Valpo Strategic Plan

[valpopal]

So of the people I counted the total is 20 of 81 or 25%.  No doubt the total in Arts and Sciences would reduce this number back into single digits.

As someone who has served on a number of hiring committees, I can assure everyone there is no lack of effort or desire at Valparaiso in seeking minority candidates. Unfortunately, VU is often a victim of supply and demand. Almost all Asst. Prof., Assoc. Prof, and Prof. positions require a PhD. or equivalent (plus the upper ranks normally need at least 7 to 14 years of experience, research, and publishing). According to statistics for the year 2020-2021 and reported in fall 2022, the national percentage of those earning PhDs for African Americans was about 8.7% and for Hispanics about 8.5%. Previous years showed much lower percentages. In some areas or specialties, minority candidates with doctorate degrees are almost nonexistent. Therefore, even for the limited pool of eligible candidates, universities engage in a form of bidding war in which Valpo frankly cannot compete.

[78crusader]

Valpopal reports that 65.3% of new undergraduate students who enrolled last fall are white.

VU gets most of its undergraduate students from Indiana and Illinois. Indiana is 84% white and Illinois is 76% white, according to the latest Census statistics I could find.

The efforts to recruit a diverse student population are laudable - and appear to be working. I just wish some of the same concentrated effort would be made to recruit, you know, Lutheran students. Last time I looked we billed ourselves as an "Independent Comprehensive Lutheran University." The class of 2022 had all of 55 kids who identified as Lutheran.

Paul

[VULB#62]

Valpopal reports that 65.3% of new undergraduate students who enrolled last fall are white.

VU gets most of its undergraduate students from Indiana and Illinois. Indiana is 84% white and Illinois is 76% white, according to the latest Census statistics I could find.

The efforts to recruit a diverse student population are laudable - and appear to be working. I just wish some of the same concentrated effort would be made to recruit, you know, Lutheran students. Last time I looked we billed ourselves as an "Independent Comprehensive Lutheran University." The class of 2022 had all of 55 kids who identified as Lutheran.

Paul

Wow! 

[vu72]

The class of 2022 had all of 55 kids who identified as Lutheran.

Again, not sure where this information is coming from.

This data, from Valpo's website, for Fall of 2022, shows 340 students identifying as Lutheran.  That's 11.5% of the 2964 students.  I have asked the question many times about Lutheran recruiting.  What ever effort is being done is failing. Concordia Chicago, as  an example, has a significantly less white student enrollment yet claims 17.1% of students identify as Lutheran.

https://www.valpo.edu/institutional-effectiveness/files/2022/09/Denominations_All_Students_FA22.pdf

[VULB#62]

I would think it would be easier for Valpo, on a national scale, to kick Lutheran enrollment up over 20% than it would be to meet the HSI threshold.   

[wh]

I would think it would be easier for Valpo, on a national scale, to kick Lutheran enrollment up over 20% than it would be to meet the HSI threshold.   

Someone would have to explain to me what value Valpo provides to Lutheran students that they couldn't find anywhere. For instance, why would a Christian university of any denomination have a Muslim professor from the Middle East who writes favorable reviews on articles about Sharia law teaching a plethora of Christianity courses? What, are the Lutheran ministers on the payroll too busy preaching to no one over at the Chapel to be bothered? Just asking.

[78crusader]

vu72, I got the 55 Lutheran kids number straight from the horse's mouth - President Padilla gave out this figure at a gathering I attended at Homecoming last fall.

What has riled me up for years is VU's attitude that it now must look for students in every nook and cranny except Lutheran schools and churches. Yes, there are fewer Lutheran kids now - but VU seems to think they are as rare as Republican aldermen in Chicago.

This is an old table - from the US Department of Education, 2015 - but the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (just one synod, mind you) ranked 5th out of all religious affiliations in the number of students enrolled in private schools, with 158,300 (Catholic #1, non denominational #2, Jewish #3, Baptist #4).

