Five-year plan

[78crusader]

The five year plan released to students and faculty has a lot in it about increasing diversity.  Not to mention increasing diversity.  Oh, and did I mention diversity?  One of the goals is to "advance [VU's} vision of being a Lutheran University constituted by people of many and various beliefs and backgrounds."  This according to an article in the most recent edition of The Torch. 

I get the "various beliefs and backgrounds" part since this goal was mentioned several times in the Torch article and is now drilled into my head.  I'm just wondering what the university plans to do over the next five years to remain a "Lutheran" university, in the face of a declining Lutheran population nationwide.  And at what point does VU stop being a "Lutheran" university?  It's one thing to include people of different faiths and backgrounds -- and this administration seems bound and determined to make this a reality.  But what about the "Lutheran" part?  Can we call ourselves a Lutheran institution when we are at 35% Lutheran?  What about 25%  What if we fall to 15%?

We spent enormous time and energy to bring this international kids to campus, yet as pointed out by another poster, we have kids in our own backyard, Christian kids with good grades, who are good runners who want to go to a smaller school, and yet we give them zero -- zero -- looks.  What the heck?  Some insight from folks a lot closer to VU than I am would be welcome.  Based on what I see from out here in Iowa, I disagree with this administration. 

Paul

[crusader05]

I think you remain a Lutheran University by having a Lutheran chapel, led by Lutheran pastors and still requiring theology classes and speaking of faith and the Lutheran tradition.  Also, just speaking as a graduate from over 15 years ago, Valpo was already not considered a "Lutheran" University from those that preferred the Concordias and this was way before Heckler ever made an appearance. My husband, who is a PK, was often criticized from others in his church for choosing Valpo. Valpo is a Private College steeped in Lutheran tradition that is focused on providing a unique educational experience to students and part of that is working with people from different countries and backgrounds, much as you do in the real world.  Also, many of the most "socially minded" and diversity focused students on campus are often involved in campus religious organizations, like SALT which is based out of the chapel and advised by one of the Pastors and come from a religious and often Lutheran background. The Chapel has also overseen many a Baptism of students who come to Valpo with no or little faith tradition and find their home in the Lutheran church.

Also, as a person who went to Valpo for the small size & great academics and as a first generation college student from a 2nd generation Immigrant family. I would be that considered a part of that diversity that he is talking about and I had a great experience and I feel am a good representation of the quality education and place that Valpo is even though I am not Lutheran.

[agibson]

We spent enormous time and energy to bring this international kids to campus, yet as pointed out by another poster, we have kids in our own backyard, Christian kids with good grades, who are good runners who want to go to a smaller school, and yet we give them zero -- zero -- looks.  What the heck?  Some insight from folks a lot closer to VU than I am would be welcome.

That was zero looks from the cross country coach, I think, if we're talking about the same thread.

I don't know how heavily VU recruits from VHS, or who precisely they hit with mailing, etc.  But, it would seem reasonable to hit a broadish slice of the locals, as well as known Lutherans.  Last I checked, there certainly was outreach and recruiting with congregations via the Office of Church Relations, presumably coordinating with admissions.  But, I don't know about the details. Maybe others do.

The other questions seem tougher, and are certainly actively discussed at the university. How parochial do you want to be? Do you want to be an excellent university, that values things that Lutherans value, or do you want to (also?) have some kind of a Lutheran quota? Or maybe there's a middle ground of actively targeting Lutherans while not turning others away.

It would seem an odd sort of requirement, not at all the VU that I know, to have a quota on number of Lutheran faculty or students, or some sort of a requirement that allowed Lutherans and excluded others.  Can you maintain a critical mass in other, softer ways?  Indefinitely?

Mark Schwehn, and probably others, have written about these kinds of questions. With, perhaps, more questions than answers. 

I don't know that we ever had a full-court press on trying to be something like "the national Lutheran university".  Maybe there's a case to be made in that direction.  Currently, our recruiting seems to have more of a regional emphasis, with national and significant international elements.  That may not easily be compatible with some kind of a vision (if anyone even has it) of a Lutheran majority or even a Lutheran plurality. Even with that, you could probably make some kind of argument that we're the most-Lutheran of the historically Lutheran colleges, probably not counting the Concordias.  I've not surveyed them all, but what I've seen is maybe compatible with this idea.  (We also seem to stack up pretty well academically, and here you can perhaps include the Concordias; St. Olaf is strong, but maybe hard to compare; I'm sure others have strengths as well, but maybe we compare well. Again, I don't have any kind of comprehensive view, I've tried to keep my eyes open but I'm largely spitballing here.) 

At the moment I think there is a very strong, active, Lutheran imprint on the campus. A student population that's Lutheran way out of step with national or presumably regional demographics, even if it might be plurality Roman Catholic.  A faculty and administration with significant Lutheran elements, many of them alumni, but others as well. Most of whom seem to actively value the continuing Lutheran heritage and connection of the university.  The morning prayer scene is lively and active, even if it may have been better attended in the past.  I suspect the same is true of Sunday mornings, while other services (e.g. Sunday evenings) are robustly attended, and there are lots worship and Christian study options outside of the formal chapel services.

I don't think Valpo as a Lutheran university is going away anytime soon.  I don't see us falling off a cliff or anything like that.  Where will we be fifty years from now?  That's harder to predict.

