Spearheading a Historic Campaign  Will Smallwood is Cedarville’s new Vice President for Advancement. The Cedarville University Board of Trustees approved him for this role during their traditional homecoming weekend meeting.  Will is leading the University’s One Thousand Days Transformed: The Campaign for Cedarville, which was announced at homecoming weekend. The $125 million dollar campaign, the largest in school history, already has commitments of more than $95 million. This comprehensive campaign will transform the university’s facilities, campus experience, affordability, and long-term sustainability.   Will is no stranger to multi-million dollar fundraising efforts. During his days as Senior Vice President for Advancement and University Relations for Oklahoma Baptist University (OBU), he spearheaded a five-year $42 million campaign, which was realized a year earlier than projected.   Will leads with humility and kindness, realizing any gift to Cedarville is truly a work of God in the hearts of friends and alumni of the University. He is glad to serve in the role God has provided to impact the lives of students and the long-term health and thriving of Cedarville.    “I have long observed the excellence of Cedarville at every level, from the administration to faculty and staff and its outstanding student body,” he shared with Cedarville public relations earlier this year. “There is also a rich history of generous and faithful support from alumni and friends committed to preparing students who will honor the Lord with their careers and bring Gospel intentionality into all aspects of their lives. To play a small role in this worthy and crucial mission is an incredible blessing.”  …......  The One Thousand Days Transformed: The Campaign for Cedarville includes an athletic and academic expansion, the Scharnberg Business Center, and a new welcome center and academic home for several of Cedarville’s outstanding academic departments. 

Cedarville Stories

S5:E15 | Will Smallwood

A Sheepdog Feeding on the Word  Bruce Upchurch, the new director of campus security at Cedarville, brings more than 30 years of law enforcement experience to his role, which includes the Greene County Sheriff’s Office and the Oakwood Public Safety Department. He has been a K9 handler for criminal investigations and a sniper with a SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) unit.   He has been pushed to his limit mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually and admits that he’s brought job stress home with him. But through it all, the Lord has kept him together, through long stakeouts, altercations with suspects, and harrowing danger.  Ultimately, Bruce went into law enforcement to help others, and that’s why he’s at Cedarville. He sees himself as a servant, and if he’s not serving, then he’s not doing his job. Caring for faculty, staff, administrators, students, and visitors is his goal.  With all that in mind, it’s important that he stay grounded in his relationship with God, which requires grounding in the Word of God. Memorizing Scripture has kept his heart and attitude in the right place during the most difficult assignments.   “Sheepdogs and wolves are similar,” Bruce shares during the podcast. “They have the same intensity, just one has empathy for the sheep, and one wants to kill the sheep. Be a sheepdog, have empathy, but also be connected with the Word of God. If you do not, you can be led down that path of being a little more like a wolf and less like a sheepdog. Stay firm in the Word; memorize the Word of God. To walk in the Spirit, you need to live in the Word.”

S5:E14 | Bruce Upchurch

Being Healed and Healing OthersBest-selling author Dannah Gresh, a 1989 graduate of Cedarville University, was surprised when she was notified that she was selected as this year’s Alumna of the Year. In fact, she thought it might be a mistake. But Dannah has come to learn from years of personal experience and ministry that has touched thousands upon thousands of girls, moms, boys, and dads, that the ways of God are always profoundly amazing. And His healing and redeeming hand was on her in a special way in this unexpected honor. God has blessed Dannah in many, many ways. From her mom coming to faith while her baby brother was critically ill in the hospital, transforming her family overnight, to bringing a beautiful teenage daughter from China into her own family in State College, Pennsylvania. To helping her and husband, Bob, who is co-founder and CEO of Pure Freedom, shift from an event-based ministry to one that included virtual and digital content and programming, just prior to the onset of the COVID pandemic. The Lord’s goodness has been abundantly clear.But more than that, Jesus met her in a very personal way to heal her from sexual pain in her teenage years to be a voice for truth in an age when truth, as she says in the podcast, is being crucified. His love and His Word provide the rock-solid basis from which anyone can discover hope, meaning, and purpose. Receiving the 2021 Alumna of the Year award was another way Jesus ministered to Dannah’s heart.“In many ways, I haven’t lived a perfect life; I haven’t lived a sinless life,” she shares during the podcast. “So, I think when you get honored, the Lord somehow does some redemption even in those deep places that you think, ‘These things were fixed and healed.’ There’s an unworthiness that we carry with us, I think, until the day that we are with Jesus when we look into His eyes face to face. It was just a sweet moment of healing and encouragement for me.”Dannah spoke in chapel September 30, 2021, on the topic “The Secret to Being Fruitful,” just prior to being honored as Alumna of the Year on homecoming weekend. 

