Heckler interview

[78crusader]

You may have already listened to President Heckler's interview last week on WVUR, but in case you missed it, here are the highlights:

1. Construction of the new dorm (which will look a lot like Guild-Memorial) will begin in August.  Suite-style dorm with 290 student capacity, which will house sophomores.  Three tennis courts, the Health Center, and Confucius Institute will be removed to make room for this L-shaped dorm.  Open by fall of '14.

2. Construction of Chapel addition will begin in spring '14.  As I understood his remarks, the addition will be a stand-alone building just to the south and will be connected to the Baptismal Fount part of the Chapel by some sort of walkway.  9000 sq ft. 

3. When asked about plans for academic buildings, President Heckler implied that something was in the planning stages, and that he would be able to give some information about it at his next interview in December.

4. The ARC will undergo some work this summer to replace/reconfigure the venting, since all the hot air is now vented into the swimming pool area, causing the air and water temperature there to be way too uncomfortable.  When asked about plans for athletic facilities, he indicated that several projects (he specifically mentioned the track --yay!) have now moved into the planning stages. 

If I am allowed one editorial comment, I was happy to hear the new dorm will have a more traditional look since I think VU relies too much on a modern look -- even though I will admit our newer buildings look great, with the exception of the Arts and Sciences building, which I think was a swing and a miss by VU.

Paul

[okinawatyphoon]

Why do you think the Arts and Sciences building is so bad? It's basically an architectural extension of the Christopher Center and fits in a lot better than the old Union.

[78crusader]

I don't think it's "bad." I just think the exterior is uninspiring. The word art in the front is just too modern for my tastes. I don't think the word art will age gracefully.

Paul

[vu72]

Here is the link:

http://www-ret.valpo.edu/student/wvur/

This is an exceptional man who is doing a great job.  If you have an issue, as I recently did, do not hesitate to bring it to Dr. Heckler, who will respond.  The alumni are a very important part of a university and he certainly is respectful and appreciative of that role.

[agibson]

If you have an issue, as I recently did, do not hesitate to bring it to Dr. Heckler, who will respond.

Care to share some details?

[valpopal]

If you are away from Valparaiso but would like to meet with Heckler and hear him talk about the university's future, he has a Strategic Plan Tour set up beginning this fall. More specific details will be forthcoming as the events approach.

President Mark Heckler will tour the United States throughout the 2013-2014 academic year to share with the Valparaiso University community updates on internationalization, enrollment growth, academic innovation, and additional progress as outlined in the Strategic Plan. Attend an event at a location near you to hear first-hand about the promising future of the University and its students.

   
• Wednesday, September 18, 2013 – Chicago Suburbs
• Thursday, September 19, 2013 – Downtown Chicago
• Friday, September 20, 2013 – Milwaukee
• Monday, October 7, 2013 – Cleveland
• Tuesday, October 8, 2013 – Detroit
• Wednesday, October 9, 2013 – Indianapolis
• Thursday, October 10, 2013 – St. Louis
• Friday, October 11, 2013 – Minneapolis
• Tuesday, January 14, 2014 – Arizona (Tucson or Phoenix)
• Wednesday, January 15, 2014 – Los Angeles
• Thursday, January 16, 2014 – San Francisco
• Friday, January 17, 2014 – Denver
• Tuesday, February 18, 2014 – Houston
• Wednesday, February 19, 2014 – Fort Worth, Texas
• Thursday, February 20, 2014 – Naples, Fla.
• Sunday, February 23, 2014 – Sarasota, Fla.
• Tuesday, March 25, 2014 – Washington, D.C.
• Wednesday, March 26, 2014 – New York City
• Thursday, March 27, 2014 – Boston
• Wednesday, April 2, 2014 – Valparaiso, Ind.

[valpotx]

If you are away from Valparaiso but would like to meet with Heckler and hear him talk about the university's future, he has a Strategic Plan Tour set up beginning this fall. More specific details will be forthcoming as the events approach.

