Friday, October 5, 2018 Doden Field House Cedarville University With Thankful Recognition for Your Faithful Generosity The
Who are you? Who are we?Those are big, important questions. They’re the questions we’re asking in chapel this year as we study Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. Fortunately, Paul gives a clear, immediate answer to our questions — we’re in Christ. For those of us who have placed our trust in Jesus Christ alone for our salvation, we are chosen, not forsaken; loved, not despised; adopted, not orphaned; forgiven, not guilty; accepted, not rejected — children of God. Striving to fight against the constant pressures to find our identity in something or someone other than Christ, we’re reminding ourselves in chapel that we are saints, sons and daughters of the King, and members together of the Bride of Christ. That’s who we are. And because that’s who we are, that informs who Cedarville University has been, now is, and by God’s grace, will continue to be. Through your prayerful support and sacrificial giving, youmake possible for so many an education that is centered on rooting all we do in our identity in Christ, which frees our students to faithfully steward their talents for the sake of telling others about how they, too, can join the family of God. On behalf of the entire Cedarville University family, thank you for your partnership in the Gospel with us, as we prepare students to go out into the world for the Word of God and the Testimony of Jesus Christ. In Christ Alone, Thomas and Joy White
Reception Welcome and Prayer Dr. Rick Melson, Vice President for Advancement Dinner Salad Field greens with white balsamic vinaigrette Entrée Pan-seared chicken breast with onion and bacon sauce Wild rice and dried cranberries Roasted autumn root vegetable blend Dessert Hot fudge sundae cheesecake Carrot cake Program God's Faithfulness in the Past and Present, Looking Forward to the Future Dr. Rick Melson, Vice President for Advancement Presentation of Alumni Awards Young Alumna of the Year Mrs. Kristen (Craig) Zeigler '14 One Another Mindset Award Mr. Timothy Ware '98 Distinguished Educator Award Mr. Lynn Brock '68 Honorary Alumni of the Year Mr. Roger and Mrs. Charlotte Kuriger Alumni of the Year Mr. Wesley '84 and Mrs. Dawn (Staley) Polsdorfer '84 Message of Gratitude and Vision Dr. Thomas White, President Thank you to the School of Engineering, the Department of Art, Design & Theatre, and the Department of Music & Worship for hosting student experience displays during the reception. We are honored to have you here. The
Young Alumna of the Year Mrs. Kristen (Craig) Zeigler '14 Kristen (Craig) Zeigler ’14 earned a B.A. in graphic d e s i g n a nd m i no r i n stud io a r t f rom Cedarville, and is now using that degree at the “happiest place on earth” — Disney World! She is being honored for being a light for Christ in the workplace and an advocate for her alma mater, talking about Cedarville every chance she gets and encouraging students with her story. While at Cedarville, Kristen enjoyed being involved in several extracurricular activities and ministries. Perhaps the greatest mark she left on Cedarville is Campus Christmas. She is responsible for making it what it is today. She even came up with the idea for the giant slide! God is using Kristen as she is living out her dreamof working for theWalt Disney Company. She has worked as a set decorator with Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI) for nearly four years. She is currently working on large parts of Star Wars Land in both California and Florida. She also leads the transformation of Disney’s Jungle Cruise to the Jingle Cruise, one of Disney’s most popular rides during the holidays. Her job presents something new and challenging every day, and she is constantly learning. She is most thankful for the opportunities God has given her to be a part of His kingdom work, even while on the job near the Magic Kingdom. Kristen is thankful for how her time at Cedarville University prepared her both academically and spiritually. She specifically lists the practical skills she learned in her major coursework that prepared her for her career, professors who mentored her and encouraged her to see everything through the lens of God’s Word, and chapel and ministry opportunities that encouraged her to pursue Christ above all things. She married Ellis Zeigler on August 11, 2018. He also works for Disney. Kristen encourages current students to continually find joy in the Lord and to seek to use their God-given passions and gifts to build the church and serve others. He is great and greatly to be praised (Ps. 145:3–5). One Another Mindset Award Mr. Timothy Ware '98 Tim Ware ’98 