2020 Highlights of the Year
Navigating the Pandemic
A Year Interrupted
In March, like most colleges and universities across the nation, we had to send our students home due to the coronavirus pandemic to finish their semester online. Our faculty members worked diligently to convert all classes to an online format in just one week’s time. Dr. White challenged our students to use the time away from campus to reach out to those around them and share the hope that we have in Christ.
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Celebrating Our Seniors
Although we were not able to hold commencement as usual this year, we did not want to miss an opportunity to celebrate our class of 2020. On May 4, we held an online commencement, with music, special memory videos, and a message from Dr. White. It wasn’t what we wanted, but it was a special time of honoring our graduates and celebrating God’s faithfulness.
Caring Well. Staying Well.
Using Philippians 2:3-4 as our guide, we created a comprehensive plan for how we would safely live and learn on campus during fall semester, which covered everything from dining, residence life, and athletics. This unprecedented time gave us a unique opportunity to live out our core value to love others. Throughout the semester, faculty and staff volunteered their time to deliver hundreds of meals to students who were either in isolation or quarantine. University Medical Services worked tirelessly to take care of sick students. Faculty, staff, and students wore their masks and followed social distancing protocols. We are grateful to God for sustaining us through a trying semester.
Return to Campus
We accomplish our mission best with students on campus, interacting with mentoring professors and engaging in intentional discipleship. Throughout the summer, teams from Cedarville worked tirelessly to prepare for our students to return to campus in August. Getting Started Weekend was completely reimagined to create a touchless yet welcoming experience. Acrylic barriers and signage were installed across campus to allow for safe distancing. A brand-new outdoor chapel venue was built, complete with a large stage, screen, and audio-visual equipment, to allow us to safely worship together.
Total Enrollment
Students from 50 states and 49 countries
Wall Street Journal ranked Cedarville #2 in the U.S. for professors’ engagement with students.
Placement Rate
Transforming Lives
Know Jesus. Know Joy.
As part of his yearly sermon series, Dr. White has been walking through the book of Philippians, challenging us to find our only source of real, lasting joy through a personal relationship with Christ. You can follow along with the Know Jesus. Know Joy. series online and join us as we make much of Jesus this year.
Discipleship in the Season of COVID
Discipleship Ministries started fall semester wondering if it would be possible to meet as discipleship groups (D-groups) and be COVID compliant. Turns out, due God’s graciousness and students being willing to follow appropriate protocols, it was. Nearly 1,000 students participated in D-groups, meeting outside and staying socially distanced as much as possible. Students were “zoomed” in when necessary due to health concerns or quarantine. Despite added restrictions, Discipleship Ministries carried out their mission to cultivate Psalm 1 individuals who delight in the Word of God and mature into happy, resilient, fruitful individuals.
Chapel Goes Outside
With COVID protections in place for fall 2020, we had to be creative while maintaining our priority of daily chapel. We were able to hold chapel in North Field, our outdoor venue created for fall, three days most weeks of fall semester. We are grateful to God for good weather that allowed us to still collectively worship together. Our Fall Bible Conference, with speaker Pastor Nathan Lino, Senior Pastor at Northeast Houston Baptist Church, was also held in North Field.
Stewarding His Gifts
We are grateful for the gifts that God has given to Cedarville University, and we seek to steward them well — for His glory, not our own.
Record Enrollment
The fall, we experienced our 14th-consecutive record enrollment. Even in the midst of a global pandemic, God is continuing to bring students to Cedarville who desire an excellent education grounded in biblical truth. We were blessed to complete the fall semester on campus with in-person instruction.
CU Give Hope Fund
When students were sent home in March to finish the semester online, along with the disappointment of missing friends and special events on campus, for many, the pandemic meant unexpected financial hardships. We asked our Cedarville family to come together to help students financially impacted by COVID-19 through the CU Give Hope Fund. In a single day of giving, we received $314,385, which provided emergency scholarships for 294 students. Many of these students would not have been able to return this fall without this extra assistance.
$12 Million Transformational Gift, Largest in Cedarville's History
During his State of the University chapel address, Dr. Thomas White announced a $12 million gift to the University from an anonymous donor. We are deeply grateful for this generous donor who not only believes in Cedarville’s mission to transform lives through excellent education and intentional discipleship, but who also embraces the bold vision laid out in our 10-year Campus Master Plan. We commit to steward these resources well as we provide new facilities and programs that will expand opportunities to equip graduates for Gospel impact.
Campus Master Plan Update
This fall semester, we celebrated the opening of the first three facilities in our 10-year campus master plan: the 282-bed Bates-Dunn-Parker residence hall, Chick-fil-A, and the Civil Engineering Center. Even with challenges from COVID-19, all three buildings were completed on time and without incurring debt. More than just buildings, these three facilities represent lives that will be transferred as meaningful relationships are built through intentional discipleship and students are equipped with excellence in academics that allow them to use their vocations to honor Christ. We thank God for the provision of these three new buildings and dedicate them to His purposes.
Growing Academic Offerings
New Graduate Programs
Starting January 2021, The Graduate School is offering two new graduate degrees: the Master of Arts in Biblical Leadership and the Master of Arts in Worship and Theology. Both programs are offered in a convenient online format and will equip students with the theological training and practical skills to expand their service or add a ministry focus to their vocation. An online, four-course Graduate Certificate in Worship Leadership is also available.
New Cyber Operations Major
Adding to our already strong cybersecurity curriculum, the School of Engineering and Computer Science began offering a cyber operations major in fall 2020. This program will equip graduates with the technical skills and biblical worldview to be effective and ethical professionals in the growing cybersecurity. Cedarville University has been certified as a National Center for Academic Excellence in Cyber Operations (CAE-CO), making Cedarville part of an elite group of institutions to receive this designation.
School of Allied Health
This year, our Department of Kinesiology and Allied Health transitioned to the School of Allied Health, under the direction of Dr. Evan Hellig, Dean. This transition prepares the School to offer two new graduate programs: the Master of Athletic Training, beginning in 2022, and the physician assistant program, planned to start in 2023.
New Dean of Education
Dr. Kevin Jones, Cedarville’s new Dean of the School of Education, has a vision to see Cedarville graduates teaching in “every city, every church, and every country.” After years of teaching in elementary schools in Kentucky, Kevin was the Chair of the School of Education and Human Development at Kentucky State University prior to coming to Cedarville this summer. He has a passion to equip teachers to use their vocation to reach the world.