55 Lutheran kids out of a class of over 700 is a joke.

We live in a time in which even an extra 20 kids per class would make a big financial difference. Yet the numbers strongly suggest that VU doesn't make a serious effort to get Lutheran kids to enroll in a university that markets itself as a "Comprehensive Independent Lutheran University."

Maybe I'm dead wrong. Wouldn't be the first time. But before you call me out, first check with Concordia Lutheran in Ft. Wayne - a mere two hours from the VU campus - and see what kind of a recruiting effort/presence VU has had in the last 5-10 years with that school.

Paul

[David81]

A part of the challenge in recruiting a more diverse student body remains the location. Valparaiso the city was a "sundown" town with no African American residents until 1969. It was still overwhelmingly white when I matriculated in 1977. Among students of color, Black students, in particular, often felt isolated and not welcomed in the area.

Yes, things have gotten better, but not to the degree where VU can compete easily with peer schools that have enjoyed better success on minority student recruitment. The Black and Asian student population is still very low, among other things. And because of the increasingly conservative political lean of Indiana overall, a lot of racially diverse young folks are simply going to opt out of applying.

I do think that VU offers advantages as an educational experience that can make it worth the while of a minority applicant to consider it, but this requires an extra effort to communicate and offer in substance a welcoming space.

[VULB#62]

I would think it would be easier for Valpo, on a national scale, to kick Lutheran enrollment up over 20% than it would be to meet the HSI threshold.   

* Someone would have to explain to me what value Valpo [a Comprehensive Lutheran University] provides to Lutheran students that they couldn't find anywhere.   ** For instance, why would a Christian university of any denomination have a Muslim professor from the Middle East who writes favorable reviews on articles about Sharia law teaching a plethora of Christianity courses? What, are the Lutheran ministers on the payroll too busy preaching to no one over at the Chapel to be bothered? Just asking.

* Duh.

** Huh?

[vu84v2]

From wh:
For instance, why would a Christian university of any denomination have a Muslim professor from the Middle East who writes favorable reviews on articles about Sharia law teaching a plethora of Christianity courses?

[/quote]

Please provide the following evidence:
1. If you are arguing that this is occurring at Valpo, please provide specific information associated with this.
2. If you are arguing that prospective students may perceive this for any university, please provide data that shows that something like this happens at a meaningful number of universities. I can see that it is possible that it could happen at one or two universities in the United States (because there are so many universities), so I suggest you provide data that this is happening at, say, .5 percent of U.S. universities. Alternatively, you couid argue that prospective students and their families are irrational, meaning that they assume one or two instances in the United States means that it is systemic across all universities (other than a few).

Please remember in providing any support for your argument that a non-Christian faculty member (Muslim or otherwise) can effectively teach theology in any university. When I was at Valpo, I had a course on the history of religions that was absolutely brilliant and would ultimately be incredibly valuable for my career. I also had the basic theology class at Valpo taught by a Lutheran professor who knew what was right or wrong to believe and reduced grades for submissions that were contrary to his beliefs (without commenting on the strength or validity of the arguments). Thus, being a Lutheran professor (or a professor who aligns with any religion) does not inherently mean you are an effective professor.

[wh]

I'm not going to write a research paper for you, but I guess I'll spoon feed you enough info so you can make a coherent counter argument, if that's what you're trying to do. BTW, maybe we can stay on point. Again, exactly what would motivate a Lutheran family to send their child to today's Valparaiso University that has spent the last 20 years running away from its identity, as opposed to Butler, for example, or any private secular university? This isn't complicated. The answer is - nothing, as evidenced by the reality that  Lutheran students are all but extinct at Lutheran-affiliated Valpo.

https://www.valpo.edu/theology/about/faculty/ossama-abdelgawwad/

https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2556435

http://www.valpovic.org/?p=2101

https://www.ajis.org/index.php/ajiss/article/download/606/86/743

[vu84v2]

Let's separate your points about if and how Valpo can differentiate its theology/religiously-oriented programs from your attack on a professor at Valpo.

