Valpo Strategic Plan

[vu84v2]

I won't repeat my arguments why the Jesuit-style approach is best.

I must have missed the reasoning that Jesuit-style approach to education is best. I apologize. I do not have any objection to Jesuit schools, since I am a product of a Jesuit educational institution. However, even when I was a student, Jesuits were viewed by fellow Catholics as the most liberal and activist order, often in defiance of traditional Catholic teachings. Pope Francis is the first Jesuit to hold that position, and he has displayed a fondness for activist left politics that reflects Jesuit philosophy and has alienated many Catholics.

There is a lot of truth in this, though I am unsure to what degree the entire population of Catholics have been alienated (i.e. "many" may be too strong and or vague). Nonetheless, most of the Jesuit universities overall are doing quite well (Marquette, Boston College, Loyola, Creighton, etc.) in a challenging time for universities and they welcome and respect people who have more traditional Catholic beliefs. Admittedly, they would turn off Catholics who only want others around them who believe as they do - but over 60% of Marquette students, for instance, identify as Catholic. A big difference between the Jesuit universities and Valpo, however, is that the Jesuit universities really engage with and recruit students from Catholic high schools.

[wh]

84v2 -
• There are 70 million Catholics in the U.S., 20% of the total population.
• Latin America is home to more than 425 million Catholics – nearly 40% of the world's total Catholic population.
• Total Catholic elementary/middle and high school enrollment for the 2016-2017 academic year is 1,878,824. Elementary/middle schools: 5,224 schools educating 1,309,429 students. High schools: 1,205 schools educating 569,395 students. 6,429 total Catholic (elementary/middle and high) schools in the United States.
• Jesuit society is engaged in evangelization and apostolic ministry in 112 nations. Jesuits work in education, research, and cultural pursuits. Jesuits also conduct retreats, minister in hospitals and parishes, sponsor direct social and humanitarian ministries, and promote ecumenical dialogue.
• Marquette University, et al., is not "affiliated" with the Roman Catholic Church, it's "owned" by the Church. It's no less important to the mission of Catholicism than its churches are. It is under the authority of the Vatican.

If Lutheran-affiliated Valpo had anything close to this level of sponsorship, support, and protection, and an endless educational feeder system of K-12 schools, we wouldn't be having this discussion. To suggest that independent Valpo should follow the Jesuit model is like saying the local independent hardware store should follow the Walmart model.

[David81]

Being a faith-based school and being a sharply ideological school are not necessarily one in the same, unless the faith is defined very narrowly in terms of acceptable personal behavior & beliefs, and only those who subscribe to it are welcomed to become part of the campus community. I'd classify Liberty University in that latter category, based on many of vu84v2's points. That's not a judgment, but rather an observation that most would agree with.

As for Grand Canyon University, I find that school puzzling and interesting. Its status (for-profit vs. non-profit) appears to be something of muddle even to those versed in the law of non-profit organizations (go to https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/nonprofit/2023/03/grand-canyon-university-overthinking-complexity-in-for-profit-nonprofit-conversions.html and https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/nonprofit/2023/03/grand-canyon-universitys-long-road-home-non-profit-to-for-profit-and-back-again-or-not-ii.html for a two-part legal analysis). In any event, it has grown tremendously, while not projecting the same level of religious messaging as Liberty U.

Both schools have tapped into the demand for online graduate degrees in order to fund their operations. Their online enrollments are humongous. On a qualitative, not ideological, level, I will assert that schools that have gone in this direction (and that includes some big state universities as well, such as Purdue Global) have basically created two universities within one: (1) a traditional, on-campus operation; (2) a huge, sort of mass-produced online operation, taught mainly by part-time faculty, that helps to fund the on-campus operation.

Unless folks really think that Valpo should try to become the next Liberty or Grand Canyon, I don't see why those schools should be comparators in terms of what VU is or can/should become.

