Welcome Project

The Welcome Project, created by Associate Professor of Art Liz Wuerffel and Associate Professor of English Allison Schuette, collects oral histories about the complexity of living together amidst increasing diversity and difference. Students, faculty, and staff at Valparaiso University and members of the surrounding community tell stories that are captured in video or audio format by Professors Wuerffel and Schuette and their students.

The Welcome Project has collected more than 300 interviews and posted more than 230 stories to their website. Students contribute content primarily in fulfillment of assignments for the general studies’ Civic Engagement course and Introduction to Creative Nonfiction. The project has formed partnerships with numerous community organizations in Northwest Indiana and has earned favorable attention throughout the region; its work has been used in classrooms, exhibitions, study circles, workshops, and other artistic and pedagogical endeavors.