Valparaiso University Totally Explained

Everything about Valparaiso University totally explained

Valparaiso University, known colloquially as Valpo, is a private university located in the city of Valparaiso in the U.S. state of Indiana. Founded in 1859, it consists of five undergraduate colleges, a graduate school, and a law school. Valparaiso University is owned and operated by the Lutheran University Association, a non-profit corporation, and is the largest independent Lutheran university in the United States.

History

Methodist foundation

History at a glance>

Valparaiso Male and Female College	Established	1859	Affiliations	Methodist
Valparaiso Male and Female College	Closed	1871 to 1873
Northern Indiana Normal School and Business Institute	Acquired	1873	Affiliations	secular
Valparaiso College	Renamed	1900
Valparaiso University	Renamed	1906
Valparaiso University	Acquired	1925	Affiliations	Lutheran

Valparaiso Male and Female College, one of the first co-educational four-year institutions in the United States. The school was forced to close in 1871, due to the fallout of the Civil War.

Intermediate growth

The school was reopened by Henry Baker Brown two years later as the Northern Indiana Normal School and Business Institute. The school was renamed Valparaiso College in 1900 and gained its current university status when rechartered in 1906. For the next two decades, Valpo gained a national reputation as an economical institution of higher learning, earning it the positive nickname The Poor Man's Harvard. At the height of enrollment, it was the second largest school in the nation, behind only Harvard University. However, the aftermath of another conflict, World War I, took its toll, and the school was forced into bankruptcy.

Lutheran revival

In 1923, the Ku Klux Klan assembled a bid to purchase the university. They pledged to offer the university's appraised value of $175,000, expand it to the size of Purdue University, and devote the institution to the instilling of Americanism. However, in 1925 the Lutheran University Association outbid the Klan for the school's ownership. The association was a group of clergy and church laity that saw promise in the school and wished to create an academic institution not controlled by any church denomination. Valparaiso is still operated by the Lutheran University Association, and remains an independent Lutheran institution which enjoys close relations with the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod.

Student activism

As a liberal arts institution, Valparaiso University has a detailed history of student activism.

Kinsey Hall fire

While many colleges either amended or cancelled the remainder of the 1969-1970 school year following the Kent State shootings due to unrest, the Valparaiso administration ignored student calls for a series of seminars and forums about violence at other campuses. A large group of students then organized a protest march from the campus Victory Bell to the Porter County courthouse. Continued protests led to discussions between the administration and student leaders. When these talks failed, a group of still-unidentified students set fire to the empty Kinsey Hall administrative building in the early morning. The aftermath of the fire left Kinsey Hall destroyed.

Burning of the shanty

During the 1988-89 school year, a mock shanty town was erected on campus to show solidarity with victims of apartheid in South Africa. Mike Weber and Phil Churilla, two columnists for VU's student newspaper The Torch, wrote a column critical of the protest due to student use of portable CD players, wool blankets and packaged food in the shanties. A few days later the shanty town burned down and a culprit was never found.

Valparaiso University Police Department

For campus security, Valparaiso University employs a police department with academy trained and certified officers that sometimes assist other local law enforcement as a result of reciprocal agreements. Valpo has long been a dry campus, but enforcement was raised dramatically in recent years, and in the spring of 2006, the VUPD began considering placing officers on the campus escort vans in an attempt to curb underage drinking. Days later a city police officer entered the Sigma Pi

fraternity house with his gun drawn, believing he'd witnessed drug use through a window. Though university officers only responded to the scene later, these incidents strained student-police relations further, prompting mass resignations of student drivers from the escort service and a protest of over 500 students. The protests centered around the VUPD's increased focus on alcohol consumption and new placement of police officers with student escort services.

Campus

Location

Valparaiso is located an hour southeast of Chicago, and sponsors numerous events in the metropolitan area. It is also 15 miles south of Lake Michigan and the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. The 310-acre campus as well as its main entrance are located off U.S. Highway 30 on the south side of the city and is the site of over sixty buildings and a number of academic resources.

Old Campus

The Old Campus of Valparaiso University is both adjacent to and a part of the historic downtown district of the city. Old Campus is the site of the School of Law, which is made up of Wesemann Hall and Heritage Hall. Heritage is the oldest remaining building on the campus, and was put on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. The school's fraternities, the Martin Luther King Cultural Center, and the Kade-Duesenberg German House and Cultural Center are all also located here.

