The 47,820-square-foot, three-story Georgian-style building will be a new campus landmark with a 84-foot dome along Cedarville’s Main Street. It’s named in honor of William Bolthouse, a longtime supporter and trustee emeritus of the university beginning in 1996, to celebrate his service and dedication to Cedarville.
The Bolthouse Academic Center will house faculty offices for the school of education and the departments of English, literature and modern languages, history and government, social work and psychology. It will include classrooms, student collaboration areas and a new dining option on the east side of campus that will feature a coffee bar with sandwiches and salads.
The evangelical Christian university’s enrollment has more than doubled over the last 20 years, with 6,384 students in 2025 compared to 3,090 in 2005, according to Weinstein. Looking at enrollment in five-year increments shows it has accelerated significantly in recent years. Starting at 3,090 students in 2005, enrollment crept up to 3,200 in 2010, then grew to 3,711 in 2015 and 4,550 in 2020, then rocketed to 6,384 this year.
The new Bolthouse building’s construction is partly made possible by an anonymous donor who gave $15 million in October 2024, one of the largest single gifts in Cedarville history. This leaves $5 million still needed to complete the project, which will continue to be raised through the campaign.
This facility is the final piece of the $175 million campaign, One Thousand Days Transformed: The Campaign for Cedarville, a comprehensive fundraising effort that has been funded by individuals and corporate donations. It focuses on four institutional components of facilities, student experience, student affordability, and sustainability.
“This is the largest campaign in Cedarville’s history. God has blessed this campaign to the point that the initial campaign goal was $125 million,” Weinstein said.
This campaign has funded several other campus improvements such as $40 million for the Scharnberg Business and Communication Center, $7.5 million for the Chick-fil-A dining commons, $3 million for the Civil Engineering Building, $8 million for the Callan Athletic and Academic Expansion, and $42 million for multiple residence halls.
The campaign will officially end during the homecoming celebration in October.
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