S5:E13 | Dannah Gresh

People Are the PriorityKari Flunker Hoffman ’05 is a Hall of Fame basketball player, holding first place in the Lady Jacket record books for three-point shots made, three-point field goal percentage and assists. She’s also the second all-time leading scorer in Cedarville women’s basketball history with 2,275 points during her four-year career.In 2004 and 2005, she led her team to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) championship game. In 2004, she was presented the Hustle award following the championship game, and one year later she was named the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) player of the year.Kari is also an outstanding coach, leading the women’s team from 2016 to 2020 to 106 victories and three regular-season conference championships.  But for all the accolades, it comes back to people for Kari. As a player, more than anything she wanted to be the kind of teammate that others wanted to play with. When the door opened for her to lead the Wright State University NCAA Division I women’s basketball program, it was a focus on student-athletes as people to be developed first that convinced her the move was from the Lord.And as she reflects on her years coaching at Cedarville, this theme remains true.“There’s just so many good people at Cedarville that I want to keep part of my life,” she comments during the podcast. “All my best friends were my teammates there, and they always will be. I want to keep people and relationships a priority. I hope I’m remembered for treating people right, caring about them and the program, and doing it all while keeping Christ first in my life.”…….Kari is being inducted in the Cedarville Athletics Hall of Fame during homecoming weekend 2021. 

S5:E12 | Kari Hoffman

Law Enforcement Future Leader  For the Cedarville Stories 100th podcast, the guest is a future police chief, county sheriff, or FBI agent. At least, it’s easy to imagine that being the outcome for junior criminal justice major Will Geist.  Will is the son of Alan and Lynn Geist. Alan served as Cedarville athletic director until June 30, 2021.  At one point, Will thought he might enjoy becoming an airline pilot. But in third grade at Shawnee Elementary School in Springfield, he volunteered to guard the gym stage during indoor recess. He discovered that he enjoyed keeping his classmates safe from falling and enforcing the rules established by the teacher. Seems like Will was hardwired by God for this role.  He came to Cedarville because of its excellent criminal justice program, led by former Cleveland, Ohio, Police Chief, and current Director of the Criminal Justice program Dr. Patrick Oliver. From Dr. Oliver, he learned the keys for being a law enforcement professional — integrity, service orientation, human relations skills, team compatibility, and a drive to perform. In many ways, Will already embodies those qualities as demonstrated through his campus activities and as a student campus security officer.  Will hopes to become part of the inaugural cohort in the College to Law Enforcement Pathway Program, which Cedarville along with Central State University will be piloting for the next two years.  For Will, who was adopted from Kazakhstan, his adoption as a child of God is his greatest calling, and he hopes to reflect the Gospel in the way he serves the public.  “I hope I can show people that the Gospel needs to be at the center of everything we do,” he shared during the podcast. “It needs to be at the center of everything I do. I’m not perfect in that, but it should be, and by God’s grace, I’m learning how to do that. I hope to continue to learn how to live for the Lord.”  ……….. The College to Law Enforcement Pathway Program endeavors to develop a pool of pre-qualified college-educated law enforcement applicants mentored by leaders in the field.  