Personally, I favor a more pluralistic campus community that embraces its Lutheran heritage but welcomes the presence of others and offers an education valuing both the arts & sciences and professional training. Maybe that doesn't appeal to prospective applicants who lean very strongly in a certain faith-based or social/political direction, or who want only a liberal arts or vocational education. But for the many others who seek a more balanced undergraduate experience, VU is a possibility. Add the University's traditional emphasis on smaller classes taught by full-time faculty and a culture that believes in the importance of developing personal values, and you've got the basis of the school's appeal.

I think that we also have to understand that despite the noise coming from the social/political/religious extremes in the current edition of this country, most prospective students are not looking for a college experience that tracks those extremes. And if we feel that a residential, undergraduate college experience should include some constructive exposure to different points of view, then schools like VU can offer that in a quality way.

[vu84v2]

valpo22 - as someone who is a professor at a Jesuit university, this is very well stated. Having dealt with people at all levels of the university, I have never seen dogma drive any strategies, decision-making, policies, etc. As you stated, its structure and governance is not very different than Valpo, other than oversight from the Society of Jesus...who really acts in more of an accreditation and support role.

wh - you make good points in your comments and you are correct that Valpo will never have the embedded connections that a Jesuit university has. But there are steps that can be taken. Get people from Valpo engaged with Lutheran high schools and even middle schools. You don't get there by having a Valpo representative just turn up one day and say, "hey, we're Valpo - want to talk with us?" Instead, Valpo needs to establish long term relationships with the students, teachers and administration. I have seen a few inklings that Pres. Padilla is taking steps in this direction, but far more is needed.

[rogerwilco]

What if Purdue bought Valpo and closed and consolidated their Westville and Hammond campuses? That'd be weird, huh?

[historyman]

Underestimate Liberty at your own peril. 95,000 total students - undergrad and graduate, 50% acceptance rate, 21% minority enrollment, medical school, law school, commercial aviation school, private air strip & planes, shooting range/lessons on "2nd Amendment Av," concealed carry, fully stocked private lake, mountainside bike trails, ice hockey arena, football stadium, ranked among best college dorms in America, simulated ski slopes and toboggan runs, etc., etc.

I know a medical student that grew up in Valparaiso who attended Liberty's medical school. He said there are good doctors there who are dedicated to teaching medicine but as for the university he couldn't get away from it fast enough because they don't teach reality. They make up things much like the conservative media. This is just me reporting the facts that this student, now doing his internship in the real world, reported to me.


And then there is the Jerry Falwell Jr. and wife scandal at Liberty


Arguments presented in Jerry Falwell Jr.'s suit for retirement benefits against LU (newsadvance.com)


A new documentary follows an affair that felled evangelist Jerry Falwell Jr.'s career : NPR


Former pool attendant details alleged relationship with Becki and Jerry Falwell Jr. l GMA - YouTube


The Untold Story of the Jerry Falwell Jr. Sex Scandal - YouTube

[usc4valpo]

Academically, Liberty is nothing spectacular.

Valpo is not a radically liberal school as a national scale. But the dog mascots are still embarrassing.

[wh]

If this were a discussion regarding sex scandals in the Church, I'd start with Catholicism - but it isn't. The discussion centers on finding a workable strategy for stemming the tide of declining enrollment at Valparaiso University and moving forward in a positive direction.

Relative to this discussion, statistics show that Liberty and GCU have leveraged a faith-centered approach to achieve incredible levels of success, in a severely declining market, no less. From a business perspective that's truly a remarkable achievement. In contrast, Valpo's faith-centric business approach is failing. This is a problem in need of a solution.

Ridiculing these other faith-based universities, their belief systems, GCU's profit model, or whatever else, is pointless. The fact remains that GCU's and Liberty's residential student populations are growing by leaps and bounds; Valpo's is in decline. As I mentioned above, the fact that they are accomplishing it in a market in severe decline is remarkable. Between the two, they have over 200,000 students enrolled in their on-line programs; Valpo has no online program. A lot of talk about it during the Heckler regime, but nothing to show for it.

