William “Bill” Stebbins, Chief Development Officer, at Al Faw Palace in Baghdad.

“We never want students to be intimidated by the cost of education.”

William Stebbins traveled the world from India to Iraq to Mexico and beyond before he came on board as staff at Calvary. Stebbins was active duty in the Army for 20 years, doing everything from leading platoons of tanks to operational commanding. In his last job before retiring from the military, he taught tactics.

He brings years of experience and training in operational strategy to bear on developmental strategy at Calvary. “It 100 percent affects [my work here] because it deals with leadership. My entire Army career, I dealt with leadership and having to develop a team from very disparate backgrounds, bring them together to focus on a goal, and work through problems to figure out how to achieve a better outcome.”

Stebbins heads Calvary’s Development Department as Chief Development Officer (CDO). In his role, Stebbins focuses on revenue generation. He said the vision is keeping tuition low for students. “Because we never want students to be intimidated by the cost of education. Who wants to go to the mission field if you have a $20,000 debt?”

The question for academic institutions is how to stay financially viable while maintaining low tuition. Stebbins pointed out that “across the nation, universities and Bible colleges are shutting their doors because they can’t balance that.” And this is where Stebbins comes into the picture. As CDO, he finds ways to increase revenue in untraditional ways not tied to students’ tuition.

Looking at his mission, Stebbins said the most exciting part of his work is “making [low tuition] a concrete reality.” Calvary is committed to providing affordable education, and Stebbins plays a large role in achieving that goal. His work protects and advances the low tuition that is one of Calvary’s distinctives.