Tabor College

President Shares Optimistic Vision for Tabor, Even as Economic Downturn Forces Reduction in Workforce and Budget

April 06, 2009

Categories: General News, Athletics News

Tabor College President Dr. Jules Glanzer has outlined an optimistic and pragmatic plan to redesign the college for the future, while conceding that the economic downturn has forced him to cut more than $500,000 from the operating budget and reduce 11 highly-valued employees from the campus workforce, beginning with the 2009-10 school year.

In a difficult speech delivered to faculty and staff on Friday, April 3, Glanzer said that, despite record-high student enrollment, fallout from the current recession left him no choice but to make painful cuts in the school’s $10 million operating budget, including the loss of three full-time faculty members and eight members of the administrative staff.

“In its 100-year history, Tabor College has overcome some significant obstacles, including fire, wind, wars, economic depression, and bad investments, to name a few,” Glanzer said. “I am confident that we will also overcome the current economic downturn that has led to our current financial situation.”

Highlights of the president’s plan include:

• An operating budget reduction in excess of $500,000 or approximately 5 percent

• The release of 3 full time faculty

• The release of 8 administrative and support staff

• Vacancies of one and a half positions not being filled

• Reduction of one faculty teaching load

• Discontinuation of the Computer Science program

• Postponement of all sabbaticals for one year

• Numerous sacrifices of those who continue to serve at Tabor

• A salary increase of 2 percent for all employees

The displaced workers will receive severance packages to assist them in their transitions. Students enrolled as Computer Science majors will still receive the classes needed for them to graduate with their desired degrees. Glanzer also said his door would be open for those wishing to speak with him directly about the difficult choices being made.

After his address, Glanzer led a prayer for the affected campus employees, many of whom attended the campus meeting after being informed by Glanzer in person the day before. They stood with their heads bowed as tearful co-workers surrounded them and lifted them up in prayer.

“Tabor College is made up of wonderful people,” Glanzer said. “People who sacrifice, believe in our mission, and are committed to Christ and His way in life. I love this place and I love the people that make up Tabor College. That is also the cause for the deep pain that I feel as I read these words.”

“I am thankful that, because of excellent administrative leadership in the past, our situation is not anywhere near what other institutions are experiencing,” Glanzer said. “Every other college president that I have talked with is leading their institutions in some kind of budgetary reductions.

“Most are more severe than we are experiencing,” Glanzer said.

The changes announced on Friday are Phase One of a three-phase plan to redesign and reposition Tabor College for the future.

“The goal of Phase One is to balance the 2009-10 budget,” Glanzer said. “Currently we have a workforce that is larger than we can afford. I believe that a smaller workforce paid well is better than a larger workforce paid poorly. Yes, we all hurt with these decisions. Our love for each other is deep, and because of these relationships, we hurt even more.”

The president’s decision to increase workers’ salaries by 2 percent in 2009-10 continues the effort to raise Tabor’s pay scale, which ranks near the bottom for similar colleges in the region.

“Salary increases remain a priority for me,” Glanzer said. “A smaller, well-paid workforce is to Tabor’s advantage. This increase is a step, although small, in that direction.”

Phase Two of the plan includes investing in opportunities for growth, establishing financial policies that reduce the need for the college to borrow to meet its operating costs, and creating a contingency fund in the amount of $200,000 by 2015.

Phase Three includes redesigning and restructuring the college, “so that we can move from Survive to Thrive, with a strategic plan for a new and more vibrant Tabor,” Glanzer said.

“I am convinced that Tabor has a bright future,” Glanzer added, “but Tabor will need to embrace change, not because things are broken at Tabor, but so we can be prepared for a future which we do not know and in which we want to continue our mission being accomplished and our vision becoming a reality.

“We are preparing a new generation for a new world that is hard for us to even imagine. This then requires a new Tabor as well.”

Tabor College began its centennial year last fall with an enrollment of 612 students, the largest in the 100-year history of the college. The freshman class, with 141 students, was the largest since 1988. The spring enrollment figures reflect this increase, as student enrollment grew almost 9 percent from the 2008 spring semester to the 2009 spring semester.

While a decline in student enrollment could require additional budget reductions in the fall, Glanzer said the current 2009-10 budget projections are based on another record or near-record enrollment.

“The actions we announced today are being driven by the current economic times,” Glanzer said. “Even though Tabor College is more attractive than ever to students and parents, with the downturn, we have lost our cushion for budget deficits. We need a budget that reflects this reality.”

According to Kirby Fadenrecht, Senior Vice President for Business and Finance, the college’s endowment fund has declined in value over the past year, as have other colleges’ and universities’ endowments that were invested in the equities market.

“The decline in value affects our ability to rely on earnings as funding towards our operating budget, so we are making adjustments accordingly,” Fadenrecht said. “The change in value from the beginning of 2008 to the end of 2008 was about 23 percent.”

In his address, Glanzer pointed out that the cost of building the new athletic facility was having no adverse impact on the college’s operating budget.

“The capital cost of the new stadium and athletic facilities are all being borne by the generosity and gifts of our constituents,” Glanzer said. “Funds from the operating budget are not being used in the construction of the stadium.”

Glanzer thanked the Executive Team for its hard work and assistance in the decision-making process. The team, which meets weekly to carry out the management function of the college, includes: Dr. Lawrence Ressler, Provost; Kirby Fadenrecht, Senior Vice President for Business and Finance; Eric Codding, Vice President of Student Life, Learning, and Formation; Rusty Allen, Vice President of Athletics; Dr. Linda Cantwell, Vice President of Enrollment Management and Marketing; and, Jim Elliott, Vice President for Advancement.

“The Executive Team worked very hard, prayed much, and discussed in depth many options,” Glanzer said. “In the end, it was these decisions that we united around and believe will make for a stronger Tabor in the future. Given the nature of these decisions, we have attempted to be as collaborative as possible.

“I also am grateful to the president’s faculty advisory council, provost faculty advisory group, the division chairs, the administrative teams of the Vice Presidents, and the many individual conversations that provided insights, wisdom, and guidance along the way,” Glanzer added. “But in the end, the decisions were mine and I am the one to be held responsible for them.”