Sources on VU History, Walks Down Nostalgia Lane, etc.

[David81]

Hi Everyone,

Being both a history buff and a long-time creature of nostalgia, I thought I'd start an item containing reading suggestions and links related to VU history, the experience of being a student, and so forth.

I hope it serves as an enjoyable source of information and memories.

[David81]

As we await the selection of a new men's head basketball coach, you may enjoy this 2013 oral history of what took place during those quick seconds leading to Bryce Drew's buzzer beater against Ole Miss, a/k/a "The Shot." SB Nation interviewed guys from Valpo (including father and son) and Ole Miss to recreate the moment:

https://www.sbnation.com/longform/2013/3/19/4119040/march-madness-valparaiso-ole-miss-buzzer-beater-history

[David81]

If you'd like to learn more about the history of VU, from its late 19th century founding until the turn of this century, then I highly recommend the late Dr. Richard Baepler's Flame of Faith, Lamp of Learning: A History of Valparaiso University (2001).

It's rich in detail about the student experience (including sports highlights) as well as institutional developments. Very informative, engaging, and well-written.

Dick Baepler was a long time professor (theology and law), founding Dean of Christ College, and Vice President for Academic Affairs. He was also a devoted fan of the men's basketball team.

The last time I looked, affordable copies were available on Amazon.

[David81]

Since at least 1914, The Torch has been VU's campus newspaper.

The Christopher Center online archives include many of the past issues. You can revisit your own student days:

https://library.valpo.edu/archives/torchindex.html

[vu72]

Find a Way by Homer Drew

https://www.ebay.com/p/555356

[David81]

Discussion topics ranging from the future of the men's basketball program to the controversy over the proposed art sale have sometimes raised questions about the core mission of the University. While this posting contains no answers to those specific questions, some folks might find interesting the inaugural address given by O.P. Kretzmann at his installation as VU's new President in October 1940:

https://library.valpo.edu/archives/presidents/kretzmann.html

Some notes:

-Kretzmann has a lot to say about the nature of a Christian university. Interestingly, his focus is on VU's Christian identity, less so its specifically Lutheran one.
-He identifies 7 immediate priorities for growing VU, a few of which never get off the ground.
-He alludes to the war, but in vague terms.
-According to Richard Baepler's history of VU, Flame of Faith, Lamp of Learning, the address had an immediately electrifying effect on the university community in terms of stoking a sense of purpose and optimism over VU's future.

[FWalum]

I have used this quote from O.P.'s address many times when speaking to and about our Lutheran schools here in Fort Wayne.

Only the school with a Christian orientation can today stand before the rising generation and say: We have something to offer you which you can find nowhere else. Others may try to make men scientific; we must do that-and make them wise. Others may give men knowledge; we must give them that-and understanding. Others may try to make men useful; we must do that-and we must make them noble. We are not asking you to come to an ivory tower to escape from the realities of life or to a market-place where the voices and minds of men are confused by the immediate and material things of life. We are able to give you the fellowship of men and women whose respect for Truth is not vitiated by doubts concerning its reality and permanence. We are able to offer you a school which recognizes the supreme dignity and worth of the individual human being. We are committed to the principle that the destiny of a Christian University lies in the quality of the men and women who are graduated from its halls rather than in quantitative production. Our future lies in the development of men and women, perhaps relatively few in number, whose quality will be so high that they will exert an influence on society which cannot be measured in terms of numbers.

I don't think it can be said any better!

[PMelanchton]

I would guess the university will do something to mark the centennial of VU as a Lutheran university in 2025. And soon it will be a hundred years since Kretzman's speech in 2040 so the history should be marked if and when that milestone is reached too.

[David81]

I have used this quote from O.P.'s address many times when speaking to and about our Lutheran schools here in Fort Wayne.

Only the school with a Christian orientation can today stand before the rising generation and say: We have something to offer you which you can find nowhere else. Others may try to make men scientific; we must do that-and make them wise. Others may give men knowledge; we must give them that-and understanding. Others may try to make men useful; we must do that-and we must make them noble. We are not asking you to come to an ivory tower to escape from the realities of life or to a market-place where the voices and minds of men are confused by the immediate and material things of life. We are able to give you the fellowship of men and women whose respect for Truth is not vitiated by doubts concerning its reality and permanence. We are able to offer you a school which recognizes the supreme dignity and worth of the individual human being. We are committed to the principle that the destiny of a Christian University lies in the quality of the men and women who are graduated from its halls rather than in quantitative production. Our future lies in the development of men and women, perhaps relatively few in number, whose quality will be so high that they will exert an influence on society which cannot be measured in terms of numbers.

