Pastor envisions thriving college

The Salt Lake Baptist College consists of a single concrete building, which sits next to the Bible Baptist Church, which sits behind a large sign of Jesus on the corner of Bangerter Highway and 4700 South. Thousands of motorists zip by every day without realizing the college is there, because currently, even though it is now in its 19th year, the college has a fairly low profile.

But Dr. T.E. VanBuskirk, the college's administrative vice president, has a larger vision for the school, and indeed for the Independent Baptist presence in the Salt Lake Valley. On a recent morning he sat in a tiny, windowless office at the school — an office not much bigger than the desk that is its centerpiece — and talked about his plans, which include starting The Foundation for the Advancement of Humanity.

Yes, it's a lofty name, Pastor VanBuskirk agrees. "An in-your-face name," he says. "You've got to get people's attention."

Currently the college is a commuter school, with about 30 local students. Half of these are Spanish-speaking students, taught in separate classes. Last year the college graduated a total of 84 students, half of whom were distance-learning students from around the United States, as well as some who attended extension colleges in China, Thailand and Quebec but received their degree through the college in Utah. A degree from the United States always looks more prestigious, Pastor VanBuskirk explains.

Together with Salt Lake Baptist College chancellor Marshall Warneke, the pastor wants to transform eventually the tiny school into a university that includes a business school and a college of horticulture. "It's fine to lead someone to the Lord, but you can't let them starve to death," he says.

The first phase of these long-range plans is a new building that would include a dormitory, so that students from outside the area can live on campus. Pastor VanBuskirk figures the college will need about $300,000 for this phase, which is where the non-profit Foundation for the Advancement of Humanity comes in. He expects to launch the foundation within a few months.

The name has a purposely non-religious sound to it. The foundation will make an appeal to the business community, which might be more comfortable with the horticultural focus of the university rather than the spiritual one, Pastor VanBuskirk says.