graduated with a B.A. in history. He is being recognized with the One Another Mindset Award for his tireless championing of high-quality education, community empowerment, and social innovation. At Cedarville, Tim was a four-year member of the men’s basketball team. He was involved in several ministries, including Xenia YMCA and Dayton Soup Kitchen, and was a part of the men’s basketball trip to the Philippines. Tim’s work as an educator in Memphis spans nearly a decade. In 2006, as a Teach For America corps member, he taught history at Frayser High School. In 2008, he was granted a position in the nationally recognized and highly selective Building Excellent Schools Fellowship, leading him to found and lead Veritas College Preparatory Charter School. Veritas College Prep has earned many distinctions under Ware’s leadership, including recognition by the Tennessee Department of Education for being in the top 5 percent of all schools in the state for student growth. In July 2013, Ware joined New Leaders, compelled by the opportunity to impact emerging school leaders and, in doing so, ensure that more Memphis students have access to a great education. Two years later, Tim
began serving the most vulnerable students in Tennessee by joining the Achievement Schools District and overseeing the turnaround of chronically underperforming schools. He currently is an appointed Commissioner at the Memphis Cook Convention Center, serves on the Advisory Boards of Teach For America Memphis and New Leaders, Inc., Memphis, and sits on the Governing Board of Lifeline to Success. Tim is thankful for his time at Cedarville University, where he says he developed the ability to think critically and to better defend his perspectives. At Cedarville, he continued to learn the life lessons that are taught through sports, and the idea of personal excellence was reinforced in each aspect of his experience. Tim is married to Kim and they have a 3-yearold daughter, Imani. A verse that Tim would choose to share with students to encourage them is Matthew 5:7: “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” Distinguished Educator Award Mr. Lynn Brock '68 L y n n B r o c k ’ 6 8 g r a d u a t e d f r o m Cedarville with a B.A. in English. He is being honored for his 50 years of faithful service and impact as an educator at Cedarville University. As a student at Cedarville, he worked in the college library, which would prepare him for his future role at the University. After completing a master’s degree in 1969, Lynn returned to Cedarville to work in the library as a Reference Librarian. He became the Public Services Librarian in 1973, was appointed as the Director of Library Services in 1975, and was promoted to Dean of Library Services in 2006. He has also served as University Archivist and since 2008 as the curator of the Biblical Heritage Gallery in the Center for Biblical and Theological Studies. People at Cedarville know that if they have a question about the University’s history or need a certain artifact, Lynn is the person to contact. In June of 2018, he stepped down as Dean of Library Services, but will continue as the University Archivist and Special Collections Librarian, as well continuing to manage exhibits in the Biblical Heritage Gallery. Lynn’s contributions to Cedarville are numerous. Besides his roles in the library and University archives, he served as a parttime instructor in English for many years and was a collaborator for other courses, Director of Planning from 1988–1996, and Editor of the Cedarville University Accreditation SelfStudy in 1974 and 1979. He has also acted as a consultant and external evaluator for other universities and churches. Over the years he has served in leadership positions for many associations and conferences, both on and off campus. He was awarded the Teacher Collaboration Award (with Dr. Michelle Wood), Cedarville University, in 2015 and the Barbara K. Nelson Indexer of the Year Award, Association of Christian Librarians, in 2011. He has been published in The Christian Librarian and Teaching American Literature: a Journal of Theory and Practice. Lynn and his wife, Donna, have been married for 51 years and have three children and seven grandchildren. Lynn is grateful for the way Cedarville prepared him to be an effective faculty member, colleague, and mentorer of students over his 50-year career at the University. Before leaving his role as Dean of Library Services, Lynn challenged his staff with 1 Corinthians 15:58: “My dear brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immoveable, always abounding in the work of Lord, knowing that nothing you do for the Lord is useless.”This verse sums up Lynn’s service to Cedarville well.
