Cedarville Magazine Spring-Summer

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“An EducationThat Works.” I really like that
phrase. I like its double meaning. You see, at
Cedarville University we have an education
that works, in both senses of the phrase.
Our process of education works, and the
education that students receive means they
get jobs where they work.
What makes our education work?
Let me share three characteristics that
distinguish our educational process from
most other universities.
Academic Excellence: First, we educate
our students well for their profession. Most
students arrive at Cedarville with a God-
given desire for a particular vocation.
In order to meet their career goals, they
must be well equipped to work in their
fields as unto the Lord. Our job placement
rates are about 10 percent higher than the
national average, with 96.8 percent
of our 2014 graduates either having
a job or enrolled in graduate school
within six months. When you factor
in the variety of majors we have and
how hard it is in some fields to find
work, that statistic says something
important about the quality of
an education at Cedarville. Companies
continually seek out our graduates because
they have experienced firsthand the quality
of a Cedarville education.
Check out a few of the programs that had
100 percent placement last year:
• Accounting
• Athletic Training
• Exercise Science
• Computer Engineering
• Computer Science
• Electrical Engineering
• Industrial and Innovative Design
• Journalism
• Marketing
• Middle Childhood Education
• Social Work
• Special Education – Intervention
Specialist
• Technical and Professional
Communication
• Worship
In fact, 58 of our 77 majors reported 100
percent placement, a statistic reinforcing the
idea that a Cedarville education truly works.
The Liberal Arts Advantage: Second,
we educate students to think well, write well,
and communicate well. We are a liberal arts
university, not a technical school. Students
in our engineering, business, nursing,
pharmacy, and other professional degree
programs learn more than just a particular
set of skills, as important as those skills are.
They learn to analyze, critique, think, and
communicate well, which places them in
a unique position to excel in their careers.
Many students earn a degree, but the
ability to think, write, and communicate
well distinguishes our students as leaders
in the workplace.
For example, our engineering students
consistently win the technical report section
of the Intercollegiate World Championship
of Solar Boating, regardless of how well the
Cedarville boat performs any given year.
Why? Because they have learned how to
convey their ideas clearly, thoroughly, and
engagingly about the work they’ve done.
Producing well-rounded students is
more important than you may realize.
With the average person changing careers
fairly frequently in his or her life, we must
equip students to be lifelong learners and
adapters. These skills teach them how to
fish rather than giving them one catch, and
that provides preparation for a lifetime of
success.
For theWord of God and the Testimony
of Jesus Christ: Third, we educate the
student with a biblical worldview. Sometimes
in our world, we have the impression that
only pastors or missionaries are in ministry.
As such, that relieves the obligation on
everyone else to “do ministry.” Such a view
is grossly flawed. Christ commands all
followers to take up their cross and to fulfill
the Great Commission. We want students
to see their vocation as their mission
field. Each internship should be treated
as significantly as one would approach a
missions trip. God places each person in a
mission field. The mission field may not be
filled with huts or people who speak other
languages. The mission field might be a
local school, a laboratory, a hospital, or a
local church. God may call a student to use
those business, engineering, nursing, drama,
athletic, or English skills among unreached
people groups in an area where pastors and
missionaries cannot obtain visas. In every
job opportunity, we should ask where we can
best use our gifts to impact the kingdom of
God.
Our Bible minor equips every student
to do just that. With courses that address
personal spiritual disciplines, teach the Old
and New Testament, and teach theology
from a biblical foundation, every graduate
leaves Cedarville looking to be involved
in God’s great mission by strategically
planting themselves where they can do the
most good for God’s kingdom purposes. An
eternal purpose provides meaning for life
far beyond material rewards and provides
contentment that money cannot buy.
Add it i ona l ly, our admi s s i ons
requirement that students provide a
narrative of when they placed their
faith in Christ, along with a biblical
worldview taught in every class,
chapel every weekday, discipleship
groups, a required Bible minor, and a
godly faculty all instill values into our
students that employers desire. The
best workers don’t steal from you or
cheat you on work hours. The best workers
serve those around them and work as unto
the Lord. This eternal motivation produces
a different caliber of employee.
A Cedarville University education is an
education that works. Our graduates live
life well for the Gospel and for King Jesus.
In the remainder of this magazine, you will
learn about several of our programs that
exemplify an education that works. You
will meet highly qualified broadcasting
professionals, award-winning engineers, and
premed students being trained in cutting-
edge facilities. Through all of our degree
programs at Cedarville University, we are
providing an education that puts students
to work, not simply for this world, but for
the world to come.
Thomas White became Cedarville’s
10th President in 2013. He received his
B.A. from Anderson University (South
Carolina) and both his M.Div. and Ph.D.
from Southeastern Baptist Theological
Seminary. He is the author and editor of
numerous publications and is a contributor
to Nelson’s Annual Preacher’s Sourcebook,
Volume 4 , released November 2014.
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58 OF OUR 77 MAJORS REPORTED 100
PERCENT PLACEMENT, A STATISTIC
REINFORCING THE IDEA THAT A
CEDARVILLE EDUCATION TRULY WORKS.
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