GRAND RAPIDS ? 2008 was a year nearly every business would like to forget, including Cornerstone University. The faith-based institution of higher education was suffering its third straight year of declining enrollment. As a result, tuition fees plunged, while the stagnant economy crimped donations. Cornerstone posted an audited net loss of $4.8 million.

Fast forward to 2012. Cornerstone is riding the crest of record enrollments, tuition fees and donations are soaring. Cornerstone is projecting an audited net income of $4.6 million for fiscal 2012.

What changed? According to one current executive staff member who was at Cornerstone during the bad old days, as well as two members of the current board of trustees, it was the arrival of new university president Joseph Stowell, PhD, who not only refocused Cornerstone on its Christian heritage, but also made the tough financial decisions that staunched the flow of red ink on the books.

?Dr. Stowell instituted a new vision statement,? said Marc Fowler, Cornerstone Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer, who served under the previous administration of Rex Rogers. ?His identity and mission statement refocused us as a Christ-centered Christian University. When we put that in place, a lot of these other things turned around for us.?

Rogers was president of Cornerstone from 1991 to 2008. He now serves as president of SAT-7 USA, the American promotion and fundraising arm of SAT-7, a Christian satellite television ministry by and for the people of the Middle East and North Africa.

Stowell, who had spent 18 years as president of Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, brought in a heavy dose of corporate realism. He cut 4 percent, or nearly $1.5 million, from expenses for the fiscal 2009 budget (June 2010 to June 2011). Some reductions also impacted the 2009-2010 budget.

The cuts came from multiple areas of the university?s operations, including services, salaries, travel, printing, selected academic programs, personnel and even pension contributions.

Spanish was eliminated as a major; one full-time faculty member was eliminated.

Two faculty eliminated in the music department.

Education eliminated one faculty member.

The women?s golf program was eliminated, and with it the position for the women?s golf coach.

Two positions were eliminated in Spiritual Formation and Advancement.

Marketing eliminated one position.

A part-time position was eliminated in human resources.

Elimination of the health insurance benefit for spouses of employees who had coverage available through the spouse?s employer.

Printing costs were reduced.

Consolidation of leadership positions in radio and marketing.

Pension matches were eliminated.

Salaries were cut from 2 to 8 percent depending upon salary levels, with top positions taking the biggest hits.

Fowler said Cornerstone now reviews its budgets quarterly, keeping a much closer eye on the university?s finances just in case adjustments have to be made.

He also said the re-emphasis on Christianity has attracted more students of faith. All incoming students have to say declare on their admissions forms that they have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

All these changes have produced dramatic results. On campus residency has increased from 50- to 65 percent for traditional undergraduate students (aged 18-22). The Professional and Graduate School program will have about 1,084 students this fall, up from 1005 in 2008. While the seminary?s enrollment will be 325, compared to 289 in 2008.

?The numbers tell the story of refocusing,? Fowler said. ?They back up the changes that Dr. Stowell made when he came in.?

Certainly, Cornerstone Board of Trustees Chairman Steve Hawks agrees with Fowler that Stowell has done a tremendous turn around job. Hawks, the Line of Business Manager for Fifth Third Investment Advisors, graduated from Cornerstone in 1981 when it was known as Grand Rapids Baptist College.

?The downturn in the economy created an enrollment problem,? Hawks said. ?Universities have X-capacity for X-number number of students. When revenue matches expenses you break even. Most colleges try to generate 95 to 100 percent of revenue from tuition to cover expenses. You want revenue to exceed expenses and not tap the endowment.?

When you get one down class, say 60 students less than you budgeted, those 60 fewer students hurt your overall budget for four years, as they progress from freshmen to seniors.

?Prior to Joe?s arrival, enrollment was down three years,? Hawks said. ?He brought in new cabinet members. He defined a new mission and purpose.?

Hawks said under the Rogers administration, a shift was made from a small-Baptist College theme to one that embraced more liberal arts college. In fact the name was changed to Cornerstone College, later Cornerstone University.?

?The focus during that period was on making a lot of positive changes to get us to the point where we needed to go,? he said. ?We moved from more of a pastoral type programming to liberal arts. Rex did a phenomenal job there. We went from a Baptist College to a broader Christ-centered college that was not denominationally focused. The percentage of Baptist students today is lower.?

Rogers built the foundation and made the necessary changes, Hawks said. But the next phase needed was more of a warm leadership connection, an individual who related to the faculty, students and community. He said Stowell was perfect for that role.

But Joe Slaughter, a former Cornerstone student ? he graduated in 1969 – who serves as chairman of the board?s audit committee, said he did not see a loss of focus under the Rogers administration. He just said Stowell is a more active leader who likes to spend more face time with students, faculty and staff.

Certainly, five years into the Stowell presidency, Slaughter said all the economic indicators at Cornerstone are pointing up. Construction is underway on a new all-weather baseball field and about 30 baseball student baseball players will be attending classes this fall. A new residence hall is under construction. Together they represent a $20 million investment in the facilities. Cornerstone also is spending about $11 million to build a new chapel and media center.

?More important to me than adding sports is we?re getting better quality kids,? he said. ?We have to give professors better raw material if we hope to enhance the rigor of our academic programs. What we?re seeing is an improvement in our ACD scores. It?s a good indicator of what we?re bringing in the front door.?

?When I?m on campus, I do make it a point to interact with the kids,? he said. ?I?m very impressed with their commitment to Christian standards, value and actions. I?m impressed with the passion I see among the graduates for their chosen professions. I?m impressed with kids we?re turning out.?

Stowell said when he arrived on campus in February 2008, there was a question looming about whether Cornerstone was still a viable university.

?Enrollment was down,? he said. ?Donations were down. Only a handful of donors were still committed.?

One of them was John Miller of Miller Energy in Kalamazoo, Stowell said. He provided what Stowell described as a major financial gift to help Cornerstone bridge the financial gap. Miller was not available for comment.

Step two was slashing the overall budget and making the academic, program and staff cuts, what he described as ?a season of shared sacrifice.?

These hard choices in 2008 resulted in a small net profit in 2009. Three years later, Cornerstone is projecting net income before unrealized gain on investment of more than $5 million in fiscal 2012.

Stowell, a student of history, characterized the changes he made at Cornerstone with a quote from former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill: ?England has always been Lion hearted; I provid