President Mark Heckler will tour the United States throughout the 2013-2014 academic year to share with the Valparaiso University community updates on internationalization, enrollment growth, academic innovation, and additional progress as outlined in the Strategic Plan. Attend an event at a location near you to hear first-hand about the promising future of the University and its students.

   
• Wednesday, September 18, 2013 – Chicago Suburbs
• Thursday, September 19, 2013 – Downtown Chicago
• Friday, September 20, 2013 – Milwaukee
• Monday, October 7, 2013 – Cleveland
• Tuesday, October 8, 2013 – Detroit
• Wednesday, October 9, 2013 – Indianapolis
• Thursday, October 10, 2013 – St. Louis
• Friday, October 11, 2013 – Minneapolis
• Tuesday, January 14, 2014 – Arizona (Tucson or Phoenix)
• Wednesday, January 15, 2014 – Los Angeles
• Thursday, January 16, 2014 – San Francisco
• Friday, January 17, 2014 – Denver
• Tuesday, February 18, 2014 – Houston
• Wednesday, February 19, 2014 – Fort Worth, Texas
• Thursday, February 20, 2014 – Naples, Fla.
• Sunday, February 23, 2014 – Sarasota, Fla.
• Tuesday, March 25, 2014 – Washington, D.C.
• Wednesday, March 26, 2014 – New York City
• Thursday, March 27, 2014 – Boston
• Wednesday, April 2, 2014 – Valparaiso, Ind.

Interesting.  He is going to Fort Worth this year, after doing Dallas last year.  I will be there yet again, as I live in the middle!

[FWalum]

One city conspicuously absent from that list. Care to venture a guess?

[VULB#62]

One city conspicuously absent from that list. Care to venture a guess?

Pittsburgh?
Philadelphia?
Cincinnati?
Seattle?
Portland, OR?
Kansas City?
Ft. Wayne?   

[LaPorteAveApostle]

Thursday, February 20, 2014 – Naples, Fla.

Not me!

South Bend?

[crusadermoe]

I don't think Atlanta or Miami or Orlando have a lot of Valpo alumni.   But most of the major league cities seem covered.   

All Fort Wayne ever did was re-kindle the place.

[vu72]

I don't think Atlanta or Miami or Orlando have a lot of Valpo alumni.   But most of the major league cities seem covered.   

All Fort Wayne ever did was re-kindle the place.

Incredibly uninformed.  Fort Wayne  has supplied MANY students for Valpo and many successful alumni. Concordia  Lutheran High has to be one of the top Lutheran high schools in America. No, I'm from Cleveland. Start with Mark Schwehn for well known alums and go from there.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

All Fort Wayne ever did was re-kindle the place.

what does that even mean?

[a3uge]

All Fort Wayne ever did was re-kindle the place.

what does that even mean?

If I'm not mistaken, the city of Fort Wayne sponsored a scholarship program that handed out Amazon Kindles to deserving incoming Valpo students...

[FWalum]

All Fort Wayne ever did was re-kindle the place.

what does that even mean?

Not aware of any Kindle scholarship program so I believe it really means that the Fort Wayne Lutherans, in particular the laymen at St Paul's Lutheran Church www.stpaulsfw.org, along with fellow Lutherans in Michigan formed the Lutheran University Association and outbid the Ku Klux Klan for the then bankrupt school's ownership.

Excerpt from  "75 Years  A Conversation with VU Historian Richard Baepler"

About this time a group of Lutheran laymen in Fort Wayne, Ind., organized the American Luther League (ALL) just for laymen, not clergy. They hired as their executive director John Baur, a pastor in Fort Wayne, who had a great talent for organizing. ALL grew like wildfire across the country and entered into the political fray over the right for parochial schools to exist.

