Story
Past. Present. Future...
A Case Study in Organizational Transformation
The story of Humanitas is an unfolding story of organizational transformation. We are not a start-up, but we are a restart.
In 2004, a vision was given to Jo Panter to launch something new, an initiative called “Trinity School of Transformation” (TST). TST was established as a Michigan domestic nonprofit corporation and launched in Traverse City, Michigan. TST was a school of spiritual formation as patterned in the person of Jesus.
In 2024, Jo Panter and Steve Rice began discussing a potential leadership transition. Steve was then a board member of TST, an active participant in many of the TST offerings, and a faculty member/innovator/visionary in the space of higher education.
As those conversations carried over into 2025, the idea of a change in narrative, story, and purpose for TST began to emerge. They considered how TST might transition from a 21-year-old school of Christian spiritual formation into the next chapter of existence and purpose.
The idea of a Human Flourishing Academy (HFA) was beginning to take shape. The name of this HFA was to be "Humanitas."
Humanitas is a Latin word meaning the process of educating people into all they are meant to be, where that which is real is that which is ideal.
An organizational transformation from TST to Humanitas began to take shape.
A Human Flourishing Academy is a new category or classification of education for the 21st century and beyond. It operates in both the K-12 and higher education spaces.
In the higher education space, traditional models with credit hours and Associate/Bachelors/Masters/Doctorate degrees are still used. This model was built to serve the economy of the Industrial Revolution.
In the 21st century, we have a new revolution, a Human Revolution. This is the cry of the human soul.
Therefore, a Human Flourishing Academy (HFA) is a new model of higher education that is more appropriate for the realities of our time.
No longer should higher education be about time and the accumulation of credit hours culminating in a piece of paper, a credential of value.
Now, the challenge is to offer new models of education that are purposed and proposed as talent development agencies, rather than conveyors of degrees.
Shift happens. We are in a transition away from industry to humanity.
This is the heart and purpose of Humanitas, a Human Flourishing Academy located in Traverse City, Michigan.
Humanitas exists at the intersection of Education, Human Flourishing, and the Emerging Soul Economy.
Humanitas invites and offers:
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To provide structured programs of education in the space of human flourishing, as informed by historical wisdom traditions, with a particular emphasis on the wisdom of Jesus.
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To collaborate broadly and widely with others in this space
Humanitas exists at the intersection of Education, Human Flourishing, and the Emerging Soul Economy.