I don't think it can be said any better!

So.....in that speech we see, I think, the seeds of a modern marketing message.

I'll start out by emphasizing that I mean no offense to anyone when I say that marketing VU as a "Christian university" to a broad audience of prospective students today may be a turnoff even to those who would thrive at Valpo. It's just that in our socially and politically fraught times, the modern connotation may suggest a more insular culture than what actually exists on campus.

That said, Kretzmann is actually talking about values, learning, and preparation for life, rather than preaching a faith or an ideology. You combine that with curricular offerings that can prepare one for a profession or vocation, or open the door to graduate-level opportunities, and you've got a coherent message that happens to fit well with the school's strengths.

So maybe that message + substance combo isn't for every 18-year-old. But are we saying that between the major undergraduate units, that it could not attract, say, an interesting and smart entering class of 1,000 new students a year? It's got to be better than "Where Passion Meets Purpose," the current marketing tagline so banal and meaningless that I react to it the same way some folks here react to the doggie mascots. 😜

[vu72]

That said, Kretzmann is actually talking about values, learning, and preparation for life, rather than preaching a faith or an ideology.

As I recall, Kretzmann also said, "without the cross, Valpo is just another Princeton".  Obviously, not trying to compare Valpo to Princeton but in fact Princeton, like many of the other Ivy's, started out with clear religious foundings. It the Chapel becomes some sort of secular gathering place--exclusively, with the cross taken down as to not offend, then Valpo's future is certainly doomed.

[crusadermoe]

Yep.  It says in the book of Joshua, "Choose this day whom you will serve."  Indeed the term Christian isn't an easy one to carry because it is easily targeted based on many flawed leaders of the catholic church, televangelists, and the clergy among all faiths.

But Kretzmann's point remains. You are just another school slipping into secularism at one pace another if you don't affirm your identity. Baepler even calls up "In Thy Light We See Light" even though he is brilliant in his nuances.  Ultimately you can't just keep sidestepping who is "thy" or apologizing for it. But like OPK< you can certainly express it in optimistic benevolent terms that lift everyone.

[valpo95]

However, we should not forget what OP was arguing for both a distinctly Christian university and a university that was engaged with the big questions of the world. Just after the above quote ended, he continued:

"Above all, we are deeply committed to the recovery of the one great fact which our wayward world has forgotten: The reality of God and the individual's personal responsibility to him, a responsibility which can only be met by the fact of the Atonement and the re-establishment of an intimate relationship with the Ruler of the Universe through Him who once entered the stream of time in order to tell men they could know the Truth and that it would make them free. We can here build a school whose greatness is the greatness of freedom under God, the greatness of free preservation and transmission of Truth, the greatness of an intelligent and dynamic application of a militant faith..."

He went on to make a passionate argument for a Christian university even in the face of considerable adversity - recognizing the coming battles of bombs and guns, yet the battle of great questions on "our view of God, of the Church, of the State, of man, of the human mind and spirit, its origin, nature, function and destiny, of the nature of Truth, and many other related issues." 

To the students, he noted, "In the years to come, you will be the final measure of the success or failure of Valparaiso University. If you will leave this campus prepared to become thoughtful and intelligent citizens of a free and democratic America; sympathetic and understanding healers of a torn and broken society; great and courageous leaders of the Body of Christ in the world-then there is no power on earth that can stop Valparaiso University in the attainment of its destiny."

[crusadermoe]

Thank you for posting all of this.  What a visionary!  He managed to be both intellectual and evangelical.

[David81]

I just wanted to say that I hope no one took my remarks about marketing to suggest that VU abandon in substance its religious affiliation and values. I was speaking more to the importance of creating a space for difference and ecumenical values in both marketing and the student experience. It's a fine line to walk, I know.

Anyway, when crusadermoe talks about Kretzmann's ability "to be both intellectual and evangelical," it goes to O.P.'s theme of a Christian university being at the crossroads of "Athens and Jerusalem," one of his most quoted lines about VU's ideal role in higher education. Athens embracing the secular, practical, and vocational, and Jerusalem embracing faith, spirituality, and values.

