to continue as acting president until June. But the damage to Cedarville College was immense.!9 This local disaster, coupled with United States involvement in World War II, forced the Board of Trustees to give up the campaign for $100,000. In his May report to the trustees, Vayhinger aptly stated, "Cedarville had passed through a year unparalleled in problems and perplexities."20 By 1943 the major events that would bring the Board of Trustees to the verge of closing the doors of Cedarville College were all in place. Though the actual crisis would not occur for another ten years, the trustees were caught in a hopeless vise. There are three ingredients that are vital to the success of a Christian college. The first, a strong tie with a group or groups of local churches, had been lost in 1928. Until that time the Reformed Presbyterians had provided dynamic spiritual, moral, and financial support for the institution. The removal of that support and the failure to achieve another strong link with a church body was the first step in Cedarville's decline. A second essential ingredient in the life of a Christian college is strong executive leadership. The Board of Trustees helped to undermine the last decade of McChesney's administration by succumbing to alumni pressure for the president's removal. The office of president was further diminished by the tragic events surrounding Kilpatrick. The two presidents in the final ten Presbyterian years, Vayhinger and E.H. Miller, were unable to reverse the trend and provide the kind of strong moral and spiritual leadership that was necessary. In light of preceding events, their task was overwhelming. Things had changed a lot during those 15 years. The Opera House had been used less and less frequently until finally even the college commencement services were shifted to the United Presbyterian Church. The greater popularity of the automobile and improved county roads made it possible for students to commute from other parts of the county and there were fewer students roaming throughout the village. The inauguration of sororities and fraternities had created "small related groups instead of the former single student body."JO Sports had become more recreational than competitive, though some teams still competed in the athletic conference. The Presbyterians had hoped things would improve for their school after World War II, but it had not worked out that way. They remembered with pride a remark about the college that had been made by a graduate a decade earlier: "There are many schools where young people can be trained in the completely technical vocations and trades, but Cedarville is one of the too few which always hopes to add the vital ingredients of spirit and character."J! The Presbyterian trustees wanted that to continue, and prayed that the Baptists would be able to do so. 1. Cedarville Herald, june 16, 1944. 2. Trustees Minutes, june I, 1939. 3. Trustees Minutes, May 29, 1940. 4. Cedarville Herald, june 16, 1944. 5. Ibid. 6. Ibid. 7. Trustees Minutes, December 8, 1939. 8. Trustees Minutes, October 4, 1940. 9. Cedarville Herald, November 14, 1941. 10. Ibid., April 24, 1942; August 21, 1942. 11. Ibid., june 13, 1941. 12. Trustees Minutes, February 2, 1934. 13. Cedarville Herald, August 23, 1940; August 30, 1940. 14. Ibid., September 4, 1942. 15. Trustees Minutes, October 2, 1942. 16. Cedarville Herald, january 15, 1943. 17. Ibid., january 22, 1943. 18. Ibid., February 5, 1493. 19. Trustees Minutes, February 11, 1943. 20. Trustees Minutes, May 21, 1943. 21. Cedarville Herald, February 15, 1946. 22. Ibid., April 12, 1946. 23. Ibid. 24. Ibid., April 19, 1946. 25. Trustees Minutes, May 10, 1948. 26. Trustees Minutes, December 12, 1950. 27. Cedarville Herald, September I, 1950. 28. Trustees Minutes, December 12, 1941. 29. E. jurkat, College Life, june 9, 1944. 30. Ibid. 31. Ibid. The fifth president, E.H. Miller, was the last under Presby– terian control, serving until the time of the merger with Baptist Bible Institute. Chapter X/83
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