You made the point that he writes favorable reviews on articles about Sharia law teaching. I read the article that you attached and it is a literature review of other scholars' discussions of the degree that systems (mainly legal systems) in various muslim countries have adapted across a variety of contexts. The article organizes and summarizes the other authors' points and the Valpo professor offers none of his own viewpoints on Sharia law (which is appropriate for any literature review). He merely critiques whether the other scholars have covered the points that they intended to cover.

Otherwise, the other three links essentially say that he is a tenure-track professor, got his PhD at Indiana, and is generally liked by the few students who wrote reviews in Ratemyprofessor (which, for the most part, is a lousy tool to assess professors' teaching). He teaches introduction to Christian Theology and teaches courses in Islam. I have no idea (nor do you) how he teaches a course in Christian Theology, but I would speculate that the department chair (if he or she is an effective department chair) reviews the syllabus to ensure that the course objectives are being met. Academic freedom does not allow a professor to set his or her own objectives for a course (they can propose new courses with new objectives, but it is highly doubtful that an Assistant Professor is creating new courses - no time, given other requirements for tenure). And if he or she did create a new course (or significantly modified the objectives of an existing course), it would need to be approved at the department, college and university level.

On the other point, what do you propose Valpo should do to strengthen its theology and religiously-oriented programs? Many here (myself included) and many at Valpo would seem to welcome such suggestions. However, my guess is that most would reject any ideas that move Valpo in a more homogeneous direction. Perhaps that means that differentiation is not possible - just parity versus other religiously affiliated universities....but I do think that religiously-oriented service programs can be very valuable regardless of the degree they differentiate. Same thing with study-abroad programs, such as one in which students understand the roots of christianity (or other faiths) by studying in places like Jerusalem, Germany, Rome, etc.

[valpo95]

The class of 2022 had all of 55 kids who identified as Lutheran.

Again, not sure where this information is coming from.

This data, from Valpo's website, for Fall of 2022, shows 340 students identifying as Lutheran.  That's 11.5% of the 2964 students.  I have asked the question many times about Lutheran recruiting.  What ever effort is being done is failing. Concordia Chicago, as  an example, has a significantly less white student enrollment yet claims 17.1% of students identify as Lutheran.

https://www.valpo.edu/institutional-effectiveness/files/2022/09/Denominations_All_Students_FA22.pdf

72, you correctly quote the percentage of students identifying as Lutheran as of fall 2022.

However, 78 is 100% correct (and consistent with the number provided by President Padilla) in terms of the number of incoming students who identified as Lutheran. This report shows that there were in fact 55 new undergraduate students identifying as Lutheran. This works out to about 7.5% of the new incoming class (55 out of 737).

http://www.valpo.edu/institutional-effectiveness/files/2022/09/Denominations_New_Students_FA22.pdf

[valpo95]

ValpoPal, I am not really sure what you are talking minority phds being pracitcally 'nonexistent' and Valpo just not being able to compete for them. Come on, it's not like they've never existed or come. At least in A&S, we have had a decent number hired, but Valpo's lost so many of them in just the last <5 years...

valpo22, I think you are misrepresenting what ValpoPal said. ValpoPal's quote was, "In some areas or specialties, minority candidates with doctorate degrees are almost nonexistent."

Although there are minority candidates in general and perhaps more for jobs in A&S, in some of areas it is exceptionally difficult to find them.

Anecdotally, I served on our hiring committee last year, and we had about 100 applicants. As far as I could tell, there was exactly one African American applicant. In May, I attended an academic conference for a major professional society (full of professors and PhD students). Announced registrations were about 1,600, and I would guess there were less than 50 traditional minorities in attendance. More generally, of the PhD students graduating and entering the job market, I would estimate that more than 75% are of Chinese, Indian, Turkish or Korean heritage.