An important process step in business strategy development is assessing the competitive landscape, including benchmarking. Who are your best competitors? What do they excel at? Can we "steal" some of their ideas and adapt them for our use? Do they have weaknesses we can exploit? Etc. That's my exclusive purpose in looking at GCU and Liberty. I have no personal feelings for them one way or the other, other than general admiration for finding a secret sauce for success. I know how difficult it is to become a market leader, so I certainly give them their just due for that.

[David81]

I wonder if Valpo's struggle is less the ideological 'bowler's split' and more a size-and-feel type of bowler's split.

Perhaps in higher ed going forward there are going to be a) the really big and increasingly enormous state schools and mega-privates like Liberty/GCU that operate on having enormous programs, tons of students, a lot of de-personalized online content, lots of adjunct teaching, but generally cheap and with lively campuses in the party or music concert type of scenes, & b) the small universities that focus on personalized attention and quality of conversation, real felt community, long-term faculty presence and curricular development, cheering on friends you actually know in the sports teams, dinners at prof's houses, small class sizes, high retention rate in terms of your friends sticking around the full four years, etc.

It seems to me the real problem of the Heckler years is that he and his Board sort of wanted it both ways, though its not clear you can do both scales simultaneously. So even though Valpo just wasn't ever that big or well-resourced and simply doesn't have the enrollment or mega-campus vibe of a big university, Heckler and Board kept trying to push for everything bigger and thinner. And so that sort of damaged the odds of the other approach. Although the small personalized education and community feel used to be Valpo's hallmark and reputation/draw in the local NWI area, Heckler & Board undermined that experience and reputation during the 2010s and early 2020s by trying to raise class sizes, raise course loads, lay people off, cut pay and resources, and just generally spread everybody thinner to do 'more with less'...  though it has often just felt to staff, parents and students like 'less with less', etc. Maybe I'm being too critical. And yet I think some of the recent alumni comments on here have spoken to the dissatisfaction on the student experience side, with people wondering why not just go to a cheaper state school with more dining halls and a tailgating scene if the staff are all teaching 5 courses or distracted driving Doordash anyways. If Valpo is going to advertise itself on personalized education, that has to be an actual priority in terms of resource allocation.

P0int is, scale is key. I think the useful comparative aspirational peers are going to be universities with enrollments under 4,000 or 6,000... not the dozens or hundreds of thousands. Somebody earlier posted about Merrimack College's recent rise in enrollment gains and academic reputation, and most of us seemed to agree that was an intriguing and useful case study not just because of the religious nature of the university but also because of the size and comprehensive uni model.

I was among those who dug into Merrimack (hey, it's practically around the corner from me, relatively speaking) and found a school that was succeeding on a scale compatible with VU's overall profile. I was a little embarrassed that I had not taken earlier notice of Merrimack, as my own university (Suffolk U. in downtown Boston) could learn a few lessons from them. These small-to-medium sized, residential, comprehensive private universities can succeed because they offer desirable things that others cannot.

I may be yearning to preserve a model for an undergraduate education that is going by the wayside -- the one described by Valpo22 that I bolded above -- but it captures part of the post-WWII ideal for delivering an idealized example of the four-year, residential college experience and an educational engine for creating and sustaining a strong middle class. For some of us, it has provided a base of lifelong friendships as well, which is something I appreciate more and more with each passing year.

In other words, I think this type of college opportunity is worth fighting to preserve, even if it cuts against the current grain.

[valpo95]

There is a nice piece in today's WSJ about a Notre Dame professor suing the school newspaper for defamation.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-notre-dame-professor-sues-the-student-paper-abortion-academic-freedom-catholic-3334c4f0?mod=opinion_lead_pos6

The bigger part is how the writer addresses the conflict between religious freedom and academic freedom, and I thought some of it was worth sharing because it hits on many of the issues facing VU:

When the religious institution is one committed to education, there's the added complication of academic freedom. It would seem obvious that the person who teaches at a religiously affiliated school necessarily accepts qualifications to that freedom. To deny this would be to raise serious questions about what the school's religious affiliation means. No doubt this would be uncomfortable for some—but we live in a free country and nobody is required to teach at religious universities.

