Enrollment numbers

[valpo95]

FWAlum, you've covered a lot in your post.

The Chicago Statement is an excellent place to start - a commitment to free and open inquiry is the cornerstone of a university. Valpo should affirm the Chicago statement, just like 100+ universities have done.

We also should also not forget that President Heckler was (at least to my knowledge) the first non-LCMS ordained minister become President, starting in 2008. From 2009 to 2019, the percentage of LCMS undergrads declined by 50%. Beyond this, prior administrations were careful to affirm (or at least avoid antagonizing) the relationship with the LCMS. For example, William Karpenko had been hired to be the Director of Church Relations yet retired (I think) around the time President Harre did. Karpenko had deep ties to the LCMS, having been director of the DCE program at Concordia Seward. So, Karpenko knew hundreds of DCEs and teachers at Lutheran schools. Those kinds of ties are hard to replicate.

[Just Sayin]

Vu84v2 - Baylor is about 30 percent Baptist. 38 percent of the student body are minorities.

Looks like Baptist's are the real minority. 

[vu84v2]

Since you are looking back in posts, let me also bring forward my previous quote on Baylor's stated Christian commitment.
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Baylor continues to hold firm to the conviction that the world needs a preeminent research university that is unambiguously Christian, where such a commitment does not imply a lack of scholarly inquiry, but rather requires scholarship and creative endeavors at the highest levels of quality to complement and inform its teaching and service.
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The active words are: unambiguously, complement, and inform. How do these words apply to the environment at the university? Are there rules within the university that restrict behavior, lifestyles, opinions, etc.? Maybe there aren't any specific or strongly implied restrictions at Baylor (I don't know), but the word unambiguously is pretty clear that the university is more narrow-minded on what is accepted faith. There are definitely restrictions at Wheaton, BYU and Liberty, and I believe there are at Hillsdale (at minimum, there are strong expectations). On the other hand, you could make a strong argument that the Catholic faith complements and informs teaching and service at the Jesuit universities - but there are no rules or expectations that you must follow the Catholic faith (or even a Christian faith). There are, however, strong faith-based communities (church, organizations, activities) for those who do follow the Catholic faith - which is great. That is the model that is (and should be) applied at Valpo.

As a side note, I wholeheartedly agree with the "Chicago Statement", and would support Valpo adopting it. However, in looking at the list of schools (per University of Chicago's website) that have adopted this statement, there are strikingly few religiously-affiliated universities in the list (SMU is the only one that I see). My guess is that schools like Hillsdale or Wheaton are not willing to adopt 'free expression and inquiry' as stated in the Chicago Statement.

[vu72]

SMU is the only one that I see

An interesting discussion.  Oh, SMU is about as much Methodist as Valpo.  We need to keep focused on our Lutheran heritage which has evolved over the years.  I was raised in the Missouri Synod but left years ago and now am a member of a ELCA church.  This is the case with many people I know and why Valpo has pastors from both churches on staff. 

Times have changed.  The Lutheran High School feeder system has been seriously diminished.  My Lutheran High School in the suburbs of Cleveland is now filled with non-Lutherans who want to attend there as a means of avoiding the public schools.  My class of 75 sent 10 people to Valpo.  So Valpo needs to continue to evolve, NOT abandon our heritage.  As OP famously said, "Without the Cross Valpo is just another Princeton" and no, for those reading this, he wasn't saying Valpo was as good as Princeton or any such thing.  He was saying that without the church we are just like thousands of other institutions trying to educate students, nothing more. 

Jose Padilla understands this.  With reduced numbers of Lutherans nationally and with reduced population in the Midwest in general, it requires a national recruiting effort.  Challenging to be sure.

[FWalum]

After reading the discussion between valpotx and FWAlum (and prior similar discussions on this board), I ask the question, "why can't you be both?" In other words, for those who value a more intense Lutheran experience, have activities and organizations that meet that interest. But for those who don't, welcome them and their diverse opinions as well. This, in fact, is the nature of the "Chicago Statement." You mention Hillsdale, Wheaton and Pepperdine. Hillsdale and Wheaton clearly are focused around people who share their ideology and do not welcome people who have alternative views. Any direction towards that at Valpo and I am out (and my guess is that a meaningful number of other donors are out too). Pepperdine, I believe, is more oriented towards the model that is better for Valpo - in which there is an environment that appeals to those interested in Churches of Christ and an environment for those who prefer a more secular environment (of course, being on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean gives a university a distinct advantage regardless of personal beliefs).