In sum, the challenges of recruiting and retaining diverse faculty is not unique to VU. Couple the lack of candidates in some fields with the budgetary limitations facing VU, and it is a difficult problem. 

[valpopal]

ValpoPal, I am not really sure what you are talking about re: minority phds being pracitcally 'nonexistent' and Valpo just not being able to compete for them. Come on, it's not like they've never existed or come. At least in A&S, we have had a decent number hired, but Valpo's lost so many of them (maybe almost all?) in just the last <5 years...

22: I was speaking about hiring and not about the budget cuts, which you emphasize. [However, even in your roster of faculty let go, remember that universities do not include international or Asian American individuals as underrepresented minorities among students and faculty for enrollment or hiring; therefore, only a few that you list would fit that definition as African American or Hispanic/Latino.]

I was making an observation from my experiences sitting on about 20 hiring committees in A&S over the years. As part of the process, we examined the demographics of PhD graduates in various areas of the field. The percentage for African Americans with PhDs in these specialties ranged from 1-3%, and the highest for Hispanics was 3.5%. In all those cases, which were six-month nationwide searches with every possible avenue of outreach to minority candidates, I recall only two qualified applicants who were African American or Hispanic. Both were viable candidates and both were added to the finalist list for invitations to campus interviews. Both were also offered the positions at VU. I was aware of the competition from other universities seeking these minority PhDs. Valparaiso simply could not compete with the salaries and lower teaching loads available elsewhere.

[crusader05]

One issue that universities face is that by the time they are hiring and/or working to build a diverse class they are often at the narrowest/er end of a pipeline.

It's why Diversity programs were created. Because by the time you get to PhD Candidates you are looking at the end of a process that is not always great at identifying and building programs that those of different backgrounds can access/succeed in. It's why it's always been susceptible to complaints about affirmative action et al. It's often times the end goal of years or decades of work for people and everyone is very invested in their end option.

The reality is, especially for elite schools there are entire feeder private high schools and test tutoring programs designed to provide a much easier route into a certain school. But those go to people who can pay or live in an area to access them or to even know about it. I know my parents just though "oh you need good grades and you can go wherever you want" and as we got closer to college applications did they realize how not true that was. Elite universities or just every day universities know how this works and know how that squeezes a lot of students with potential but less of the concrete scores/extra curriculars out and they know that when you add in racism and other markers like that it gets even harder. So policies exist to push back against it and those that feel like they have "played the game right" and invested time and energy and money are mad because its' hard to say spending thousands of dollars and hours of your youth in curated activities and tutoring is a "privilege" when what people mean it's the knowledge and ability to access that at all that's the privilege and they're trying not to punish the students who didn't know or couldn't do it by locking one other gate.

[crusader05]

Oh they do, but it's also why there are struggles when admissions criteria that aren't just pure "test scores/gpa/involvement" etc matter.

It's also hard because the way a lot colleges are designed, success is actually not just on whether you can "do the work" it's on if you have the soft skills or knowledge needed to know how to utilize your resources, schedule your own time etc. 

[wh]

Let's separate your points about if and how Valpo can differentiate its theology/religiously-oriented programs from your attack on a professor at Valpo.

You made the point that he writes favorable reviews on articles about Sharia law teaching. I read the article that you attached and it is a literature review of other scholars' discussions of the degree that systems (mainly legal systems) in various muslim countries have adapted across a variety of contexts. The article organizes and summarizes the other authors' points and the Valpo professor offers none of his own viewpoints on Sharia law (which is appropriate for any literature review). He merely critiques whether the other scholars have covered the points that they intended to cover.