[Vale O. Paradise]

Does anyone have access to the presentation/letter? It would be easier to process everyone's thoughts if I could read the original in its entirety.

[agibson]

78 can let you know what document and/or presentation he's responding to. But, I can offer some general info.

As far as I know, the Plan's a public document, and basically under constant evolution.  The planning horizon is basically fixed at a 5 year window.  So, every year they update it, pushing the window a year into the future.  There's been some discussion on campus about the current round of changes, but I don't think the new version has come out yet (voted on by the board in their October meeting? not sure precisely when that is).

The web address for the Plan is
http://www.valpo.edu/strategicplan/
with last year's version, which I believe is still current, at
https://intra.valpo.edu/strategicplanning/assets/docs/sp-version_10_25_2014.pdf

I notice that pdf has an intranet address, is it not visible off campus?  The link shows up for me in the left sidebar, "View Strategic Plan".  Basically even with the arrows to scroll between photographs.  Are others able to view it?

[wh]

The five year plan released to students and faculty has a lot in it about increasing diversity.  Not to mention increasing diversity.  Oh, and did I mention diversity?  One of the goals is to "advance [VU's} vision of being a Lutheran University constituted by people of many and various beliefs and backgrounds."  This according to an article in the most recent edition of The Torch. 

I get the "various beliefs and backgrounds" part since this goal was mentioned several times in the Torch article and is now drilled into my head.  I'm just wondering what the university plans to do over the next five years to remain a "Lutheran" university, in the face of a declining Lutheran population nationwide.  And at what point does VU stop being a "Lutheran" university?  It's one thing to include people of different faiths and backgrounds -- and this administration seems bound and determined to make this a reality.  But what about the "Lutheran" part?  Can we call ourselves a Lutheran institution when we are at 35% Lutheran?  What about 25%  What if we fall to 15%?

We spent enormous time and energy to bring this international kids to campus, yet as pointed out by another poster, we have kids in our own backyard, Christian kids with good grades, who are good runners who want to go to a smaller school, and yet we give them zero -- zero -- looks.  What the heck?  Some insight from folks a lot closer to VU than I am would be welcome.  Based on what I see from out here in Iowa, I disagree with this administration. 

Paul

In support of your point, the belief that aggressively plucking students from societal cesspools in the Middle East - where an intolerant, hate-filled religious belief system rules every thought and action, including the proclamation that Christians and Jews are infidels who must be systematically destroyed - won't affect the university's long term Lutheran identity is naive at best. Everything they do, including "exporting" fully indoctrinated teenagers to the Western world is subversively motivated.

Or, are we expected to believe that they are being allowed to come here so they can learn to be more accepting and tolerant of us infidels and our "immoral" Western societal value system?

[Vale O. Paradise]

I've read through the strategic plan before. The five-year plan is what I was hoping to read. Intranet site is inaccessible to the public.

[valpo64]

I'm tired of hearing about "diversity"!!!    Too many people, including some of those affiliated with VU,  have been drinking the Obama coolaid to excess!!  Enough is enough!

[vu72]

I did a little checking and found very little at other "Christian" schools relative to religious background of their students.  Schools with religious backgrounds, Like Southern Methodist or Wesleyan, are now, even in their published documents, non-religious.  Baylor, the preeminent Baptist school, now has about 25% of its student listed as Baptist.  We know that Concordia Chicago claims 21% of their students as Lutheran. 

What I did notice, when looking at schools like Concordia St. Paul, is that they now have more students than Valpo with 3/4 of them being in some graduate, non-residential situation.  Keeping college "college like", revolves in keeping the undergraduate/resident student number at a high level.  Without that, you quickly drift to a commuter school. 

Some of us on the board may be too focused on Lutheran identity as kids today may float from church to church as do their parents.  We have a young man who was raised Catholic in our Lutheran church because his parents didn't care and he had friends attending our church.  He is a fine Christian kid, now attending college in the Boston area.  If asked, I wonder what affiliation he might put down. Catholic?  Maybe.  Lutheran?  Maybe. Christian?  Probably.

[agibson]

I've read through the strategic plan before. The five-year plan is what I was hoping to read. Intranet site is inaccessible to the public.

I don't think there's a "strategic plan" separate from the "five-year strategic plan".  The intranet pdf I'm looking at is titled, "STRATEGIC PLAN FOR VALPARAISO UNIVERSITY 2015-2019".  The strategic plan is always for the next five years, revised annually it seems (probably a new version will be approved by the Board shortly, and then promulgated).

That said, the pdf doesn't exactly look polished for public consumption.  Not that there are any skeletons, but I guess the web page is their intended "public" version.

If you're actively interested in the behind-the-scenes version, PM me, and I can make inquiries into distribution policies.

[crusadermoe]

Is that really a plan with any sense of true measurability?.......or just a list of vague platitudes?     

Strategic implies choices are being made and are being chosen where impact to goals is best made.  Most of the vague platitudes are elusive to define.

Please fact check this as I may be misrembering.    In the early 80s Valpo was ranked #1 in the U.S. News and World Report Midwest regional universities.   This is the category in which Valpo brags each year about cracking the top 5.   When did we last rank #3 or higher?

In the 80s, VU enrolled 3,500 undergraduate students.   That was achieved with a small union, a modest library, and lousy dorms.   So, just what in concrete terms has been achieved over the 1980s in enrollment or in quality ranking?