New Campus

The city and the University have grown together over a century and a half. Beginning in the 1950s, the school expanded eastward to occupy what is now known as New Campus. It is part time home to thousands of students living in nine residence halls. The campus isn't laid out in a vehicular grid as the rest of the city, but as a pedestrian campus of winding walkways and distinctly landscaped areas. At the center of campus is the Chapel of the Resurrection, a 98-foot high building which is the home of Valparaiso University's many worship services and convocations. Built on the highest elevation of land on the university's campus, it has been a Northwest Indiana landmark since 1959. The Neils Science Center was erected in 1974 and includes an astronomical observatory, greenhouse, and a sub-critical nuclear reactor which helped the facility receive an Atomic Energy Commission citation as a model undergraduate physics laboratory. The newly built Christopher Center Library houses over 350,000 books and numerous video and audio resources. The Valparaiso University Center for the Arts (VUCA) offers multiple performance facilities, which are most notably used by students to produce full scale theatrical performances every year. The performances and exhibits in the Center for the Arts are always open to the public, and the Center houses the nationally renowned Brauer Museum of Art. The school also hosts WVUR-FM, the university's student-run radio station. The new Kallay-Christopher Hall, adjoined to the Schnabel Hall communication building, is home to the Department of Geography and Meteorology. As of the summer of 2006, it has an observation deck and large weather lab facilities, and plans to complete installation of a Doppler weather radar by January 2007. The radar is currently operational. The School of Engineering has both a 16-inch 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. The School of Nursing uses SIMMAN, a robotic patient simulator used to train students in real life treatment.

Improvement

Building projects at Valparaiso University are funded entirely by donation. No student tuition dollars are used, which helps keep the school a highly rated value school. The university also receives no support for operation from the state or federal government.
   The most notable construction project on campus is the construction of the 202,000 sq ft, $74 million new student Union, named in honor of University President Alan F. Harre, who is retiring in June 2008. It is more than 2/3 complete as of Spring 2008, with most of the exterior complete. It is anticipated to open during the 2008-2009 academic year, just in time for the university's 150th anniversary. The new union will be more than 3 times the size of the current union, and will consolidate all dining services on campus. It will have room for an ever growing number of student organizations, as well as a new bookstore, lounge areas, student mailboxes for every student on campus, entertainment areas, a large ballroom (capable of seating 500 for a dinner or 1000 for an auditorium setting), a career center, and an outdoor terrace overlooking the Chapel. The design architect is Sasaki Associates, Inc. and the architect of record is Design Organization. Mortenson Co. is the construction manager.
   Along with the new Union, other construction projects have dominated the Valparaiso University landscape. Recently completed was a new Tennis Complex and a Parking Ramp for approximately 400 vehicles. New water and sewer lines, as well as a new duct bank for fiber optic cable and telecommunication lines was completed.
   Furthermore, plans are being made to expand upon the south end of the Gellersen Hall, where the College of Engineering is located. However, nothing has yet been finalized.

Academics

Organization

Undergraduate

Valpo is organized into five undergraduate colleges:

� College of Arts and Sciences

College of Business Administration

� College of Engineering

College of Nursing

� Christ College

   :The Christ College was chartered by President O.P. Kretzmann in 1967 as the honor college of Valparaiso University. Centered in Mueller Hall, it's the successor to the Directed Studies Program, which was established to better serve the influx of gifted students to the institution. Roughly 80 students, or ten percent of the class, are admitted each year. Along with concurrent enrollment in a fundamental college, the discourse provides immersion in the fields of history, literature, art, music, philosophy, religion and social science. A student steering committee composed of upperclassmen guides the development of the program and a multitude of annual events. The Student Scholarship Symposium features diverse, student selected research projects delivered in a critical and interactive environment. Students complete their study with either a major or minor in humanities to complement that received in their main field of study. Areas of Studies-Majors, Minors, & Other Academic Programs � Accounting