Otherwise, the other three links essentially say that he is a tenure-track professor, got his PhD at Indiana, and is generally liked by the few students who wrote reviews in Ratemyprofessor (which, for the most part, is a lousy tool to assess professors' teaching). He teaches introduction to Christian Theology and teaches courses in Islam. I have no idea (nor do you) how he teaches a course in Christian Theology, but I would speculate that the department chair (if he or she is an effective department chair) reviews the syllabus to ensure that the course objectives are being met. Academic freedom does not allow a professor to set his or her own objectives for a course (they can propose new courses with new objectives, but it is highly doubtful that an Assistant Professor is creating new courses - no time, given other requirements for tenure). And if he or she did create a new course (or significantly modified the objectives of an existing course), it would need to be approved at the department, college and university level.

On the other point, what do you propose Valpo should do to strengthen its theology and religiously-oriented programs? Many here (myself included) and many at Valpo would seem to welcome such suggestions. However, my guess is that most would reject any ideas that move Valpo in a more homogeneous direction. Perhaps that means that differentiation is not possible - just parity versus other religiously affiliated universities....but I do think that religiously-oriented service programs can be very valuable regardless of the degree they differentiate. Same thing with study-abroad programs, such as one in which students understand the roots of Christianity (or other faiths) by studying in places like Jerusalem, Germany, Rome, etc.

I'm not suggesting that Valpo should "strengthen its theology and religiously-oriented programs." That ship has sailed, and it's not going to return.  What was for generations Valpo's key differentiator, its religiosity, took a back seat to a new, wholly secular initiative - increasing enrollment by up to one-third through an influx of foreign students from Asia and the Middle East. Over night Valpo's religiosity became a burden instead of an asset out of fear of offending foreign Muslims, Hindus, Atheists, collectivists, the CCP, etc. Add in a Confucius Institute paid for by the CCP, an Islamic center, foreign student associations, etc., and Valparaiso University was officially serving 2 masters - something that you know, as well as I do, NEVER succeeds. So, here we are. Lutheran (and other Protestant) families no longer consider Valpo as a university of choice for their children and what was once a foreign student goldrush is a ghost town.   

As Valpo sits today, it has no tried-and-true competitive advantage to build from. It is a rudderless ship with a plan - in the most turbulent of times for higher education in modern history. The challenge President Padilla has is enormous - ENORMOUS.   

[David81]

valpo22, thank you for that telling summary of the faculty losses due to the budget and COVID. That represents the loss of many racially diverse faculty. It is also noteworthy that many have ended up at higher-ranked schools and appear to be doing quite well in their new venues. One of those faculty members posted eloquently in the General Discussion section of this board, explaining the experience of simultaneously juggling classes at VU, raising a family with a spouse who had also relocated to Valparaiso, vying for decent housing on a paltry VU salary, and looking for another tenure-track position.

In response to the overall discussion of faculty diversity at VU, I suggest that Indiana's turn from being a more mainstream conservative state into one that is perceived by some as being at the far right is, and increasingly will be, a disincentive for many potential minority candidates, as well as many women candidates. There are increasing signs of such trending in Florida -- especially within the state university system (including the flagship U. of Florida at Gainesville) -- where concerns about academic freedom, personal bodily autonomy, and LGBTQ inclusion are at play. I raise these points only to illustrate that whenever political extremes (left or right) start to overwhelm the civic culture, there are consequences, including people voting with their feet.

[wh]

valpo22, thank you for that telling summary of the faculty losses due to the budget and COVID. That represents the loss of many racially diverse faculty. It is also noteworthy that many have ended up at higher-ranked schools and appear to be doing quite well in their new venues. One of those faculty members posted eloquently in the General Discussion section of this board, explaining the experience of simultaneously juggling classes at VU, raising a family with a spouse who had also relocated to Valparaiso, vying for decent housing on a paltry VU salary, and looking for another tenure-track position.

