Torch, Summer 2004

Summer 2004 / TORCH 15 SIFE Team Makes its Mark C edarville’s Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) team made school history this spring by placing first runner-up in their league at the SIFE National Exposition in Kansas City, Mo. This is the highest recognition yet for a Cedarville SIFE team. “As the Sam Walton Fellow for the Cedarville chapter of SIFE, I am so proud of the team’s accomplishments this past academic year,” said John LeBlanc, SIFE chapter advisor. “This year’s team consisted entirely of students who were new to the SIFE experience. I am looking forward to working with the team this coming year on even more exciting activities to promote Cedarville and the free enterprise system.” SIFE provides students the opportunity to learn, practice, and teach the principles of free enterprise. In doing so, the students develop leadership, teamwork, and communication skills while helping their community. At the national exposition, Cedarville’s SIFE team presented all the work they had done in practicing and teaching free enterprise principles. For example, the team explained how they taught local elementary school students about production through a no-bake cookie business (proceeds were donated to the Greene County American Red Cross). The team led Business Day sessions for high schoolers, taught financial management skills to other CU students, and worked with the Cedarville administration to develop a coffee shop in the Stevens Student Center. Another highlight of the team’s year was their participation in the Springfield (Ohio) Rotary Grand Prix, a race which raises money for local scholarships. The SIFE team’s mini-grand prix car placed sixth overall in the qualifying race, but was knocked out of the final race when the car was rear-ended in the second lap. After such an exciting season, the team looks forward to even bigger and brighter things next year. CU Recognized in U.S.News & World Report and The Princeton Review C edarville University has been recognized as a top college by both U.S.News & World Report and The Princeton Review . This is the fourth consecutive year that Cedarville has been ranked in U.S.News ’ top tier of regional comprehensive colleges and the second time Cedarville has received a “Best in the Midwest” designation from The Princeton Review . U.S.News bases their rankings on factors such as a school’s admissions selectivity and student/faculty ratio. Cedarville was ranked 13th overall in the Midwestern region and came out at or near the top of the region in retention of first-year students, standardized test scores for entering students, and the percentage of faculty considered full-time. Cedarville was one of 170 schools to receive The Princeton Review ’s “Best in the Midwest” designation. The Princeton Review uses student opinion data from 708 schools to identify outstanding colleges and universities in each region of America. “We are extremely pleased by these positive evaluations of the University’s quality and value,” said Dr. Bill Brown, Cedarville’s president. “Our mission is to equip our students for lives of excellence by offering an education consistent with biblical truth. Our goal is to provide not just an education, but an overall experience that combines challenging academics with stimulating character development programs. This combination prepares our students to engage their culture with both the heart and mind of Jesus Christ. This integrative effort is what we call the ‘Cedarville Experience,’ and it is what makes a Cedarville education distinctive.” Executive-in-Residence Named M ike Stephens, president and CEO of Greene Health Partners (Xenia, Ohio), has been named the 2004-05 Executive-in-Residence of the department of business administration at Cedarville University. The Executive-in-Residence program is designed to bring senior-level executives to campus to enrich the learning environment of undergraduate business majors, foster working relationships between business leaders and faculty, and provide faculty and staff with new ideas and perspectives on how to serve the business community. Stephens will visit campus five to six times a year during his one-year term. His activities could include teaching undergraduate classes, conducting seminars, interacting with the campus community, presenting an open forum to the University, and meeting with alumni. “The department of business administration is excited about the opportunity for our students and faculty to interact with Mike Stephens through the Executive-in-Residence program,” said Ron Walker, chair of the department of business administration. “Mike has the contacts and corporate experience, especially in the non-profit arena, that can translate into additional opportunities for our students to be informed more fully about professional career choices and to network better with business professionals in their fields of study.” A Xenia resident, Stephens has served Greene Memorial Hospital/Greene Health Partners for 24 years. His many leadership positions in the industry and community include serving as a fellow for the American College of Healthcare Executives, chair of workforce development for the Ohio Hospital Association, Ohio delegate to the American Hospital Association, member of the Greene County Workforce Investment Board, trustee for the Xenia Rotary Club, and member of the United Way Outcome Team for Greene County. A graduate of Cedarville University, Stephens holds an M.B.A. from the University of Dayton and post-graduate certification from Xavier University’s Quality Leader Institute. He has also attended Cornell University’s Executive Development Program.