How can these institutions maintain both their clear religious convictions and their academic integrity while also remaining places that educate rather than indoctrinate? That question will always be difficult to answer as long as the focus is on the freedom of the professoriate.

A large part of the solution lies not with those who teach but with those who are taught. It's reasonable for professors at religiously affiliated schools to be required to teach in a manner that doesn't contradict the institution's values. There's no parallel demand for students. When they have the right to challenge their professors, the classroom welcomes fruitful intellectual dialogue—not groupthink.

This applies across ideological lines. A religiously affiliated school with open enrollment must protect the right of all students to question their professors' views. That doesn't mean it must formally recognize groups that are opposed to the school's religious commitments or allow defamatory or slanderous attacks on a professor's character. It does, however, mean that no student should live in fear of being disciplined—let alone being sued—for voicing divergent views or for subjecting a professor's beliefs to public scrutiny. This is basic to the kind of dialogue that is necessary in the classroom and on campus for the promotion of true intellectual engagement rather than rote learning.

[David81]

Academically, Liberty is nothing spectacular.

Valpo is not a radically liberal school as a national scale. But the dog mascots are still embarrassing.

I say with genuinely friendly humor, usc4valpo consistently stays on message about the mascots! If I'm Beacon or Blaze, I ask for a security detail if I know he'll be in the ARC. 

[FWalum]

Let me fix this for you -

I know a medical student that grew up in Valparaiso who attended Liberty's medical school. He said there are good doctors there who are dedicated to teaching medicine but as for the university he couldn't get away from it fast enough because they don't teach reality. They make up things much like all the biased liberal and conservative media. This is just me reporting the facts that this student, now doing his internship in the real world, reported to me.

[historyman]

Let me fix this for you -

I know a medical student that grew up in Valparaiso who attended Liberty's medical school. He said there are good doctors there who are dedicated to teaching medicine but as for the university he couldn't get away from it fast enough because they don't teach reality. They make up things much like all the biased liberal and conservative media. This is just me reporting the facts that this student, now doing his internship in the real world, reported to me.

Call it what you want Liberty University had moral codes for their students based on biblical teachings while their president was breaking all those moral codes and Michael Cohen, who worked for Donald Trump at the time helped that Liberty president evade a nude photo scandal. That is not something most Valpo people want to emulate no matter how popular Liberty University becomes. It doesn't matter if you feel that media is untruthful. The truth is that Liberty has had an awful scandal and it was reported accurately by the liberal media and in some way ignored by a lot of conservative media.

[David81]

Let me fix this for you -

I know a medical student that grew up in Valparaiso who attended Liberty's medical school. He said there are good doctors there who are dedicated to teaching medicine but as for the university he couldn't get away from it fast enough because they don't teach reality. They make up things much like all the biased liberal and conservative media. This is just me reporting the facts that this student, now doing his internship in the real world, reported to me.

Call it what you want Liberty University had moral codes for their students based on biblical teachings while their president was breaking all those moral codes and Michael Cohen, who worked for Donald Trump at the time helped that Liberty president evade a nude photo scandal. That is not something most Valpo people want to emulate no matter how popular Liberty University becomes. It doesn't matter if you feel that media is untruthful. The truth is that Liberty has had an awful scandal and it was reported accurately by the liberal media and in some way ignored by a lot of conservative media.

I think there's some truth in the assertion that liberal-leaning media is more likely to fulsomely report the legal/ethical excesses of conservatives and that conservative-leaning media will do the same reporting on liberals, while sharing a tendency to be softer on their own. Furthermore, extremism in any form tends to foster scandalous and unethical behavior and its cover up. It's not just the social and political extremes. It also can include overzealous devotion to a successful sports program, whereby wrongful behavior is committed or overlooked in the pursuit of athletic glory.

In any event, unless there are some very lumpy rugs around that people have ignored, Valparaiso has managed to avoid horrible scandals at the higher leadership levels. Generally speaking, its leaders and head coaches have been people of good character.