In response to the overall discussion of faculty diversity at VU, I suggest that Indiana's turn from being a more mainstream conservative state into one that is perceived by some as being at the far right is, and increasingly will be, a disincentive for many potential minority candidates, as well as many women candidates. There are increasing signs of such trending in Florida -- especially within the state university system (including the flagship U. of Florida at Gainesville) -- where concerns about academic freedom, personal bodily autonomy, and LGBTQ inclusion are at play. I raise these points only to illustrate that whenever political extremes (left or right) start to overwhelm the civic culture, there are consequences, including people voting with their feet.

"Personal bodily autonomy?" Is that the new catch-phrase now for abortion-on demand? Speaking of which, would you consider abortion-on-demand an "extremist" view, or just an "extremist" result?

Contemplate this my "moderate" friend in reference to leftists' use of catch-phrases:

The Definition of "Slogan."

A slogan is an attractive or catchy phrase that represents a prepackaged idea or set of ideas. Its purpose is to allow a person to summarize or 'buy into' a particular position without critically examining it or thinking about it.

People unthinkingly accept slogans for two reasons: (1) because they do not want to think about the issue they are supporting, or (2) because they do not want to be seen as backwards or reactionary by questioning the slogans, even if they do not fully understand them. People also use slogans for two reasons: (1) to conceal their ignorance of the topic being discussed, or (2) to divert attention away from the topic being discussed because they know that their moral or ethical position is weak.

It therefore logically follows that the density of slogans used by a person or movement is inversely proportional to their knowledge of the topic and the strength of the moral position that they support.

[vu72]

would you consider abortion-on-demand an "extremist" view, or just an "extremist" result?

Yes, as would having a bunch of white haired men decide the best medical course of action for women.

[vu84v2]

On the other point, what do you propose Valpo should do to strengthen its theology and religiously-oriented programs? Many here (myself included) and many at Valpo would seem to welcome such suggestions. However, my guess is that most would reject any ideas that move Valpo in a more homogeneous direction. Perhaps that means that differentiation is not possible - just parity versus other religiously affiliated universities....but I do think that religiously-oriented service programs can be very valuable regardless of the degree they differentiate. Same thing with study-abroad programs, such as one in which students understand the roots of Christianity (or other faiths) by studying in places like Jerusalem, Germany, Rome, etc.

I'm not suggesting that Valpo should "strengthen its theology and religiously-oriented programs." That ship has sailed, and it's not going to return.  What was for generations Valpo's key differentiator, its religiosity, took a back seat to a new, wholly secular initiative - increasing enrollment by up to one-third through an influx of foreign students from Asia and the Middle East. Over night Valpo's religiosity became a burden instead of an asset out of fear of offending foreign Muslims, Hindus, Atheists, collectivists, the CCP, etc. Add in a Confucius Institute paid for by the CCP, an Islamic center, foreign student associations, etc., and Valparaiso University was officially serving 2 masters - something that you know, as well as I do, NEVER succeeds. So, here we are. Lutheran (and other Protestant) families no longer consider Valpo as a university of choice for their children and what was once a foreign student goldrush is a ghost town.   

As Valpo sits today, it has no tried-and-true competitive advantage to build from. It is a rudderless ship with a plan - in the most turbulent of times for higher education in modern history. The challenge President Padilla has is enormous - ENORMOUS.   

While I agree that developing competitive advantages for any university - especially private universities - is an enormous challenge today, we live in a heterogeneous world. Put aside a program funded by another government (which is not a good idea). After that, I see no problem with Valpo (or any other university) having an Islamic Center, foreign student organizations, etc.  Indeed, this is healthy because (I hope) it promotes understanding different perspectives. When students leave college, they will work and live amongst people from different faiths, different nations, different lifestyles, different ideological beliefs, etc. I do not see promoting heterogeneity as being a weakness for a religiously affiliated university. Indeed, look at most Jesuit universities - the one that I work at has: pro-choice and pro-life organizations, robust Democratic and Republican student organizations, LGBTQ organizations, non-christian-based faith organizations, etc. It gets messy sometimes and there are incidents of conflict, but that is the real world and, overall, it is healthy and students get exposed to different perspectives and learn to respect and make their own choices (isn't a university's mission to teach students how to think - not what to think?). Further, the existence of a wide range of perspectives does not reduce the faith orientation (though students, of course, are free to engage in the religious side as much or as little as they want). 60% of our students identify as Catholic and many come from Catholic high schools. Yet, what binds people together is caring for the whole person and it is striking how many of my students identify with that and see it as a real difference.

