CEDARVILLE — Cedarville University is looking forward as it celebrates 125 years with a vision to grow its national reputation, its student body and its online presence.

First founded by five men as a Presbyterian-affiliated college, Cedarville has grown to a Baptist university with its largest student body yet. “It’s a nice mark to be at 125 years. We see it as a blessing from God,” said President William Brown.

The private university has been guided by the “deep anchor” of its Christ-center focus, but has “done a great job of changing in the right ways,” Brown said.

Cedarville’s 3,200 students, coming from 48 states, are among those at only a few universities who attend on-campus chapel five days a week. Cedarville is also one of only five schools in the 116-member Council for Christian Colleges and Universities at which every students earns a Bible minor.

“Students come here for more than just a degree. It’s the whole experience they want. They want to be in an environment where their faith is nurtured and encouraged,” Brown said of the university’s 28,000 alumni.

“Our goal is not to fill a bucket. It’s to light a fire. “We want to have not only a really good academic program, but a Christian program that educates the whole person.”

The Greene County university has its own goal to “be one of the most influential Christ-center universities in the 21st century.”

In its vision for 2020, the university plans to grow moderately in the number of students on campus, to 4,000 from 3,300.

But Cedarville is planning more aggressive growth in students taking courses online, with a plan to expand that number from the about 1,400 who took online courses in 2010-11 to 6,000 in 2020.

Cedarville hopes also to triple its minority population, which is currently 7 percent, and develop more graduate programs in business and health care fields, such as occupational therapy.

The university is also investing in its 400-acre campus, and this fall will open its $22 million Health Sciences Center.

Its growth and innovation sets Cedarville apart, as well as its distinction as a university where 46 percent of students are Baptist, with all other students following another Christian denomination.

“Cedarville is one of the larger and stronger of the independent colleges in the state of Ohio,” said C. Todd Jones, president of the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Ohio. “They draw students from out of state and give a rich opportunity for a different learning environment here in Ohio.”

Senior Kaitlyn Coughlin said she came to Cedarville from Massachusetts for a Christian experience in chapel, in the classroom, with other students and in the community.

“From the first time I visited I really enjoyed the community here.

“It just feel like family almost,” the journalism student said. “It’s just a really holistic approach to living. They really do care about who you are as a whole person.”

Cedarville will mark its 125th anniversary at its 116th commencement ceremony for more than 600 students at 10 a.m. May 5. The Rev. Franklin Graham, president and CEO of Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, will deliver the commencement address. Graham is the son of renowned evangelist Billy Graham.