Thanks to a generous gift from the Fran Jabara Family Foundation, Tabor College has created an endowment that will be used to recognize and reward leadership gifts in graduating students.
The Professor Fran Jabara Leadership Award is named for renowned educator and entrepreneur F. D. (Fran) Jabara of Wichita, a life-long proponent of recognizing and promoting excellence in leadership.
Tabor President Jules Glanzer traveled to the Jabara Family Foundation?s headquarters recently to thank Jabara personally.
Afterward, Glanzer said, ?Fran Jabara is a very gracious man and someone who believes in people. He loves to encourage young leaders to launch out and do innovative and creative things.
?He is someone who has had an enormous impact on the Wichita community. His office is full of awards and gifts signifying his contributions to Wichita, to Kansas, and to the nation. His name has become synonymous with excellence in education and entrepreneurship.?
The Jabara Leadership Awards program began in 2002 for students graduating from four-year private colleges in Kansas. In addition to Tabor College, the award is given to students at Baker University, Barclay College, Benedictine College, Central Christian College of Kansas, Kansas Wesleyan University, Sterling College and Southwestern College.
The non-academic award is presented to a male and female graduate who has demonstrated a capacity for future leadership based on his or her leadership in and outside the classroom.
The cash award is intended to provide financial support at a time when graduates are faced with the cost of moving to jobs, repaying student loans or entering graduate studies.
Tabor began giving the Jabara award in 2003. The two most recent recipients are 2009 graduates Joe Wuest of Ridge?crest, Calif., and Meghann Eblen of Leavenworth. Their names are etched on a plaque on permanent display in the college library.
In 1949, Fran Jabara joined the faculty at Fairmont College, which would eventually become Wichita State University. He served there for 40 years until he resigned in 1989.
In 1977, Jabara founded at WSU one of the nation?s first Centers for Entrepreneurship, a program which became recognized as one of the best in the nation.