[David81]

valpo22, thank you for that telling summary of the faculty losses due to the budget and COVID. That represents the loss of many racially diverse faculty. It is also noteworthy that many have ended up at higher-ranked schools and appear to be doing quite well in their new venues. One of those faculty members posted eloquently in the General Discussion section of this board, explaining the experience of simultaneously juggling classes at VU, raising a family with a spouse who had also relocated to Valparaiso, vying for decent housing on a paltry VU salary, and looking for another tenure-track position.

In response to the overall discussion of faculty diversity at VU, I suggest that Indiana's turn from being a more mainstream conservative state into one that is perceived by some as being at the far right is, and increasingly will be, a disincentive for many potential minority candidates, as well as many women candidates. There are increasing signs of such trending in Florida -- especially within the state university system (including the flagship U. of Florida at Gainesville) -- where concerns about academic freedom, personal bodily autonomy, and LGBTQ inclusion are at play. I raise these points only to illustrate that whenever political extremes (left or right) start to overwhelm the civic culture, there are consequences, including people voting with their feet.

"Personal bodily autonomy?" Is that the new catch-phrase now for abortion-on demand? Speaking of which, would you consider abortion-on-demand an "extremist" view, or just an "extremist" result?

Contemplate this my "moderate" friend in reference to leftists' use of catch-phrases:

The Definition of "Slogan."

A slogan is an attractive or catchy phrase that represents a prepackaged idea or set of ideas. Its purpose is to allow a person to summarize or 'buy into' a particular position without critically examining it or thinking about it.

People unthinkingly accept slogans for two reasons: (1) because they do not want to think about the issue they are supporting, or (2) because they do not want to be seen as backwards or reactionary by questioning the slogans, even if they do not fully understand them. People also use slogans for two reasons: (1) to conceal their ignorance of the topic being discussed, or (2) to divert attention away from the topic being discussed because they know that their moral or ethical position is weak.

It therefore logically follows that the density of slogans used by a person or movement is inversely proportional to their knowledge of the topic and the strength of the moral position that they support.

Sigh. There you go again, wh, defining terms for others in hostile, knee-jerk fashion and then insulting them based on the definition you applied. It must be hard to always be thinking that way. But if you want an explanation that I'm under no obligation to provide, the reason I happen to be pro-choice is because I believe that I have no business dictating these limitations for and to women. I further object to a bunch of men, in this context mostly older white men, legislating these decisions as well. And more to the point, the pro-choice women I know are not pounding their fists on the table demanding "abortion on demand." (Talk about use of slogans, sheesh.) But some, including younger academics, may regard living in Indiana as a possible threat to their personal autonomy and safety and opt not to move there for that reason.

[David81]

On the other point, what do you propose Valpo should do to strengthen its theology and religiously-oriented programs? Many here (myself included) and many at Valpo would seem to welcome such suggestions. However, my guess is that most would reject any ideas that move Valpo in a more homogeneous direction. Perhaps that means that differentiation is not possible - just parity versus other religiously affiliated universities....but I do think that religiously-oriented service programs can be very valuable regardless of the degree they differentiate. Same thing with study-abroad programs, such as one in which students understand the roots of Christianity (or other faiths) by studying in places like Jerusalem, Germany, Rome, etc.