Honorary Alumni of the Year Mr. Roger and Mrs. Charlotte Kuriger We honor Roger and Charlotte Kuriger for their 50-plus years of support of Cedarville University. They lived a life marked with faithfulness, and we thank God for them. Roger and Charlotte first gave to Cedarville College in January 1960 at the invitation of Roger’s brother-in-law Dale Murphy, a Cedarville University Trustee from 1953–2000. At the time, Cedarville was conducting a Bonds Build Buildings campaign to help with the cost of Faith Hall and Williams Hall, as well as raise funds for scholarships. Later, when the bonds came due, Roger and Charlotte chose to “forgive” the debt. For the next 50-plus years, they faithfully gave modest, consistent gifts to the University. Along with the relationship through their brother-inlaw, Roger and Charlotte became familiar with Cedarville through their church, and they believed in its mission and vision. Since they did not have children of their own, they chose to invest in the lives of other young people who would be taught from a biblical perspective and prepared to use their vocations for Christ. Following Roger’s sudden death in 2010, Charlotte chose to make Cedarville the beneficiary of her estate, indicating that she and Roger had talked about leaving “something” to the University. She established two endowed scholarships to be funded by their estate: The Roger and Charlotte Kuriger Accounting Scholarship and The Roger and Charlotte Kuriger Master of Science in Nursing Scholarship. After Charlotte's passing in January 2018, Cedarville University learned that the value of the Kurigers’ gift is the largest estate gift in the history of Cedarville University. This frugal, careful couple neither lived like they hadmoney, nor did they give like it while living. However, their generosity has left a legacy that will continue to bless Cedarville students — and those they go on to serve — until our Lord returns. By naming Cedarville University in their estate, Roger and Charlotte granted us the privilege of “family status.” We welcome them into our family as honorary alumni and are grateful to God for the legacy of this dear couple. Michelle (Murphy) Wiger ’91, Roger and Charlotte’s great-niece, will accept the award in their memory.
Alumni of theYear Mr. Wesley '84 and Mrs. Dawn (Staley) Polsdorfer '84 Wesley ’84 and Dawn (Staley) Polsdorfer ’84 are being honored as Alumni of the Year for their many faithful years of giving both their time and resources to Cedarville University and the Lord’s work Wes graduated with a business administration degree, and Dawn earned her degree in Bible theology with an emphasis in Christian education. Both were active in musical missions at Cedarville, Wesley on Swordbearers and the Kingsmen Quartet and Dawn on Abundant Life Singers. They enjoyed being part of a close group of fellow students while sharing Christ through song and travel. Wes fondly remembers Cedarville as being the place that God used to bring Dawn and himself together. Following graduation, Wes worked in various accounting positions and eventually was a part of buying a small electrical contracting company that had 10 employees and did $1 million in sales. Today he is CFO/COO of The Romanoff Group, a $150 million electrical/ HVAC subcontracting company with close to 700 employees operating in seven states. Dawn has served her family faithfully as a homemaker. Wes and Dawn have committed themselves to helping others, whether through their local church, Cedarville University, or child sponsorships. They have generously created endowed scholarships that will bless Cedarville students for years to come. God has blessed their ministry and continues to grow their vision. They have received tremendous joy and blessing as a result of their services. Their greatest joy, however, has been their four children, watching them grow and serve the Lord with families of their own. They especially enjoy their seven grandchildren (with one on the way)! God is also carrying out their legacy of love and giving in their children’s lives through adoption and fostering. They are grateful to Cedarville for providing additional building blocks to the foundation that they already had in Christ. They were blessed from an environment that allowed them to learn from godly men and women willing to invest in their lives. Their advice to current students is to remember that this life we have on earth is not about us, it is about Jesus and others. Joshua 24:15b "... but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."
937-766-3028 cedarville.edu/advancement advancement@cedarville.edu Thank you for your faithful giving! There are many ways your past and present giving have made and will continue to make a difference in Cedarville. Thanks to all our donors who invest in our students, programs, and campus.
digitalcommons.cedarville.eduRkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTM4ODY=