   Actuarial Science � American Indian Studies

   American Studies � Applied Statistics

   Art � Astronomy

   Biology � Biochemistry

   Biomedical Engineering � Business Administration

   Business(Liberal Arts) � Chemistry

   Chinese � Chinese & Japanese Studies

   Civil Engineering � Classics(classical language and literature,

   classic civilization) � Communication Law

   Computer Engineering � Computer Science

   Criminology � Digital Systems Design

   Economics � Economics & Computer Analysis

   Electrical Engineering � Electronics

   Elementary Education � Engineering

   English � Environmental Science

   Environmental Studies � Ethnic Studies

   Exercise Science � Film Studies

   Finance � French

   Gender Studies � Geography

   Geology � German

   Hebrew � History

   Honors � Human Aging

   Information & Decision Sciences � International Economics & Cultural Affairs

   International Business � International Service

   Japanese � Latin

   Management � Manufacturing Management

   Marketing � Mathematics

   Mechanical Engineering � Mechanics and Materials

   Meteorology � Middle Level Education

   Modern European Studies � Music

   Music Education � New Media-Journalism

   Nursing � Peace & Social Justice Studies

   Philosophy � Physical Education

   Physics � Political Communication

   Political Science � Pre-Law

   Pre-Med � Pre-Seminary

   Preparation for Secondary Education Certification � Professional Chemistry

   Psychology � Public and Corporate Communication

   Public Speaking & Debate � Public Relations

   Secondary Education Certification � Special Education

   Social Work � Sociology

   Spanish � Television-Radio

   Theatre � Theatre Design

   Theatre Production � Theology

   Undecided � Urban Studies

   Writing � Youth, Family, & Education Ministry

Graduate Division

Masters Programs � Business

   Master of Business Administration � Master of Business Administration/Master of Science in Nursing

   Master of Engineering Management � JD(Law)/Master of Business Administration

� Chinese Studies

   MA in Chinese Studies � MA in Chinese Studies-Specialized track for K-12 Teachers

   JD(Law)/MA in Chinese Studies � Education

   MED in Initial Licensure � MED in Initial Licensure(LEAPs Program)

   MED in Teaching and Learning � MED/Education Specialist in School Psychology

� English Studies & Communication

   MA in English Studies & Communication � Information Technology

   MS in Information Technology � International Commerce & Policy

   MS in International Commerce & Policy � JD(Law)/MS in International Commerce & Policy

� Liberal Studies

   MALS in Deaconess � MALS in English

   MALS in Ethics & Values � MALS in Gerontology

   MALS in History � MALS in Human Behavior and Society

   MALS in Individualized � MALS in Theology, Theology & Ministry

   JD(Law)/MALS � Nursing

   MS in Nursing � Psychology/Counseling

   MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling � MA in Community Counseling

   MED/Education Specialist in School Psychology � JD(Law)/Clinical Mental Health Counseling

   JD(Law)/Psychology � Sports Administration

   MS in Sports Administration � JD(Law)/Sports Administration

School of Law

College of Adult Scholars

The College of Adult Scholars is a unique program geared toward non-traditional students. Through it, adult students can pursue degrees, certificates, or further training and specialization in other areas.

Reputation

U.S. News & World Report named Valparaiso University as #3 in the Universities-Master's category for the Midwest in its annual rankings of "America's Best Colleges." It also ranked Valparaiso among the "Best College Values" based on a ratio of price to quality, and placed the College of Engineering in the nation's top 25 undergraduate-only engineering schools. Over ninety-five percent of graduates secure employment or further education (twenty-three percent) within six months. More than ninety percent of students receive financial aid totaling over fifty-two million dollars annually. Charity Navigator also gave the institution four out of four stars based on its organizational efficiency and capacity.

Faculty

Valparaiso University faculty work with governments, communities, colleagues, and students. Ninety percent of the faculty members hold a doctorate or the highest degree in their field. Valparaiso is a teaching school where each professor lectures and every class is led by a professor. Thus, there are very few teaching assistants at Valpo and in nearly every class professors are on a first name basis with their students. The student-to-faculty ratio is 13 to 1, and there's an average of 22 students per class.

Culture

Valparaiso is a growing school that works to uphold the benefits of an intimate education. Most first-year undergraduate students take a year of Core, a common interdisciplinary course rooted in liberal arts and focused on the understanding the purpose and fulfillment of human life. About a tenth of incoming freshman alternatively participate in the freshman program of Christ College, Valparaiso University's honor college. Students are also subject to an honor system originally implemented by the students themselves in 1943 which remains in effect today. The school also puts a heavy focus on diversity. Each January, the school holds a weekend of Martin Luther King, Jr. events as its major annual event, as well as offering study-abroad programs in fourteen nations including sites in Cambridge, England (Anglia Ruskin University), Osaka, Japan, Reutlingen, Germany, Puebla, Mexico, Namibia and Hangzhou, China (Zhejiang University).

Students

Profile

Valparaiso University students are some of the most geographically diverse in the nation. Of the 4,000 students, only one-third are from the school's home state of Indiana. The remaining two-thirds come from almost every other state of the United States and over 40 foreign countries. Over two-thirds graduate in the top quarter of their high school class and nearly ninety percent return to Valparaiso after their freshman year. Annually, more than 26 million dollars are awarded by the university to over eighty percent of the student body, which is admitted based on factors such as community involvement, interests, recommendations, and personality as well as grade point average, class ranking, and standardized test scores.