I'm not suggesting that Valpo should "strengthen its theology and religiously-oriented programs." That ship has sailed, and it's not going to return.  What was for generations Valpo's key differentiator, its religiosity, took a back seat to a new, wholly secular initiative - increasing enrollment by up to one-third through an influx of foreign students from Asia and the Middle East. Over night Valpo's religiosity became a burden instead of an asset out of fear of offending foreign Muslims, Hindus, Atheists, collectivists, the CCP, etc. Add in a Confucius Institute paid for by the CCP, an Islamic center, foreign student associations, etc., and Valparaiso University was officially serving 2 masters - something that you know, as well as I do, NEVER succeeds. So, here we are. Lutheran (and other Protestant) families no longer consider Valpo as a university of choice for their children and what was once a foreign student goldrush is a ghost town.   

As Valpo sits today, it has no tried-and-true competitive advantage to build from. It is a rudderless ship with a plan - in the most turbulent of times for higher education in modern history. The challenge President Padilla has is enormous - ENORMOUS.   

While I agree that developing competitive advantages for any university - especially private universities - is an enormous challenge today, we live in a heterogeneous world. Put aside a program funded by another government (which is not a good idea). After that, I see no problem with Valpo (or any other university) having an Islamic Center, foreign student organizations, etc.  Indeed, this is healthy because (I hope) it promotes understanding different perspectives. When students leave college, they will work and live amongst people from different faiths, different nations, different lifestyles, different ideological beliefs, etc. I do not see promoting heterogeneity as being a weakness for a religiously affiliated university. Indeed, look at most Jesuit universities - the one that I work at has: pro-choice and pro-life organizations, robust Democratic and Republican student organizations, LGBTQ organizations, non-christian-based faith organizations, etc. It gets messy sometimes and there are incidents of conflict, but that is the real world and, overall, it is healthy and students get exposed to different perspectives and learn to respect and make their own choices (isn't a university's mission to teach students how to think - not what to think?). Further, the existence of a wide range of perspectives does not reduce the faith orientation (though students, of course, are free to engage in the religious side as much or as little as they want). 60% of our students identify as Catholic and many come from Catholic high schools. Yet, what binds people together is caring for the whole person and it is striking how many of my students identify with that and see it as a real difference.

That's a great description of how a religiously-affiliated university can remain true to its own faith tradition and create welcoming room for others. It doesn't have to be one or the other. Getting the blend and balance right is tricky at times, but in that healthy tension is a more interesting and vibrant learning environment.

I think VU has definitely moved in that direction since my days there, and that change is among the reasons why I support it as an alumnus. As a non-Lutheran, I nevertheless would also be happy if VU could attract a larger cohort of Lutheran-affiliated students. Again, building on a Lutheran tradition and attracting a diverse student body are not zero-sum, competing goals -- especially at a university that would benefit from larger entering classes of qualified students, period.

Universities that engage in big, painful rounds of program closures and layoffs can easily develop a mentality of internal competition for limited attention and resources, especially when the higher education world generally seems to be in crisis mode. I fear that VU is at that point right now. Even our discussions and debates on this board about how to deploy those resources often reflect that way of thinking.

During this time of shakeout in higher ed, some universities like VU may not make it. Most will manage to survive, though many in a diminished way. After all, universities tend to be pretty resilient institutions. And a few will genuinely thrive. For VU, I think the question is surviving (very likely) vs. thriving (possible, but the road there isn't yet clear to me).

[valpopal]

I am not going to enter the abortion debate on either side in this discussion. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, of course, and as a whole the nation is split on this subject. However, I do object to two contributors stating the false premise that they do not want decisions about women's bodies determined by old white men. If the allusion is to the Supreme Court, recall that Roe v. Wade was made law by seven older men on the court, and only one was non-white. The recent Supreme Court case sending the decision-making back to the states had a majority that included a few arguably middle-age men, a black man, and a woman. Nevertheless, since the decision-making is now determined by state legislatures whose members reflect the constituencies who elected them, and the last I looked the majority of voters are female, then the decisions on this, like other topics, could be considered in the hands of those women who chose the legislators at the ballot box.