The focal point was Michigan. The Wayne County Civic Association was actually a political front name for a coalition of Klan, Masonic and other groups that were campaigning for a referendum requiring kids to go to public schools. There were battles in Oregon and Kansas where these groups won the requirement for students to attend only public schools. This was later lost on appeal.

John Baur was called to Kansas, to Oregon, and other states, to help in the fight for the political cause. But the real focal point was in Michigan where the ALL-led Lutherans
allied with the Roman Catholic Church and the Christian Reformed and Seventh-day Adventist churches to defeat the referendum. They marched and held rallies together.
And they threw their weight behind legislation that stated that all education would come under some regulation from the state, but private groups could also sponsor schools. The governor supported it.

Once that exciting battle was done, the threat was no longer there; it broke the back of the anti-parochial school movement, leaving the ALL looking for a new cause.

VALPO: So how did it happen that Valpo was purchased by the Lutheran
University Association?

After they won the Michigan battle, the men of the ALL sat around without a cause until it was brought to their attention that there was a school in Valparaiso on the verge of bankruptcy for sale cheap. The Fort Wayne Lutherans had built a high school and a hospital, and now they wanted to build a college. So it was decided this was what they wanted to do next. The leaders of the ALL created the Lutheran University Association with the idea they would purchase Valparaiso University. Their Lutheran Michigan friends joined in at once. The Indiana-Michigan alliance was dominant in the first decades of VU's Lutheran history. Several board members were from Michigan, and VU's second president, Oscar C. Kreinheder, was a pastor from Detroit.

VALPO: Why did they decide it was important to establish a Lutheran university?

Remember that back then, only eight to 10 percent of high school graduates, a relatively elite group, went to college as opposed to 60 percent now. There had been a lot of talk about setting up a college. The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod had set some up, but they were geared to preparing clergy or parochial schoolteachers. There wasn't a LCMS-affiliated university to solely educate lay people; it was not considered the job of the synod itself.

One of the leading pastoral movers was the Rev. J.W. Miller, pastor of St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Fort Wayne. Many of the ALL's lay leaders were members of that congregation, and Miller was a big promoter of Lutheran education of all kinds. If he was asked why a university for the lay person was needed, he'd say a church can never rise higher than the pew. If the congregation is uneducated and does not understand the larger meaning of the Christian story, the level of preaching and impact of that congregation is going to be limited. Also, society needs trained, educated Christians who can enter the professions to become lights in the world or "salt of the earth." Society will benefit from this. This was his argument.

Now back to my commentary... In other words, the Lutherans of Fort Wayne were the main players in reviving and establishing Valparaiso University as the university it is today.  As part of the 75th anniversary celebration, President Harre made presentation of a memorial plaque to the congregation of St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church to that effect. That plaque currently hangs in our library.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

That's great--thanks for posting that.  Dick Baepler was a great man and I was fortunate to make his acquaintance while patrolling the archives.

a3uge, I bought your story for about 4.6 seconds.  Well done too.

And good to see Catholics and Lutherans working together.  If we can work with 7th Day Adventists, no reason we can't get along!

[historyman]

The greatest influence on whether the Klan or the Lutherans from Ft Wayne controlled VU in 1925-26 was the previous owners of the university, the family of Henry Baker Brown, who had recently died, and others running the university at the time of Baker's death. It was this group from the Baker ownership that saw Klan ownership as a very bad thing and helped as much as possible to tip the ownership to the Lutherans. Also the Michigan Lutheran groups in the areas of Detroit, Monroe and the Franconian colonies of the Saginaw area (Frankenmuth) were involved with the laymen Lutherans from Fort Wayne. The Brown group stayed with the Lutherans and helped them run the university after the conversion to the Lutheran University Association ownership. It was this "passing of knowledge of administration" in a changing world that strengthened the LUA enough not to bankrupt VU immediately. The Lutherans supplied the finances and the Brown group supplied the know how. Of course the Lutherans supplied the eager students also.