S5:E11 | Will Geist

Same Orders, Different Uniform  When Captain Seth Johnson switched from pulpit ministry to chaplaincy in the Air National Guard, it would have been easy to see the shift as a significant change for someone serving 20 years in the pastorate. But for Seth, it was still the same call, just a change of uniform.   Seth graduated from Cedarville in 1996 with a pre-seminary degree. He joined the Connecticut Air National Guard where his brother-in-law and one son were serving.  He has another son serving as a medic in the U.S. Army. Because of his academic and ministry experience, he was commissioned directly as a captain.   For Seth, the shift has also been a return to his roots. His ministry experience began as a youth pastor at a church in Beavercreek, Ohio, located near Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. He learned early on the unique stresses and challenges that military families face.   In his current role, he finds himself being a trusted release valve for airmen and those in command. His years of experience serving in the church have prepared him well as a calm and even presence for those facing difficulties of different kinds. He’s also available to everyone on base, regardless their religious beliefs.   “It’s kind of bearing the fruit of the instructions of Scripture,” he explained to Cedarville public relations earlier this year. “It says be ready in season and out of season, always ready to give an answer of the hope that is within you.” …..  In an article this summer for Cedarville public relations, Seth expressed gratitude for his Cedarville professors and for Jeff Beste, director of strategic relations, for their influence on him during his transformative 1,000 days at Cedarville.  

S5:E10 | Seth Johnson

Compassion Defines GreatnessMike Weller has had a phenomenal career. As associate professor of athletic training, he has instructed, mentored, and coached hundreds of Cedarville students into careers that span high school, college, and professional sports. He is helping lead Cedarville’s program to new heights with the start of the Master of Athletic Training degree in June 2022.Beyond Cedarville, he has served as the staff athletic trainer for the Cincinnati Bengals training camp since 2011. He also has worked for the National Football league as the eyes in the sky during Bengals football games to alert team medical staff about potential concussions.By all earthly accounts, it would be easy to conclude that Mike is a great athletic trainer. But Mike himself learned, through a Billy Graham crusade, that greatness is not defined by career accomplishments.It was during that evangelistic event in 2000 where Mike, who had been raised in a Christian home and made a commitment to Christ at a young age, was confronted by the fact that Jesus was more of a side relationship for him, someone who was there but for Mike, not someone at the center of his life. He acknowledged that he was not following Jesus as Lord and went forward to rededicate his life to Christ.Since that moment, showing the kindness and compassion of Jesus has been the driving motivation of his life.“A great athletic trainer operates with compassion,” he offers during the podcast. “They see a need but then they look for a way to impact that life, whether it’s on the football field, on the sidelines, or when someone comes to us with an eating disorder or a young lady who’s pregnant and she’s exploring having an abortion. As believers, we have the opportunity to act in that healthcare setting to really impact their lives, and that’s changed everything I’ve done.”……….The University began receiving applications for the new Master of Athletic Training program in August.

S5:E9 | Mike Weller

“By All the Statistics, I Should be Dead”  It is a miracle that Dr. Michael McKay, Assistant Professor of Biblical Theology, is teaching at Cedarville this fall.   On June 19, 2021, Dr. McKay wasn’t feeling right, but figured he could walk off the odd aches and pains he was experiencing in his throat and back. But when his left leg went numb, the alarm bells went off. Knowing that leg numbness can be a symptom of stroke, Dr. McKay and his wife, Lee-Ann, went immediately to Greene Memorial Hospital.  After the CT scan of his chest, doctors knew he was in the middle of a serious health crisis – he had a dissected aorta. He was taken by ambulance to Kettering Medical Center in Kettering, Ohio, for emergency surgery.   After 10 ½ hours in the operating room with cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Peter Pavlina and his team, along with the constant prayers of friends, family, and church family here and all around the world, Dr. McKay came out repaired and changed.   “I’m in the bonus round,” he shared with Cedarville Public Relations. “By all the statistics, I should be dead. This is why the doctors said it’s a miracle. Every medical professional in my family or who is a friend of mine, when they heard what happened before they heard about the success of the surgery, many of them told me they did not think they would have seen me again until the presence of the Lord.” …………. Dr. McKay last appeared on the Cedarville Stories podcast in February 2020 when he shared about training Russian church leaders and visiting the Holy Lands with Cedarville students, including his children, Alexis, Andrew, and Katherynn. 