I agree with much of what you have said and I believe that for a long time Valpo was a place where it was an individual's decision as to how much of a Lutheran experience they wanted to have. I think the Lutheran identity of the school was much more obvious then than it is today. I only mentioned those 3 schools because I think it is clear who and what they are and if you are a student seeking those things then you want to go there. I say this from experience with family members who have gone to both schools. Wheaton is much more restrictive and still requires that you sign the Wheaton Covenant and while Hillsdale is very conservative I think your perception of the school is tinged with some media bias. Even though both schools are smaller than Valpo, their published endowments are twice the size of Valpo's published endowment. Does this indicate a lack of commitment or pride in the university? When I was on the Alumni Board we often talked about how we needed to give the alumni something in order to get something back in the form of donations. Is the university doing that for alumni today? I don't know the answers to the many questions we all have about the school, its current religious affiliation, athletics, academic direction/reputation, etc. and therefore a lack of identity that in my opinion has been muddled by many of the recent decisions and statements made on behalf of the students and alumni. My heart still bleeds brown and gold, that is not likely to change because of my memories of my unique Valpo experience, but it pains me to see the clear focus of the past become muted today.

I welcome other thoughts, opinions and criticisms, I promise my feelings won't be hurt. 

[crusader05]

I think I am resistant to the idea that Valpo doesn't have a clear identity as a religious institution. There are multiple services throughout the week that are popular with students. The institute for Leadership and Service has a thriving CAPS fellowship program and the SALT student group is one of the most active and engaged on campus. There is a Peer Minister program with students embedded in the residential halls to aide students who are struggling spiritually and the Pathways to Purpose Speaker System has brought in many different theologians and has helped guide some discussions that are very heated today by bringing in well-regarded but educationally based speakers. If anything, the variety of religions on campus has led to even more of a religious presence with there not being a group for Orthodox Christians, multiple Bible Studies and a large contingent of other faith based organizations as well as the  Lutheran Deaconess Program that students engage in constantly.

I think that the type of religious experience many students are looking for nowadays is varied and more personal than it is dogmatic which can look different. I remember my time there was spent with lots of rigid conversations (I was told I was going to hell multiple times by many people because I didn't follow the Lutheran Dogma even though I was Christian) that often made me feel turned off by religion.  The Chapel is still a large part of events such as MLK, Orientation, etc. 

That being said I think sometimes these arguments are shaded by "I think this university should be more clearly conservative" and then tries to tie that to no longer being religious but I think those are two separate conversations. I'd say that clearly the campus has turned from a more rigid dogma which has lead to greater acceptance of different identities and support for other causes amongst the student body BUT that doesn't mean they  no longer have a strong religious identity it's just that identity looks different and you view that as not being "unique". However, I think we have reached a point where you cannot be a "conservative" religious institute without placing the types of restrictions that other schools such as Wheaton have placed and that is clearly not an institution Valpo has ever been or really ever wanted to be.

[crusadermoe]

You have to admit that OPK inspires you to stand up for something. In bowling it is really hard to convert the 7-10 split into a spare.  You usually miss both pins when you try to finesse it too much.  Not that I would know. 

Even if you do prefer a nebulous liberal mission with its typical 80% liberal faculty, it would be hard not to admire the boldness and the eloquence of OPK.

[valpo tundra]

vu84v2- There may be restrictions for Liberty but these only apply to the students.  The university president may operate with no restrictions and with impunity.  Except when the school's PR firm finally says to pull the plug.

[valpopal]

President Padilla announced yesterday that the spring graduation would be in-person with each graduate allowed to invite two guests. I also spoke with an admissions official yesterday. Combined with the increasing optimism of a more normal fall semester due to vaccines and projected decline of Covid-19, as well as a more active recruitment season than last year when campus visits were halted, I expect at least a modest bounce back in enrollment numbers in the fall. A reduction in national unemployment numbers might contribute as well. The next two weeks could be crucial since many high school seniors usually prefer to arrive at a college decision by May 1; however, I anticipate more will be making late choices as they wait to see whether conditions do improve significantly.

[vu84v2]

vu84v2- There may be restrictions for Liberty but these only apply to the students.  The university president may operate with no restrictions and with impunity.  Except when the school's PR firm finally says to pull the plug.

I have no knowledge on restrictions of faculty and employees at Liberty (whereas they certainly exist at Wheaton). However, your point that the adage "absolute power corrupts absolutely" applies for senior administration at Liberty (and we could add Oral Roberts) is quite valid.

[crusadermoe]

Delay and confusion (such as CoVID) are allies in poor performance rationale.   Let's hope that doesn't prove true for fall enrollment.