VU needs to re-embrace this tension, rather than avoid it. It makes the place more vibrant, more interesting, more useful, and ultimately more appealing.

[David81]

Although O.P Kretzmann will always be an iconic figure in VU history and lore, his visionary rhetoric often outpaced what VU was capable of achieving, given its limited funding base and modest physical plant. However, that gap between vision and reality closed when it came to the opening of the Chapel of the Resurrection in 1959.

I confess that I didn't spend much time there as an undergraduate! But when I returned to Valpo for Homecoming in 2016, I came away with a new appreciation for it.

Those for whom the Chapel has always meant a lot more might like to see the dedication program from 1959:

https://www.valpo.edu/chapel/files/2016/11/1959-Sept-27-Dedication-booklet-Chapel.pdf

[VULB#62]

I walked on to campus 3 years after the chapel was completed. Brandt was just completed (great dining room). Scheele and Lankenau just a step behind.  O.P. was everywhere. He was not only visionary in his approach, he had the personality that made you believe in those visions. Much (not always all) of what he envisioned he was able to implement. He dragged Valpo out of the past and into the future. Quite the guy.

Although O.P Kretzmann will always be an iconic figure in VU history and lore, his visionary rhetoric often outpaced what VU was capable of achieving, given its limited funding base and modest physical plant. However, that gap between vision and reality closed when it came to the opening of the Chapel of the Resurrection in 1959.

I confess that I didn't spend much time there as an undergraduate! But when I returned to Valpo for Homecoming in 2016, I came away with a new appreciation for it.

Those for whom the Chapel has always meant a lot more might like to see the dedication program from 1959:

https://www.valpo.edu/chapel/files/2016/11/1959-Sept-27-Dedication-booklet-Chapel.pdf

[historyman]

FYI, I have referenced O.P.'s inaugural speech previously on this message board. I'm not sure if I could find it again.


Here is a nice recap of the life of Otto Paul "John" Kretzmann which was authored by the Lutheran Diaconal Association (LDA)




100 Years of Service - Rev. O.P. Kretzmann - The LDA




In 1940, O.P. became president of Valparaiso University, a position he held for 28 years. His inspiring inaugural address, delivered in the shadow of World War II, set the tone for his presidency: "Clearly aware of the magnitude of our problems, 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 darkness of a dying world as the living embodiment of the motto of this University, "In Thy light we shall see light."
O.P. was one of the most influential figures in the history of the University, presiding over a tenfold growth in enrollment. And it was at the invitation of O.P. Kretzmann that the Lutheran Deaconess Association training school found a home at Valparaiso University.
In an address to St. Luke's Lutheran Church in New York City, O.P. included a now-famous quote on the state of the world in the post-World War II era: "If we are to survive the atomic age, we must have something to live by, to live on and to live for. We must be neither ignorant of the past nor ashamed of it. "We must stand aside from the world's conspiracy of fear and hate and grasp once more the great monosyllables of life: faith, hope, and love. Men must live by these if they live at all under the crushing weight of history."

[VULB#62]

That quote from his address at St. Lukes was prescient.  The message is timeless.

[crusadermoe]

Valpo's Athens and Jerusalem concept drew me to Valpo out of the rural midwest. At Valpo my understanding of that tension deepened. There is nothing new under the sun.

[David81]

By the way, in addition to writing the excellent history of VU that I've mentioned previously, Richard Baepler, in his last major writing before he passed, authored a biography of O.P. Kretzmann, Keeper of the Dream: O.P. Kretzmann. In my opinion, his history of VU is more interesting, because it shares plenty about Kretzmann but blends his story into the broader focus on the University. But for those who want to do a deeper dive, I noticed that a few affordable used copies are available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Keeper-Dream-P-Richard-Baepler/dp/B078V3688H.

[David81]

So, we've talked here about how O.P.'s inaugural address in 1940 galvanized and inspired the VU community, at a time when the University was struggling along with about 400 students.

It seems that Roger Powell's first speech as VU's new MBB coach has had the same galvanizing and inspiring effect on the basketball program and its fans.

In no way am I comparing Roger Powell and his opening speech to O.P. Kretzmann and his inaugural address in terms of the magnitude of impact on the history of the University, but there are similarities in terms of the soaring vision and can-do optimism, with Powell taking over a struggling program and saying that we're going to dream and do big.

I can't imagine any other candidate for the position starting off like that.