S5:E8 | Michael and Lee-Ann McKay

Finding Her Place to Inspire MillionsWhen Mandy Young first came to Cedarville, she had no intention of becoming an on-air radio personality or a trailblazing leader in the communications industry. But even though she tried to run from God’s plans, He drew her in and set her in a place of blessing and thriving.Mandy, who graduated from Cedarville with a bachelor’s in broadcasting and digital media in 2000, was named program director for K-LOVE and Air 1 last October. She is first female in this role and is responsible for music and on-air programming that is broadcast through 790 stations across the country and into millions of homes.All of it started when Mandy was a little girl. She was saved at age 5, the same night her dad accepted the Lord. She and her siblings would create radio shows and put them on cassette tapes – yes, that’s going back a few years – but for her it was only childhood fun, not a prophetic portend of her future.As she trailblazes a role in Christian radio, she knows that this is the place God has always meant for her to serve and to inspire millions to trust and pursue Him. “Being in radio for as long as I have, I feel like it’s my job to pour out encouragement to other people,” she shares during the podcast, “to tell them about Jesus, to bring them closer to Him, and to lift them up.”…………..From personal experience, Mandy knows the power of Christian radio. The Need to Breathe song Hard Love playing on an Air 1 station motivated her one night as she sat alone in her parked car at the grocery store.

S5:E7 | Mandy Young

“I shall not die, but live”Hayes Wicker has served faithfully on the Cedarville board of trustees since 2005. He has served the church throughout his career, a calling he received almost immediately after he received Jesus as Savior on New Year’s Eve 1966. He has pastored churches in Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and Florida.    Now retired from pulpit ministry, Hayes is still caring for the church, currently as the Director of Spiritual Life and adjunct professor of preaching, pastoral ministry, and Christian living at Southern Evangelical Seminary in Matthews, North Carolina.But his time of serving the Lord this side of eternity was nearly at a close after a prolonged and painful battle with COVID-19. He spent 45 days in the hospital and was seconds away from being placed on a ventilator when the Lord used a coach-like nurse to challenge him to breath on his own. Even still, he was near death.In his darkest moments, Jesus put a flicker of hope into Hayes’ head and heart through a Scripture that he remembered but could not place: “I shall not die, but live, and tell of the works of the Lord.” Once he was on the mend, he discovered the life-giving verse: Psalm 118:17.“God wants to use everything in our lives, particularly that last part of the verse, ‘and tell of the works of the Lord,’” Hayes shares during the podcast. “I have seen God use this, particularly when I talk about COVID. On the golf course or the doctor’s office or wherever I get to talk, it is an amazing platform because people are amazed that I’m alive, that I’m doing what I’m doing, and I get to tell the greatness of the goodness of God.”