[FWalum]

I got a very disappointing report today from Concordia Lutheran High School here in Fort Wayne. The report lists the students graduating in the class of 2021, the activities they were involved in at CLHS and their future plans for college and or employment. Of the 131 students that listed their future educational plans 0 indicated that they planned on attending Valparaiso University, 18 planned on attending one of the Concordia system schools, 2 chose Wartburg College and 2 chose Butler. This would have been unconscionable when I graduated from CLHS. Valpo was probably the 4th or 5th most popular college destination at that time behind IU, Purdue, the Concordia's and maybe IPFW. Many of my close friends and relatives attended Valpo. I repeat, 0 kids from a Lutheran High School where many of their forefathers actually were involved in purchasing Valparaiso University for the LUA. So when I tell you that Valpo does a lousy job of recruiting Lutheran high school students I think this sad fact proves my point.

[78crusader]

I have maintained for YEARS that our enrollment strategy - if you can call it that - is seriously flawed. We ignore the very constituencies that should be our bread and butter. The results speak for themselves.

Paul

[wh]

Should anyone expect otherwise in the aftermath of a postchristian professor group using a Muslim colleague as a prop to eliminate the Crusader?

Hopefully, the new Catholic president can fix the university's longstanding Lutheran problem.

[wh]

Valparaiso University Names Next ELCA University Pastor

https://www.valpo.edu/news/2020/11/17/valparaiso-university-names-next-elca-university-pastor/

I thought this new hire sounded pretty impressive. It also left me with a positive feeling about the ELCA, about which I know very little. So, I decided to do a little research on the ELCA and came across the following article. I should have left well enough alone.

Liberal Lutherans Doubling Down

https://juicyecumenism.com/2018/07/29/liberal-lutherans-doubling-down/

[vu72]

FWalum and 78crusader, Have you thought about sharing you thoughts with the President of Valparaiso University?  I have, in part on the same subject, and he responded.  PLEASE, lets keep the heat on now that he has brought in his pick to run enrollment.

[vu84v2]

If there are things that can be learned about recruiting methods from universities like Concordia - great. And I agree with 78crusader that ignoring constituencies that could potentially be really good fits is likely not a good approach. But as I have stated before, Valparaiso should be welcoming to people of all faiths - while having very good religiously-oriented programs for those who desire that. Concordia is not welcoming of people from all faiths - they require all faculty and staff to be christian. If some potential students are looking for that sort of environment, they should not be going to Valparaiso and Valparaiso should not try to adjust their strategy to appease those students.

[Pgmado]

I find it hilarious that people on here jump to the conclusion that this is something wrong that Valparaiso has done. Could it be that high school kids just don't care as much about the Lutheran connection as they did 20-30 years ago? Instead of needing to pick a school that fosters a Lutheran connection and provides worship opportunities that students would've missed out on 20-30 years ago, maybe these students are now going to public schools and then watching their hometown church service on YouTube on Sundays instead. Maybe they Zoom with their hometown pastor and don't feel a need to gravitate toward a new religious community, instead choosing to go a different kind of school. Just my two cents.

[valpo64]

Could the fact that many public universities now have a Lutheran chapel on or adjacent to campus also be a factor if religion is important to the student? However the fact remains that Valpo has done a lousy job of recruiting the Lutheran community.  When I graduated from Concordia Lutheran H S in Fort Wayne, over 12 %(15) of our class of 117 attended VU.  Another factor is the total lack of getting word out on Valpo in the Fort Wayne metro market.  The University does a terrible job in the area as far as publicity goes, and that includes athletics pub.  About all the comments on VU that I hear is that they can't afford it.  That idea alone is not always true.  When my grand daughter chose to attend IU(Bloomington) instead of Valpo it was because of course of study.  However the cost was almost identical with the scholarship money
available from Valpo.  And ANY dorm room at VU was better than what was available to frosh at IU.

Another factor is that when I attended VU there were many students, relatively speaking, from cities that had one or more Lutheran High Schools(not only FW, but also Cleveland, Chicago, St. Louis, Milwaukee and even the Los Angeles area).

It is also interesting that in years past when OPK was President, many hard line Lutherans thought OP was too liberal(remember the spat between VU and the LCMS?).  I wonder what those people would think now with a devout Catholic as President.  It almost seems funny just talking about it.

[crusadermoe]

I have to add the same stats from another Lutheran private HS in another midwest city. One of my brothers graduated from that Lutheran HS but did not go to Valpo.  He said that quite recently in this decade 3-6 kids each year would go to Valpo. This year's senior class has 9 of the 110 are going to a Concordia and ZERO to Valpo.  If kids don't want a Lutheran education then why did this happen at two schools we have cited.

There's a coach I can't recall who said, "We are what our record says we are." But I can't remember who it was?  NFL?   Does anyone know?

[valpotx]

I find it hilarious that people on here jump to the conclusion that this is something wrong that Valparaiso has done. Could it be that high school kids just don't care as much about the Lutheran connection as they did 20-30 years ago? Instead of needing to pick a school that fosters a Lutheran connection and provides worship opportunities that students would've missed out on 20-30 years ago, maybe these students are now going to public schools and then watching their hometown church service on YouTube on Sundays instead. Maybe they Zoom with their hometown pastor and don't feel a need to gravitate toward a new religious community, instead choosing to go a different kind of school. Just my two cents.