Interesting sidebar: The only exceptions I know of are back in 1920s, during VU's pre-Lutheran days. In 1920, the school hired one Daniel Hodgdon as its new President. He came in with lofty paper credentials (6 degrees!) and even bigger plans to turn VU into a large, national university. But some enterprising VU students did a little digging and found out that his educational history was largely a hodgepodge of diploma mill graduate degrees and a non-existent Ph.D. from Columbia University. Hodgdon's administration dismissed the student investigators, dissolved the Student Senate, and tried to fire faculty who expressed concerns. Eventually the VU trustees voted to dismiss him.

This would be followed by the potential KKK purchase of the University, which put VU in a not-so-great national light even though the deal thankfully fell through. (Those of you bemoaning the art sale controversy going public, I think this one wins. 🤣 😜)

The eventually positive result is that the University was in such dire straits that it attracted attention from more legitimate entities as well, one of them being the Lutherans.

Dr. Richard Baepler's excellent history of VU through the beginning of this century, Flame of Faith, Lamp of Learning (2001), tells the story.

[wh]

Let me fix this for you -

I know a medical student that grew up in Valparaiso who attended Liberty's medical school. He said there are good doctors there who are dedicated to teaching medicine but as for the university he couldn't get away from it fast enough because they don't teach reality. They make up things much like all the biased liberal and conservative media. This is just me reporting the facts that this student, now doing his internship in the real world, reported to me.

Call it what you want Liberty University had moral codes for their students based on biblical teachings while their president was breaking all those moral codes and Michael Cohen, who worked for Donald Trump at the time helped that Liberty president evade a nude photo scandal. That is not something most Valpo people want to emulate no matter how popular Liberty University becomes. It doesn't matter if you feel that media is untruthful. The truth is that Liberty has had an awful scandal and it was reported accurately by the liberal media and in some way ignored by a lot of conservative media.

Let me fix this for you -

I know a medical student that grew up in Valparaiso who attended Liberty's medical school. He said there are good doctors there who are dedicated to teaching medicine but as for the university he couldn't get away from it fast enough because they don't teach reality. They make up things much like all the biased liberal and conservative media. This is just me reporting the facts that this student, now doing his internship in the real world, reported to me.

Call it what you want Liberty University had moral codes for their students based on biblical teachings while their president was breaking all those moral codes and Michael Cohen, who worked for Donald Trump at the time helped that Liberty president evade a nude photo scandal. That is not something most Valpo people want to emulate no matter how popular Liberty University becomes. It doesn't matter if you feel that media is untruthful. The truth is that Liberty has had an awful scandal and it was reported accurately by the liberal media and in some way ignored by a lot of conservative media.

ENROLLMENT SURGES: MORE THAN 15,500 RESIDENTIAL AND 115,000 ONLINE
December 5, 2022
Andi Shae Napier

"This fall, both Liberty University's campus and online program have experienced a surge in students with approximately 15,500 residential and more than 115,000 online students enrolling. Additionally, roughly 18,000 are enrolled in LU Online Academy (LUOA)."

https://www.liberty.edu/champion/2022/12/enrollment-surges-more-than-15500-residential-and-115000-online/

As the article reveals Liberty has thrived since their President was fired in 2020. The mission of a 140,000 student mega university is not deterred by the personal indiscretions of one leader. I'm sure they  followed a basic formula - agree to a severance package, sever ties, do damage control as necessary, and double down on marketing. Obviously, they didn't miss a beat.

[vu72]

Apparently size matters to wh!  In that case, I presume he will really love the University of Phoenix!

University of Phoenix Online is a for-profit, online university. It is a large institution with an enrollment of 170,144 undergraduate students. The University of Phoenix Online acceptance rate is 100%.

[historyman]

I'm sure they  followed a basic formula - agree to a severance package,

https://newsadvance.com/news/local/liberty-university/arguments-presented-in-jerry-falwell-jr-s-suit-for-retirement-benefits-against-lu/article_24a5f2c8-25a6-11ee-84a3-cf7f710421a3.html

Rodney Robinson

After months of back-and-forth filings, Jerry Falwell Jr. and his attorneys were present in federal court Tuesday morning to give their arguments as the former Liberty University president seeks about $8.6 million in retirement benefits.

