By Gerard Flanagan, news writer and photographer, Office of University Communications

CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. - Walking won't be enough to make your way around Campbellsville University, according to its president, Dr. Joseph Hopkins.

Instead, making your way around Campbellsville University will require at least a vehicle, if not a plane ride.

During a dinner at Rosewood in Lebanon, Hopkins updated alumni about the growth CU has been experiencing in recent years.

Beginning his update on CU, Hopkins started at the Conover Education Center in Harrodsburg. Hopkins highlighted the nursing program there, which is at “full capacity,” and achieved a 100 percent success rate for the nursing students there.

 Campbellsville University's Doctor of Chiropractic program, the only such program in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the only within a 300-mile radius, now has 60 students, according to Hopkins.

“So great, great things for the health of our state and the only chiropractic program in this part of the United States and the least expensive and yet the most intensive,” Hopkins said.

Hopkins also noted other places where CU has an educational presence, such as Paris, Ky., Hodgenville, and Somerset, where the university offers HVAC courses and Allied Health programs.

“Those programs are reaching into communities and giving opportunities to students who otherwise wouldn't be able to get an education,” Hopkins said. “We're really thrilled about what's happening in those places.”

Hopkins also told those in attendance Campbellsville University now has a presence in Canada with the opening of an education center in Windsor, Ontario.

“We're excited about what's happening there,” Hopkins said.

Back in Kentucky, about an hour and a half north of Campbellsville, CU's Louisville Education Center is home to more than 4,000 students.

Many students focus on computer science, IT management or Marriage and Family Therapy.

“It's really exciting to think about the impact that we're having all across the nation with some of the different things that are offered that are great contributions to what's happening in the Louisville metro area.”

A cross-country trip from Louisville will take you to the Phillips Graduate Institute in the Los Angeles, Calif., neighborhood of Encino, which provides graduate programs in family and marriage therapy and business.

“We're really proud of what's taking place,” Hopkins said. “It's a beautiful facility there.”

Back on the Campbellsville campus, Hopkins updated alumni on the new E. Bruce Heilman Welcome Center. The facility officially opened in January.

The Campbellsville campus is also seeing the construction of a new dorm complex to provide more room for student living.

“We have so many students on campus, we have to continue building dorms,” Hopkins said. “We're building an extra set right now, and the plan is just to continue on as long as students will come. We'll build those dorms and make the space.”

Campbellsville University has also experienced growth in enrollment, with Hopkins reporting CU's enrollment this academic year has crested at 13,000 students.

Hopkins thanked Marion County alumni of Campbellsville University, telling them, “We're so proud you would come back and be part of this. It's humbling to stand in front of you who have chosen Campbellsville University.”

To prospective students of Campbellsville University, Hopkins said, “We are so honored you are considering or choosing to make Campbellsville University your home.”

Hopkins closed by saying, “We are going to do our best to give everything we can to be true to what you invested in as alumni and to make certain Campbellsville University is a glory to God, that we are true to our mission and that we give our best in education opportunities and vocational readiness so that you can go and accomplish this mission.

“We're going to keep making sure this happens, and we thank you for being part of this incredible dream.”

During the event, the Office of Enrollment Management at Campbellsville University awarded scholarships to Marion County students who will be attending Campbellsville University.

Campbellsville University is a widely acclaimed Kentucky-based Christian university that offers over 100 programs including doctoral, master, bachelor, associate and certificate programs. The website for complete information is www.campbellsville.edu.