S5:E6 | Hayes Wicker

Christ Is All He NeedsFor Paul Dixon, from the beginning of his relationship with God through all the decades of his leadership at Cedarville to his retirement years when he continues to impact the lives of many, Christ is all he needs.Dr. Dixon was first known on the campus of Cedarville College as a frequent speaker in chapel. He was often invited to preach by then-president Dr. James T. Jeremiah, with whom he had a lifelong friendship and for whom he had a deep admiration.There’s an iconic image of Dr. Dixon walking side by side with Dr. Jeremiah in 1978, when Dr. Dixon was asked to serve as president. The image shows the two great men of faith in step with each other, which was reflected in their transition and their relationship with each other through the years.Dr. Dixon admits he had not served in leadership, other than in his personal life, his family, and his evangelistic ministry, so he was taken aback at the Board of Trustees’ decision to appoint him to lead Cedarville. Dr. Dixon promised his wife, Pat, they would commit two years to see if the Lord’s hand was on their decision. After 25 years serving as president and 18 years as chancellor, it appears His answer was clear.For Dr. Dixon, his commitment to follow the Lord into the leadership of Cedarville was an act of faith. The song, “Christ Is All I Need,” so closely linked to Dr. Dixon and his time at Cedarville, continues to echo that continual dependence, which he and Pat harmonize to close the podcast.  “We took as our verse when we started dating Psalm 37:23, ‘The steps of a good man are ordered by God: and He delighteth in his way,’” Dr. Dixon shares earlier in the show. “And (Pat) had that engraved on my wedding band. It’s been that way all these years. He’s ordered our steps; it’s the sovereignty of God.”Dr. Dixon’s 40th anniversary of servant-leadership at Cedarville was celebrated in 2018.

S5:E5 | Paul Dixon

The First Dixon at Cedarville 50 Years AgoBack in 1971, the Dixon name became well known at a small Christian liberal arts college in Ohio. The imprint of that one person is still visible everywhere on campus today. But most noticeably, on the lives of countless students.Yes, Pat Dixon, wife of chancellor and former president Paul Dixon, has left her mark on Cedarville University. She was here seven years before Paul, who became president in 1978.Pat was a well liked and respected public school teacher in Chattanooga, Tennessee, her hometown, when she got the call from then-Cedarville president Dr. James T. Jeremiah to join the education department faculty. This began a 25-year career teaching in the English education program.In 1996, Pat shifted into her role as assistant to the president, namely her husband. Her salary the first year? $1. Her earnings increased after that, but she wasn’t in it for the money – she loved Cedarville and desired to bring her eye for design to the interior and exterior of the University’s buildings. She wanted the look of the University to match the quality of its programs.While she enjoyed using her tremendous sense of balance and beauty, her primary love has always been teaching students and pouring into them. She led students on missions trips to Hungary and China and was always on the lookout for someone God had called her to invest in.“As young girl growing up, I was in a Christian home, but I went to camp one year, and this college student was my counselor, and she just poured herself into me as a 14-year-old,” Pat shares during the podcast. “She just told how to have devotions; she poured into me spiritual truth. I always valued that, and I always said to myself, ‘I want to do that to others, pour myself into a student.’ Even now as we’re retired, and we’re moving here and there, I always pray that God will lead me to someone that I could pour myself into.”Pat is a prayer warrior, and she shared about her prayer life in an article for the Torch back in 1982.

S5:E4 | Pat Dixon

Strength Is More Than Muscle Brett Faro is Cedarville’s men’s soccer coach and has led his team to more than 90 wins since 2013, three G-MAC conference titles, and two NCAA tournament bids. He’s also a husband to his wife, Shelley, and dad to 2-year-old Lincoln. But to 5-year-old Fritz Krieger, Brett is an inspiration.  Fritz has Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), and his parents, Bryant and Sarah Krieger, are long-time friends of the Faros. When Brett decided to compete in the Tulsa Ironman triathlon in May – a grueling 140.6 mile swim/bike/run – he chose to make it more than an athletic milestone accomplished. Brett wanted to bring attention to Fritz’s disease, which typically claims the lives of those who contract it by their teens to mid-20s, although recent medical advances have increased life expectancy.  Brett wore the inspirational phrase “Strength Is More Than Muscle” on his racing outfit, which is the tagline for the Kriegers’ nonprofit. He also had their website, fritzandfriendsdmd.org, emblazoned on the back. The press opportunities that followed allowed Brett to share about Fritz and how people across the country can join the fight against DMD. For Brett, this was an opportunity to transform an amazing athletic pursuit into an exercise of eternal purpose.  “There are so many who do not have the opportunity to push their bodies the way I’ve been able to push mine,” Brett shared during an interview prior to the Ironman. “They aren’t able to run, bike, or swim. I really try to value that and share the true joy I have in Christ. God has blessed me with athletic ability, endurance, strength, and legs that work.” ………… Join the fight against Duchenne muscular dystrophy; visit fritzandfriendsdmd.org.  

