Tabor College has named Frank Johnson as its new vice president for advancement.
Johnson was first named vice president of academic affairs and Title IX coordinator in 2010 and was then promoted to provost in fall 2023. He is currently in his 15th year as a member of the college leadership team. He will continue to provide leadership to Tabor’s academic office through the 2025 spring semester. The position change will begin after hiring a new vice president of academic affairs.
“Thank you to President David Janzen for granting me the privilege of stewarding Tabor’s advancement efforts,” Johnson says. “The past 10-plus years have prepared me to step into a new venture, and I am humbled that God would entrust this integral position to me.”
Johnson will work closely with the president’s office, including Ron Braun, vice president of philanthropy.
Johnson, Tabor’s longest-tenured vice president/dean of academics, has provided invaluable leadership to the college’s academic programming. Tabor now boasts over 30 degrees on campus, including in-person undergraduate classes and two master programs that meet online and in-person.
“Dr. Johnson has been a tremendous support to me and played a vital role in bettering Tabor’s future and fulfilling our mission as a college,” Janzen says. “He demonstrates a passion for what God is doing at Tabor and will be a wonderful leader in growing Tabor’s endowment, raising annual scholarship funds, and leading capital campaigns. We’re thrilled that our advancement efforts will be under his leadership.”
Over the past two years, Tabor has raised nearly $4 million for its Annual Fund, setting its two highest marks in its 100-plus-year history. During the same time, Tabor received an additional $16 million in restricted giving toward key projects, positions, and scholarships, growing its endowment by 25 percent. Johnson said he looks forward to partnering in the college’s fundraising, including raising its endowment.
Johnson will oversee Tabor‘s alumni, public relations, marketing and communications staff. He will also work with USMB district and national leadership.
“Having recently celebrated Homecoming and hired several recent graduates, I am reminded yet again of the depth of relationships through the greater Tabor community,” Johnson says. “We look forward to enhancing and adding to how our current students and alumni can connect on and off-campus.”
Before coming to Tabor, Johnson served as special assistant to the president for institutional planning, strategy, and research at Goshen College (Indiana). He taught history at MidAmerica Nazarene University (Kansas) and had brief stints in administration at Mount Vernon Nazarene University (Ohio) and Sterling College (Kansas)
Johnson earned his bachelor of arts in history education at Olivet Nazarene University in 1986. He completed his master’s degree in U.S. history in 1991 and earned his doctorate at Michigan State University in 1996.
“Having served in Tabor leadership for over a decade, I wholeheartedly believe the Lord has been preparing me for this role,” Johnson says. “My family and I are committed to the work being done at Tabor, and I am grateful that I can play a part in what’s to come.”
Tabor College is the Mennonite Brethren college located in Hillsboro, Kansas. The mission of Tabor College, founded in 1908, is to prepare people for a life of learning, work and service for Christ and his kingdom.
