White, only the fourth president since Cedarville affiliated with the Baptist denomination after 66 years as a Presbyterian school, was selected unanimously by the university's Board of Trustees and joined the school July 1.
Today, he says Cedarville has not changed: It stands firm on the Bible as inerrant and infallible; it believes that Jesus is the exclusive savior and it will take that message to the ends of the earth; and it prides itself on offering a quality education, he said.
“That’s always been who we’ve been. There’s no change there,” White, 40, said.
“In the long history of Cedarville University, it has always on the conservative side of the spectrum,” he said. “Even if you look at minor shifts of different levels at Cedarville, it’s not a shift in the grand scheme of things. It’s always been conservative. Our motto is ‘For the Word of God and the Testimony of Jesus Christ.’ That goes back to 1953. It’s been our seal, it’s never changed. It’s who we are.”
White makes first steps
Cedarville is a private, Christ-centered university where students attend chapel five days a week and everyone earns a Bible minor. Its faculty and staff must sign that they agree with the university’s doctrinal statements, which includes a belief in the literal biblical account of creation.
Even as some students and alumni publicly expressed concern and demanded more transparency during the transition that occurred in winter 2013, by fall, enrollment reached a record 3,459 students.
When White arrived from the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, one of his first actions was to freeze tuition at Cedarville for the first time since 1973.
He also created the Foster Home Award, a scholarship for orphans that is nearly a full ride except $1,000 the student pays each semester to teach how important it is to work and do their best to provide for their own personal needs. The first student to win the scholarship started classes this spring.
He asked the board of trustees to consider two additions to the university’s doctrinal statement: that marriage is between a man and a woman, and that life begins at conception. The changes are beliefs Cedarville has always held, he said. But, if approved by the board this May, they would be formalized in writing, which White said is important as the university faces new requirements such as the Affordable Care Act.
“We’re not apologizing for our beliefs,” White said. “At the same time we love all people… So we’re also not trying to identify a segment of society that we don’t like.”
‘More engaged’
In his work so far, White has shown he is a “very strong leader,” said Lorne Scharnberg, chairman of the board of trustees.
“He’s not only good with students but our constituents. He’s very good on the business/financial side. He had a great track record before he came. And since he’s been there, we certainly can see he’s earned it,” he said. “Six months is still a little bit early to really get a feel of things and get going, but I think he’s made amazing progress.”
Scharnberg said he believes the questions from students and alumni at this time last year have mostly ceased.
He acknowledged that, “Change is always unsettling,” adding that is especially true given that White is only the 10th president of Cedarville since it was created nearly 127 years ago.
But some alumni have continued to express concern that Cedarville is moving away from what they saw as its “moderate, mainstream, evangelical” environment under Brown, said 2002 graduate Jeremy Bouma, a pastor and author in Grand Rapids, Mich., who has written about Cedarville online.
“I feel like I need to steer prospective students away from the school, which is not at all what I want to do. I had a great experience there,” he said. “I’m certainly praying for the school and for his leadership.”
White said he does not expect the population of Baptist students to increase or decrease, because denominational labels as a whole are on the decline in the United States. Currently, 46 percent of students are Baptist, according to the university.
White said in the future he wants Cedarville to develop additional graduate programs to offer more opportunities to adults in the region.
And he wants to communicate to the community his desire to work together.
“The difference that I want you to see is that Cedarville is even more engaged in the local community,” White said. “I want us to provide the business leaders in the banks that you don’t have to worry about skimming off the top of person integrity issues… I want you to see our students ministering to the homeless. I want them working with the orphans.
“So when Dayton thinks what does Cedarville have to do with us? They think they make us a better place.”
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