On March 8, Falwell and counsel filed a federal lawsuit claiming the school he steered as president from May 2007 to August 2020 has "wrongfully denied and withheld benefits" set forth in his retirement plan, bringing the action against the university and the executive committee of the board of trustees at LU as the plan administrators for the Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan (SERP).

[wh]

I'm not sure what the Liberty bashing is all about. I can only assume it's some jealousy issue related to another denomination better resonating, or whatever. Please don't bother to explain it to me; it's irrelevant.

As I have said repeatedly, my interest is in Valparaiso University surviving. Period. Unlike Liberty and Grand Canyon, no one is embracing Valpo's watered down religious connection that sends a stronger message about what it doesn't stand for (or against) than what it does. It's totally illogical.

The first step to solving a problem is admitting you have one. IMO, Valpo continuing to symbolically attach itself to today's version of Lutheranism, a mainline Protestant faith in steep decline, is a fatal mistake. Valpo is an esteemed university in its own right, but it's not strong enough to continue carrying what has become an albatross around its neck. Cast it aside and survive. Hang on to it and become a distant memory in 10 years.

[vu72]

Cast it aside and survive. Hang on to it and become a distant memory in 10 years.

Great idea!  Should we become Baptist? Or just go the way of Princeton where the cross was removed from the chapel?

[David81]

I'm not sure what the Liberty bashing is all about. I can only assume it's some jealousy issue related to another denomination better resonating, or whatever. Please don't bother to explain it to me; it's irrelevant.

As I have said repeatedly, my interest is in Valparaiso University surviving. Period. Unlike Liberty and Grand Canyon, no one is embracing Valpo's watered down religious connection that sends a stronger message about what it doesn't stand for (or against) than what it does. It's totally illogical.

The first step to solving a problem is admitting you have one. IMO, Valpo continuing to symbolically attach itself to today's version of Lutheranism, a mainline Protestant faith in steep decline, is a fatal mistake. Valpo is an esteemed university in its own right, but it's not strong enough to continue carrying what has become an albatross around its neck. Cast it aside and survive. Hang on to it and become a distant memory in 10 years.

So are you suggesting some type of formal disaffiliation? If so, don't you think casting aside the school's Lutheran heritage might alienate some of VU's biggest and most loyal alumni supporters?

I'm not Lutheran, so I don't have a personal faith-based dog in this fight, but I respect how the Lutherans rescued VU and grew it into a very good and reputable university. VU's culture is grounded in that tradition. You say you want VU to survive, but if it survives in a very different form, then it's essentially a different university, inheriting the suddenly disconnected remnants of its past and a largely alienated alumni base.

Lutheranism, like most religious faiths in the U.S. right now, has been in decline. But I hardly see that as an albatross around VU's neck. Indeed, if anything, VU has to tap back more assertively into the Lutheran community to draw more students who identify as Lutheran, and many here have noted how those recruiting efforts have declined over the years.

For VU to reclaim some lost ground and regain financial stability, it need not recruit thousands more into each entering class. We're probably talking about adding low-to-mid hundreds. That strikes me as being eminently doable and sustainable.

[wh]

Bradley University Board of Trustees
https://www.bradley.edu/offices/president/trustees/

Take a good look. Imagine Valpo with a Board full of local and regional powerbrokers like this. Totally invested in THEIR private university. The same people who serve on other high profile local boards. Connected and networked to the n'th degree with every mover and shaker in the region. People accustomed to raising money. Annual galas, golf outings, naming rights. Braced and locked in to drive campaigns, promote student growth, celebrate success, rotate in new blood, fresh ideas, and constant energy.

This and more could be Valparaiso University, once it sheds its self-imposed barriers that keep it isolated from the community in which it resides.

