Valparaiso University
For the next two decades, Valpo gained a national reputation as an economic institution of higher learning, earning its positive nickname The Poor Man’s Harvard.Evans appealed to the Rockefeller Foundation and other wealthy individuals before asking the Indiana state legislature to make VU public.The legislature refused, and Evans almost sold the university to the Ku Klux Klan, but the deal was stopped due to "legal technicalities", likely cited to save face for both organizations.Two years later, President Kreinheder created the Valparaiso University Guild, a volunteer and philanthropy organization to help students, and in 1934 the Alumni Association began operation.Coincident with the beginning of World War II, Valparaiso University renamed its yearbook from The Uhlan (a German soldier) to The Beacon.[11] Valparaiso University bought about 90 acres (36 ha) of land in 1944 east of campus near the corner of Sturdy Road and US Highway 30.Robert F. Kennedy spoke before 5,000 people in 1968 at VU while campaigning, and in the same year, the university began its long-standing international study centers in Cambridge, England, and Reutlingen, Germany.At the graduate level, poor rates of law students passing the bar exam led to a drop-off in enrollment and accreditation challenges.In 2021, the Indiana Attorney General's office announced an investigation into the university's Confucius Institute, alleging that it promotes Chinese propaganda.[17] In 2023, the board of directors decided to sell three paintings, including one by Georgia O'Keeffe, from the Brauer Museum of Art to renovate freshman dorms.At the center of campus is the Chapel of the Resurrection, a 98-foot (30 m)-a high building that is the home of Valparaiso University's many worship services and convocations.The LEED-certified building has two suites of labs that support advanced undergraduate research in areas such as materials science and energy systems.[27] The Department of Physics and Astronomy has a 16-inch (406 mm) computerized reflecting telescope to aid in NASA research and VisBox-X2, a virtual reality system used to immerse students in a visualized three-dimensional image.[32] Neils Science Center was erected in 1974 and includes a planetarium, greenhouse, and a now decommissioned sub-critical nuclear reactor that helped the facility received an Atomic Energy Commission citation as a model undergraduate physics laboratory.In 1964, Kretzmann convened a committee[37] to plan a successor to the Directed Studies Program, which was established to better serve the influx of gifted students to the institution."[38] In later years, courses that transcend assignment to a particular academic discipline challenged students to explore important questions from an imaginative perspective.[41] Another notable academic opportunity offered by Christ College is the Student Scholarship Symposium, in which undergraduates present research in a formal lecture setting.It features student-selected research projects, from a diverse set of academic fields, delivered in a critical and interactive environment.Valpo maintains four global study centers (Cambridge, England; Reutlingen, Germany; Hangzhou, China; and San José, Costa Rica), each of which provides group trips and excursions, a course on the life and culture of the host country, and specialized housing, all under the guidance of an on-site resident director.[53] U.S. News & World Report rated Valpo 43rd in "Best Value Schools", #186 in Top Performers on Social Mobility, and #15 in Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs.Washington Monthly, which publishes its College Guide annually, ranked Valpo #149 for social mobility, #182 for research, and #291 for service among national universities in 2021.Over half graduate in the top quarter of their high school class, and 77 percent return to Valpo after their freshman year.Annually, more than $26 million is awarded by the university to more than 80 percent of the student body, which is administered based on factors such as community involvement, interests, recommendations, and personality, as well as grade point average, class ranking, and standardized test scores.Fifty percent participate in intramural athletics, and more than 1,000 students give more than 45,000 hours of community service to the region each year.Prominent examples with long-lasting effects include: While many colleges amended or canceled the remainder of the 1969–1970 school year after the Kent State shootings due to unrest, the Valparaiso administration ignored student calls for seminars and forums about violence at other campuses.When these talks failed, still-unidentified students set fire to the empty Kinsey Hall administrative building in the early morning.[60] Valparaiso University's student media organizations (WVUR: The Source, VUTV, The Beacon, The Torch, and The Lighter) are all award-winning[61] and long-standing.Valparaiso's eighteen teams and nearly 600 student-athletes mostly participate in NCAA Division I (I-FCS for football) in the Missouri Valley Conference.[6] Valpo is also known for its men's basketball head coach Homer Drew and his son Bryce Drew, who led the team to its Sweet Sixteen appearance in the 1998 NCAA basketball tournament by making "The Shot", a three-point shot as time expired, to beat favored Ole Miss by one point.In addition, Head Coach Carin Avery led the women's volleyball team to great success recently.
University of ValparaísoPrivate universityLutheranSpace-grantEndowmentPresidentJosé PadillaUndergraduatesPostgraduatesValparaiso, IndianaWVUR-FMColorsNicknameBeaconsNorthwestern UniversityChicago College of Medicine and SurgeryChicago College of Dental SurgeryLoyola University ChicagoKu Klux KlanLutheran Church–Missouri SynodclergyEvangelical Lutheran Church in AmericaNorth Central Association of Colleges and SchoolsPurdue UniversityO. P. KretzmannRobert F. KennedyCambridgeReutlingenNCAA Division Inational tournamentHangzhouPhi Beta Kappasolar furnaceIndiana Attorney GeneralConfucius InstituteGeorgia O'KeeffeBrauer Museum of ArtoppositionSchool of LawHeritage HallNational Register of Historic PlacesKade-Duesenberg German House and Cultural CenterDopplerweather radarWikimedia CommonsChapel of the ResurrectionNorthwest IndianaChristopher Centerreflecting telescopevirtual realitythree-dimensionalSasaki AssociatesValparaiso University School of LawAssociation of American of Law SchoolsFulbright scholarsAcademic rankingsForbesU.S. News & World ReportWashington MonthlyIndianahigh schoolintramuralfraternitiessororitiesMortar Boardstudent activismKent State shootingsPorter CountyWVUR: The SourceValparaiso BeaconsAthletics-Recreation CenterfootballMissouri Valley ConferencePioneer Football LeagueBrown FieldSummit LeagueConference USAMadison Square GardenHomer DrewBryce DrewThe ShotOle MissMarcia BungeFaisal KuttyGilbert MeilaenderHastings CenterWalter Wangerin, Jr.National Book AwardThe Book of the Dun CowList of Valparaiso University alumniThe Indianapolis StarThe AtlanticNorthwest Indiana TimesThe Wall Street JournalSports IllustratedCollege NavigatorNational Center for Education StatisticsValparaiso UniversityAlan HarreMark A. HecklerColette Irwin-KnottAthletics departmentMen's basketballWomen's basketballBaseballMen's soccerEmory G. Bauer FieldBelmont BruinsBradley BravesDrake BulldogsEvansville Purple AcesIllinois State RedbirdsIndiana State SycamoresMissouri State Bears and Lady BearsMurray State RacersNorthern Iowa PanthersSouthern Illinois SalukisUIC FlamesBowling Green FalconsNorthern Illinois HuskiesWestern Michigan BroncosBall State CardinalsMiami RedHawksLittle Rock TrojansBaseball tournamentMen's basketball tournament (Arch Madness)