Exactly.  To add to your point, and I know that I have brought this up previously, the youngest generations are not as religious as prior generations.  If Valpo wants to tie itself to students that mainly have a religious connection to the school, the school will fold.

[crusadermoe]

In the 70s and 80s I don't know whether the faith content was fully the draw to Valpo as much as a generational connection to parents and parents' friends. Even if a strong theology focus doesn't draw the kids, it would seem that students with some familial ties to a school would be stronger candidates than a random high school graduate. 

But then again, churches are polarizing from each other as fast as the political parties are and maybe those church families are pulling apart from each other as well as within their own families. It might well be that the comfortable old "Lutheran" networks are dividing into two camps quickly. One camp may be seeking a high focus on their faith. Maybe the other camp of Lutheran families just prefers (like ValpoTX) to focus on education value vs. cost.  In the latter camp, Valpo runs up hill in family cost.   

[78crusader]

Pgmado suggests that the Lutheran connection with VU is not the drawing card that it used to be in getting Concordia Lutheran/Fort Wayne students to come here.

I will acknowledge there's probably some truth to that.

But there is more than the Lutheran connection that makes the absence of any Concordia Lutheran graduating seniors coming to VU so worrisome.

Concordia Lutheran is a good high school. It is located only a couple of hours away from the VU campus. A lot of smart kids go there, kids from families who can afford - and who value - a private university education. And, of course, there is the historical Lutheran connection between VU, Fort Wayne, and Concordia Lutheran.

Given all of that, it would be very reasonable to expect VU to recruit Concordia Lutheran, recruit them hard, and wind up with at least a couple of kids from that high school each year. Maybe VU is already diligently pursuing Concordia kids. Recent evidence would suggest otherwise, however.

Perhaps other private schools are having the same problem. Perhaps Drake University is having trouble attracting kids from quality high schools close to Des Moines (where I live). The anecdotal reports I'm getting, however, suggest otherwise.

I think the recruiting strategy, if there is one, that VU has employed for many years is simply wrong and does not work. I am an outsider, but from where I sit VU has tried mighty hard to be all things to all people. This never works and we've been left with the predictable double whammy - declining enrollment and an alienation/distancing from our core constituencies.

It is my belief that VU has consistently underestimated the number of kids -- and parents -- that desire a more conservative, faith-based higher education experience. Many other private schools now have completely bought into the progressive/woke mindset that is a complete turn off to a vast number of Americans. (A friend of mine recently remarked these schools are doing a good job - not of promoting their progressive philosophies, but of promoting trade schools as a viable alternative to a college degree.)

To summarize: VU likes to tout that it is the premier Lutheran university but it seems like we have spent most of the last 10 years running away from this heritage.  This completely mystifies me -- and others I've spoken with.  VU has a unique position as a Lutheran/Christian school with excellent academic credentials. Let's promote it and build on it. Let's give folks a different option. If we don't, we wind up being perceived as another overpriced private school, many of which, unfortunately, are going to go down in the next 10 years. Let's not be one of them.

Paul

[vu72]

I have no idea what the demographics are at Fort Wayne Lutheran.  I am a Lutheran High School product (Lutheran East Cleveland). While there are still, no doubt, Lutheran High Schools with conservative Lutheran educations, my guess is that many are being used as a way to get a quality education while avoiding the far less desirable public option.  That is the case at my high school which could more likely be called "Baptist High School East". As with other posters in my day, of a class of 75, probably 10 went to Valpo.  The whole Lutheran education pipeline, from grade schools to high schools is not anywhere near what it was  in the 60's and 70's.

Having said that, there still are students at Valpo from Lutheran High Schools and I suggested to President Padilla that one admissions counselor be dedicated to recruiting just Lutheran High Schools.  There are over 100 nationally with 9 in Illinois, 9 in Michigan, 10 in Minnesota and 20 in Wisconsin. Heck, there are even 9 in Texas!

This is NOT trying to exclude anybody.  It is promoting Valpo's Lutheran identity to --LUTHERANS.  The last thing we want or need is for the Chapel to become some sort of museum.  Without our Lutheran/Christian identity we become just another Drake.

[valpo64]

78crusader, you make some excellent points, namely trying to  be everything to all people but losing or paying less attention to the core constituent. I also agree that our Lutheran High Schools and other private high schools are becoming havens for those families fed up with the public systems.  The biggest factor here is the voucher programs that many states have adopted that have driven a number of students to private schools.  Unfortunately many private schools would not exist today if not for those voucher programs.

Nevertheless, these circumstances do not excuse the poor job VU has done in recruiting students attending Lutheran high schools.