Community

Sixty-four percent of Valparaiso University students live on the school's city campus, mainly because University regulations require almost all students who don't have senior status to live in dorms. Forty percent of students are Lutheran, but over twenty percent are Catholic and seventy-five percent participate in faith-related activities. Valpo supports over 100 student administered organizations, clubs, and activities. Fifty percent of students participate in intramural athletics, and over 1,000 students give over 45,000 hours of community service to the region annually.

Greek life

More than thirty percent of Valpo students are members of one of the school's nine national fraternities or seven national sororities. The entire Greek Life community is coordinated by the fraternities' Interfraternity Council and sororities in the Panhellenic Council. Valparaiso also hosts chapters of all major honors fraternities. Many of the fraternities were local until the 1950s when they were accepted as chapters into national and international fraternities. However, the sororities were local and had no national affiliation until 1998.

Fraternities		Sororities		Honor Societies
Lambda Chi Alpha Phi Kappa Psi Phi Mu Alpha Phi Sigma Kappa Sigma Chi Sigma Phi Epsilon Sigma Pi Sigma Tau Gamma Theta Chi		Chi Omega Delta Delta Delta Delta Xi Phi Multicultural Sorority, Inc. Gamma Phi Beta Kappa Delta Kappa Kappa Gamma Pi Beta Phi		Phi Beta Kappa Phi Epsilon Kappa Phi Alpha Theta Gamma Theta Upsilon Lambda Pi Eta Pi Sigma Alpha Sigma Theta Tau Sigma Tau Delta Tau Beta Pi Alpha Lambda Delta Chi Epsilon Pi Eta Sigma Phi

Athletics

Valpo's colors are brown and gold and the school's mascot is the Crusader. Most athletic events are held in the Athletics-Recreation Center (ARC), which is the primary sporting facility on campus. Valparaiso's eighteen teams and nearly 600 student athletes participate in NCAA Division I (I-AA for football) in the Horizon League, except for football, in which they compete in the Pioneer Football League (the Horizon League doesn't sponsor football) and play at Brown Field. The school is known for its well rounded athletes as 98% successfully graduate, which ties Valparaiso with the University of Notre Dame for the third highest graduation rate in the country.(External Link

) Valpo is well-known for its men's basketball head coach Homer Drew and his son Bryce Drew, who led the team to its improbable 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. Bryce Drew is now the team's associate coach.

Notable faculty

Current faculty members

Gilbert Meilaender, theology; member of The President's Council on Bioethics

David Morgan, humanities, art history; author of several popular books on religious visual culture

Walter Wangerin, Jr. English and theology; National Book Award winning author of The Book of the Dun Cow

Notable alumni

Over 50,000 alumni currently serve in their respective fields across the world.

Fredrick Barton, novelist, The El Cholo Feeling Passes, Courting Pandemonium, With Extreme Prejudice, A House Divided

Beulah Bondi, actress

Mikhail Borodin, Soviet and Comintern representative to China

JoBe Cerny, owner, Cerny/American Creative, well-known character actor, voice of the Pillsbury Doughboy

Jay Christopher, cofounder of The Pampered Chef

Thurman C. Crook, a United States Representative from Indiana

Bryce Drew, former NBA player

Michael Essany, television host

Don Fites, chairman and CEO (ret.), Caterpillar Inc.

Devin Haman, owner, Sunset Tan on E!

Samuel B. Huston, former attorney and state legislator in Oregon

Keith Kizer, executive director, Nevada State Athletic Commission (External Link

) (External Link

)

David Lally, creator, "Bewitched, The Musical"

Jacki Lyden, a senior correspondent at NPR (External Link

) and author of Daughter of the Queen of Sheba

William March, novelist, Company K, The Bad Seed

Lloyd McClendon, former MLB player and manager, current hitting coach for the Detroit Tigers

Craig McKenzie, sports and entertainment agent

George William Norris, United States Senator from Nebraska and father of the Tennessee Valley Authority

Eugene E. Parker, sports attorney

Caleb Powers, a United States Representative from Kentucky and the first Secretary of State of Kentucky convicted as an accessory to murder

Douglas Rich, recording artist(External Link

)

T. Marshall Rousseau, executive director (emeritus), Salvador Dalí Museum

David Ruprecht, host, Supermarket Sweep, Real People

Ray Scherer, NBC White House correspondent, 1948-75

Rene Steinke, novelist, The Fires, Holy Skirts

Lowell Thomas, writer and broadcaster

Frederick "Fuzzy" Thurston, All-pro guard for the Green Bay Packers, 1959-67

Jim Wacker, former football coach at the University of Minnesota

Emily Watkins, Margot and the Nuclear So and So's

Lowell Yerex, aviation entrepreneur

Ginger Zee, meteorologist, NBC-5 ChicagoFurther Information

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