President Jules Glanzer presented the vision for a renewed and innovative future for Tabor College during the annual Hillsboro Chamber of Commerce luncheon Tuesday, Sept. 10, in the Heritage Lobby of the Shari Flaming Center for the Arts.
Cynthia Flaming, speaking on behalf of the Chamber, welcomed the 85 participants, including 51 Chamber members. In keeping with tradition, vice presidents Ron Braun and Tom Shaw introduced Tabor’s 26 first-year faculty and staff.
”Tabor is an important part of the Hillsboro community,” Flaming said. “We are fortunate to have the advantages and impact that the college provides.”
Glanzer responded, “From Tabor’s perspective, we need this community. You help us to be successful in what we do, and we thank you all for that. We like to believe that you need us as well, and that it’s a partnership.”
The Tabor president admitted the previous school year had its share of challenges, but it contributed to the development of a new and exciting vision for Tabor’s future.
“There’s been a new commitment on our part regarding our theological identity, and who we are as a college,” Glanzer said. “We’ve also been working hard to have a different kind of campus culture. We redefined the student value proposition for what students will get for their money while at Tabor.
“We’ve also redesigned the curriculum, and it is very positive and very well received,” he said. “And we have refocused our financial stability as well. As we looked into the future, we knew we needed a new business model. The previous one worked for many years, but we needed to have something a little more responsive.”
Glanzer said the “Tabor Promise” and “Tabor Advantage” best summarize the student value proposition:
The Tabor Promise has four components: (1) Be encouraged to place Christ at the center of all you do; (2) Be asked to pursue excellence in academics, athletics and the arts; (3) Be prepared for the real world. (4) Be made aware of your place in God’s kingdom.
Glanzer said “Real World Readiness” and “Kingdom Awareness” are at the heart of the Tabor Advantage: (1) Students will understand their career as a calling; (2) Students can obtain a double major in four years; (3) Students can earn a degree in three years; and (4) Students will learn and practice leadership.
“When working on our new business model, one of the big and difficult decisions was if we were going to reduce the cost of a Tabor education or increase the value that the students receive,” Glanzer said. “We intentionally decided that we were going to increase the value of a Tabor education rather than be the least expensive college in Kansas. That value is best described in the Tabor Promise and Tabor Advantage.”
He added: “We are still working hard to integrate that into all the different aspects of what we do. We want our graduates to be influencers when they leave Tabor College. When you put it all together, what it does for us as an institution is to give us really clear direction. This is our distinction that makes us different from other colleges. It also describes what we want the Tabor experience to be like.”