[vu72]

Bradley University Board of Trustees
https://www.bradley.edu/offices/president/trustees/

Take a good look. Imagine Valpo with a Board full of local and regional powerbrokers like this. Totally invested in THEIR private university. The same people who serve on other high profile local boards. Connected and networked to the n'th degree with every mover and shaker in the region. People accustomed to raising money. Annual galas, golf outings, naming rights. Braced and locked in to drive campaigns, promote student growth, celebrate success, rotate in new blood, fresh ideas, and constant energy.

This and more could be Valparaiso University, once it sheds its self-imposed barriers that keep it isolated from the community in which it resides.

wh, you are a valued member of this group and I always admire the passion with which you write.  However, having written that, I think a deeper look into the Bradley experience might be in order.  True, Bradley apparently has gathered leaders, many of which have local connections.  Valpo's approach is to find successful leaders who may not be "local" though most live within a four or five hour drive of campus.  I don't know if having a guy like Robert Hansen, the retired Chairman of Dow Chemical, as Chairman is better or worse than Bradley's Kathleen M B. Holst, the Chairperson of D2K Traffic.  What I do know is that Bradley has a sizable difference in alumni base (their enrollment is listed as 5458 while Valpo's is listed as 2939) but our endowment is $15 million larger.  That points to commitment of alumni, if nothing else.

This article points to financial issues which Bradley faced/is facing, which are not dissimilar from those facing Valpo.  For example, it point to 65 to 75 people who took "voluntary separation" after the pandemic. This was followed by a "streamlining (her words) of the entire organization.

https://www.wcbu.org/local-news/2021-05-04/q-a-bradleys-new-cfo-on-the-state-of-the-universitys-finances-and-what-lies-ahead

The part of the article which you might interesting is her comments on inclusion:

TS: And we know the students want to know they're coming to an environment that is inclusive of them. And that can be a selling point for university as well. So can you talk to me a little bit about how that might all play in?

SC: Well, you know, we know what's a strength. Our goal is, in this new vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion, is to help us retain this pool of individuals. And when I say retain, you know, it's one thing to recruit. And it's very obvious we have, we're very attractive as a campus for, for this community.

Finally, you seem ready to throw President Padilla under the bus as a failure because in your view he isn't "rotat(ing) in new blood, fresh ideas, and constant energy" I'm not.  He has brought in a new team--in many part of the administration--and has been on the job since October of 2021, the day he had to shut the entire campus down.  Things are changing, perhaps not as fast as any of us would like, but they are changing.  Bring on basketball season!  Peace out!

[usc4valpo]

I took Introduction to Christian Theology my freshman year, like I presume for many of you on this board did the same. Fred Niedner was the professor and he was pretty good. He brought up Jerry Falwell several times throughout the year and really loathed his beliefs. The moral majortiy movement was pretty wacked out back then.

I work with some recent Bradley graduates and they mentioned to the school is hurting, apparently experiences similar struggles as Valpo. They mentioned the engineering school is on the decline , which I think is unlike what Valpo is experiencing.

[wh]

Wow, this is a tough crowd lol. I point out 2 religious-affiliated universities that are kicking butt and people go down some "I don't like their religion" rabbit hole that that has nothing to do with anything. So, I switch things up and point to a private secular university and the same people start nitpicking that place.

Well, let me defend Bradley a little bit, and then I'll give it up as hopeless. I wasn't trying to infer that Bradley University is a model of perfection, albeit they're not hemorrhaging students like Valpo is. Im merely making the point that when times get tough and the market heads south (we haven't seen anything yet), it's better to have your city on your side than isolated on an island all by yourself. In fact, there's never a time when having people who have your back is a bad thing.

[David81]

It's not an easy time to be a regional, private university like Valpo or Bradley.

I anticipate that VU will do a better job of building and nurturing local ties. That outreach may yield some new board members as well.

Universities are resilient entities, but improvements and turnarounds rarely occur overnight. Even the dramatic changes in the MBB program are stoking enthusiasm and anticipation at best, with initial W-L results to be seen in 2024.