S5:E3 | Brett Faro

Equipping ThousandsMark Klimek taught every nursing student at Cedarville University over his 38-year career before his retirement this summer. His NCLEX (National Council Licensure Examination) preparation courses have helped thousands of students at Cedarville, across the country, and around the world to pass the test to become registered nurses.This tremendous legacy began in Youngstown, Ohio. Mark’s dad counseled his son to find a career where he would have job security, and the Lord has provided. He has served well in a number of nursing roles, but for the majority of his career, as an associate professor at the school where he long aspired to serve.But for Mark, it isn’t about security, but about the one who provides security – the Lord Jesus. As a practicing nurse, he had the opportunity to be the hands and feet of Jesus, to be the listening ear of Jesus, and to be a proclaimer of the good news of Jesus.As a professor, he has influenced hundreds of Cedarville nursing graduates to view their career as a way to glorify the Lord.“What better profession could I show Christ in?” Mark shares during the podcast. “If you go through Christ’s life, what did He do? He fed people. We do that as nurses. He gave them something to drink. He talked to them about their fears and anxieties. He quieted them; He calmed them. He sat with them. He rejoiced with them. He cried with them. He laughed with them. Nurses do that all the time. And we get to work with the greatest machine designed by the greatest Creator ever.”…………Mark’s NCLEX review course started from small beginnings of just a few Cedarville students and has grown into a program that has helps thousands every year.

S5:E2 | Mark Klimek

Life is messy. Just ask Ken Erny.  Ken, a 1978 graduate, discovered how messy life could be as a student-athlete when he played in 70-mile-per-hour winds, snow, and rain as a member of the men’s tennis team. Or when he broke his wrist on the way to a tournament, wiping out his opportunity to play at the NAIA national tournament. Murray Murdoch, Distinguished Professor of History and Government, was then the men’s tennis coach and took Ken to the hospital in the wee hours of the morning for X-rays and casting. But also took him out to breakfast afterward.  In 2020, Ken could look back at a successful career as a history teacher, soccer program founder and coach, and athletic director in Fruitport, Michigan, but he wasn’t slowing down. Although he was mentoring his successor, Ken was still serving 60-70 hours a week as athletic director at Fruitland High School. Then Covid-19 brought Ken, and the rest of the world, to a fast stop.  It was during the quiet of the pandemic that Ken began noticing that there was something wrong with his step. His leg and foot weren’t working exactly right. He thought it was a back problem that might be solved with new supportive footwear, but the doctor’s diagnosis revealed something more devastating: Ken had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease for which there is no cure.   Since receiving his diagnosis, Ken and Lori, his wife of 42 years and a fellow Cedarville alum, have committed to living each day to the fullest, surrounded by the love of their supportive family and friends. Ken has recorded more than 100 messages so far for Lori, his kids, grandkids, and other loved ones, for when he is no longer able to speak, a symptom of ALS. And one of his biggest messages?  “Life is messy, and yet we have a God who says He will come right alongside you,” Ken shares during the podcast. “God promised to join you in the mess. He won’t leave you in spite of anything, and the future is so much better compared to what we’re going through now.” ……….. Ken received a surprise visit on the podcast from his beloved professor and coach, Murray Murdoch.

S5:E1 | Ken Erny

Cedarville Stories podcast shares the stories of individuals who have been impacted from their experiences at Cedarville University, all for God's glory. Each week you’ll hear unique stories of how Cedarville’s mission of transforming lives through excellent education and intentional discipleship in submission to biblical authority is being lived out in the lives of faculty, staff, students, alumni, and friends of the University. Listen in each Wednesday and be blessed by some of the amazing ways God is working in and through the lives of the Cedarville family.

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Cedarville Stories

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