including the start of a new residential housing village that will provide nearly 350 more beds.
This growing student body will also require additional classroom spaces. Cedarville will create premier classrooms and faculty offices in a new academic center slated to face State Route 72 on the front of Cedarville’s campus. The facility will be used to train the next generation of educators, politicians, police officers, psychologists, linguists, and more.
“The public sphere needs graduates committed to a biblical worldview and trained with excellence to have a kingdom impact in these important fields,” added White. Additionally, with recent inflation, the Scharnberg Business Center's price tag increased significantly from the initial concepts. Some funds from the campaign extension will be used toward the $40 million building, which is scheduled to open in August 2024. Another key element of the campaign extension is to significantly increase funds for scholarships, which will help minimize student debt and maximize affordability.
“One of the most exciting aspects of this expansion for me is the dream of adding additional funding for student scholarships,” said White. “If we raise these funds and combine them with other gifts and commitments, we can tackle the affordability challenge for students desiring a biblically based education rather than secular humanism wrapped in liberal agendas fed to them in almost every class and almost every day at secular schools.”
The campaign — the largest in university history — was first publicly announced by White on Friday, Oct. 1, 2021, during the annual State of the University chapel in the Dixon Ministry Center.
“We teach our students that every day matters because each day is given to us by the Lord," said Will Smallwood, vice president for advancement. "In the same way, I want our alumni and friends to know that every gift matters. Whether it is $10 or $10 million, we want people to know that they can be a part of the work God is doing here through their generosity.”
Located in southwest Ohio, Cedarville University is an accredited, Christ-centered, Baptist institution with an enrollment of 5,082 undergraduate, graduate, and dual-enrolled high school students in more than 175 areas of study. Founded in 1887, Cedarville is one of the largest private universities in Ohio, recognized nationally for its authentic Christian community, rigorous academic programs, including the Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering, high graduation and retention rates, accredited professional and health science offerings, and the #4 national ranking by the Wall Street Journal for student engagement. For more information about the University, visit cedarville.edu.
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