Valparaiso University - Beacon / Record Yearbook (Valparaiso, IN)

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alpo's Students Become Part l This article is based on information from a speech by Dr. Willis Boyd, history professor, and a book, Valparaiso's First Century, written by Dr. john Strietelmeier, geography professor.l Valparaiso University has a rich tradition. In 1859, a group of Valparaiso's citizens met at the courthouse square and raised 511,000 to help the Methodist Episcopal Church start a school called Valparaiso Male and Female College, one of the first co-educational colleges in the nation. The school opened with six instructors and 75 students in a temporary wooden shelter on the ground southeast of town now referred to as Heritage Park Campus. Its primary objective was to train teachers, thus religious values and moral standards were emphasized from the start. The Civil War The Civil War brought dark days for the bud- ding institution. Only five were graduated in 1864 and shortly thereafter the school was closed. Re- vival came when Henry Baker Brown purchased and reorganized the school in 1873, renaming it Northern Indiana Normal School and Business ln- stitute. He dreamed of making education possible for all who desired it and at a price they could afford. Two notable traditions were also begun: a high regard for teaching and a high degree of personal interest in students. Oliver Perry Kinsey joined the school's admin- istration in 1880 and student representation - an- other tradition - was increased and a student newspaper, The Torch, was begun. Although drinking was still prohibited and dancing highly suspect, intramural sports were encouraged al- though intercollegiate athletics were not. lroni- cally, today's football field is the only campus area which bears President Brown's name. Valpo's col- ors - brown and gold - came from his name and the color of Kinsey's hair. The Poor Man's Harvard By the turn of the century, VU had 5,000 stu- dents. Cost for room, board and tuition was about thirty-eight cents per day. The school achieved national prominence as the poor man's Har- vard, when its advertisements of quality educa- tion at low cost prompted McClure's and Collier's magazines to send reporters to campus. They found the ads to be accurate and so reported to the nation. In 1900 the name of the school was changed to Valparaiso College and, in 1907, to Valparaiso Uni- versity. A New Beginning In the 1920s, with President Brown dead and Kinsey near 70 years of age, the University was put up for sale. In 1923, the Ku Klux Klan tried to purchase it as the site for a Klan academy, but to no avail. It was a group of clergy and laymen affili- ated with The Lutheran Church-Missouri who, in 1925, formed The Lutheran University Association and became the new proprietors. By 1930, 563 students were enrolled. Morale was high, in part the result of another long-stand- ing tradition - everyone knew everyone else. In- tercollegiate football and basketball teams changed the name from the Uhlans to the Crusad- ers and, in 1935, a new alma mater - Hail to the Brown and Gold - was written. The 1930s also brought the Great Depression and the first Valpo Sunday, still an annual event, was observed in Lutheran congregations through- out the country. The national VU Guild and Alum- ni Association were founded. 0.P. Kretzmann The most recent chapter in the University's his- tory opened in 1940 when Otto Paul fO.P.l Kretz- mann became the University's president, a leader- ship role he held for 28 years. O.P. envisioned Valparaiso as a truly national Christian university in the Lutheran tradition, the success of which would be measured by the qual- ity of men and women it produced in the years ahead. In his inaugural address, he said, I know that our task is great . . . deeply committed to the importance of our work, humbly certain of our destiny, we may hope, under God, to prepare a growing number of men and women who will go out of this community into the world as the living embodiment of the motto of this University, 'In Thy light we shall see light.' During the World War ll years, Valpo's basket- ball team brought fame to the school as the World's tallest basketball team, and was fea- tured in Paramont News reels and Stars and Stripes. In 1948, another tradition was begun. The Hon- or System became a permanent feature of campus life. Also in the Kretzmann era, 92 acres, now known as East Campus, was purchased and major building expansion begun. Turbulence The 19605 brought turbulence to campuses across the nation, including Valpo. As a result, a new constitution, still in effect today, was drawn up which gives students one-third of the repre- sentation of the University Senate and one-half of the composition of its major committees. Quest for Excellence As building expansion began to slow, the em- phasis switched to striving for academic excel- lence. Today, the quest goes on for the realization of the vision put forth by the University's forefa- thers. Students who come to VU become a part of the tradition of Valparaiso, a place that will be part of their lives forever.

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In Th Light We See Light Friendships grow and develop at Valparaiso. Ruth White and Tom Burke enjoy the beauty of Heritage Park campus, the site of VU's new law school. Emphasizing religious values and moral standards since 1859 when the University was purchased by the Lutheran Associ- ation, the motto, ln Thy light we see light, continues to permeate the campus as part of our Christian heritage. Often referred to as the University un- der the Cross, Valparaiso seeks to culti- vate an environment where higher educa- tion and a commitment to Christian values and faith are totally compatible. As the nation's largest independent Lutheran university, Valparaiso educates some 5,000 students annually from virtu- ally every state in the nation and a score of foreign countries. Valparaiso believes strongly in the value of a liberal arts edu- cation and concerns itself with the devel- opment of an understanding and appre- ciation of life. However, education at Valpo involves more than classroom experience from the 70 fields available for study. Important to both the academic and extracurricular programs of the University are concepts of diversity and participation, as students have the option to become active in some 150 non-academic programs and organi- zations, such as dorm life, athletics, stu- dents government, sororities, fraternities and the fine arts' productions. Those who teach and work here feel a responsibility to continue VU's commit- ment to excellence by helping students Be all that they can be to grow toward their full potential during their years on campus and beyond. The Chrislus Rex, a gift of Mrs. Emma Selle, follows perfectly the upsweep of the chancel area. Fixed on a large free-standing cross behind the altar, the sculptured figure combines symbols of the crucifix- ion and the resurrection.

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