Letters
Thankful For You
“I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and the new.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson Dear Students, Faculty, and…
Honoring Our Heroes
“This will remain the land of the free so long as it is the home of the brave.” — Elmer Davis Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff: Each year, we…
Civility
Dear Students, Faculty and Staff: It has been a year like no other — and an election cycle like no other. The lead-up to tomorrow’s election has…
Beginning The Year With A Grateful Heart
Dear Colleagues: It is hard to believe the fall semester is less than a month away and that soon campus will once again be buzzing with activity,…
Now is the Time for Our Light
“God does not need your good works, but your neighbor does.” — Martin Luther Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff: As a Christian university…
End Of Year – Faculty and Staff
“Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.” — Helen Keller Dear Colleagues, As our academic year comes to an unusual close, it is…
End Of Year – Class of 2020
“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” — Eleanor Roosevelt Dear Class of 2020: You’ve made it. The journey…
Terra Nova
Dear Valpo Community, There is a theme that runs through the soundtrack of the musical, “Hamilton:” the world turned upside-down. As I listen to…
Spring Break
“One person can make a difference, and everyone should try.” — John F. Kennedy Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff, Spring Break is hours away!…
Christmas
I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. John 8:12 Dear Students, Faculty, and…
Thanksgiving
Giving is, first and every time, hand to hand, Mine to yours, yours to mine. You gave me blue and I gave you yellow. Together we are simple green….
Living within and between the divides
Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff: When I first came to Valparaiso University a dozen years ago, early conversations among faculty, staff, and…
Veterans Day
“Duty, Honor, Country. Those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, what you will be.” – Douglas…
Welcome Back
“The beginning is the most important part of the work.” — Plato “Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the…
End Of Year – Faculty
“The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members.” — Coretta Scott King Dear…
End Of Year – Students
“Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are…
Spring Break
“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” — Mother Teresa Dear Students, Faculty, and…
Christmas
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe…
Thanksgiving
“Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change the ordinary opportunities into blessings.”
Veterans Day
“I’ll tell you what bravery really is. Bravery is just determination to do a job that you know has to be done.” — Audie Murphy Dear Students,…
Welcome
“All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.” — Galileo Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff: Good…
End Of Year – Faculty and Staff
Dear Colleagues, At the end of another successful academic year, let’s take a moment to reflect upon what we have accomplished. This community has…
End Of Year – Students
“I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which…
Spring Break
“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” — Martin Luther King Jr. Dear Students, Faculty, and…
Christmas
Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff: On that first Christmas night, the shepherds in the fields near Bethlehem settled into their normal evening…
Thanksgiving
“If the only prayer you said in your whole life was ‘thank you,’ that would suffice.” — Meister Eckhart For many of us, Thanksgiving is a…
Veterans Day
“Our debt to the heroic men and valiant women in the service of our country can never be repaid, they have earned our undying gratitude. America…
Remembering the Reformation
“Everything that is done in this world is done by hope.” — Martin Luther Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff: This weekend and next Tuesday mark…
Standing By Our Brothers and Sisters – Sept. 6, 2017
Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff: On Tuesday the Trump administration announced plans to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)…
Welcome
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” — Nelson Mandela Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff: Good…
End Of Year – Faculty and Staff
“In the confrontation between the stream and the rock, the stream always wins, not through strength but by perseverance.” — H. Jackson Brown…
End Of Year – Students
“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” — Anne Frank Dear Students: As Commencement…
Spring Break
“You are not here merely to make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer…
All Are Welcome In This Place
“I was a stranger and you invited me in.” — Matthew 25:35 Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff: Valparaiso University is constituted by people of…
Christmas
“The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.” Dear…
Thanksgiving
“To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven.” — Johannes…
Veterans Day
“The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave.” — Patrick Henry For more than sixty years,…
A House Divided Cannot Stand
“A house divided cannot stand.” Jesus first spoke these words as he addressed a crowd of followers and critics — many of whom disagreed with…
Welcome
“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” — Marcel Proust, 20th century French…
End Of Year – Faculty and Staff
“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when the mysteries of…
End Of Year – Students
“The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today.” — H. Jackson Brown Jr. Dear students: As Commencement Weekend quickly approaches…
Spring Break
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”…
Christmas
“But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a…
Thanksgiving
“Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have…
Veterans Day
“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” — John Fitzgerald…
Welcome
“Life is a series of experiences, each one of which makes us bigger. . . For the world was built to develop character.” — Henry Ford Good…
End Of Year
“We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.”…
Statement On Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act
Valparaiso University is constituted by people from different backgrounds, belief systems, and cultures joined together in the common pursuit of…
Spring Break
“When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.” – Maya Angelou Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff: Each spring semester,…
Christmas
“And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” – Isaiah 9:6 Eagerness. Anticipation….
How Do We Move From Yearning Action?
Students, Faculty, and Staff: At the very heart of a university lies its mission: to pursue truth. At Valparaiso University, we intentionally bring…
Thanksgiving
“Silent gratitude isn’t very much to anyone.” – Gertrude Stein Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff: As we begin to wrap up this fall semester,…
Welcome
Wisdom is knowing the right path to take . . . Integrity is taking it. (Author unknown) Good morning, Valpo! Today we launch a new academic year and…
Christmas – Video Message
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Welcome
“A life lived with integrity — even if it lacks the trappings of fame and fortune — is a shining star in whose light others may follow in…
End Of Year
“You owe it to all of us to get on with what you’re good at.” — W. H. Auden, Poet Dear Students: As another academic year comes…
Spring Break
I don’t know what your destiny will be. … But I know one thing: The only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought…
Welcome
The More Things Change … Good morning, Valpo! All moved in … Check. Class schedule sorted out … Check. Syllabi copied …..
End Of Year
Dear Colleagues and Friends, “When one door closes, another door opens; but we so often look so long and regretfully upon the closed door, that we..
Welcome
Good Morning Valpo! The rays of the sun crest over the trees and the windows of the Chapel are ablaze with amber light this morning. It is a new day….
End Of Year
Dear Graduates, Students and Colleagues, Dr. Samuel Johnson, the 18th century author and moralist once wrote, “He that hopes to look back here after…
Thanksgiving
Dear Students and Colleagues, In the coming days, we will gather with family and friends in gratitude for the many blessings we have received from…
Welcome
Good morning, Valpo! Here are a few words to carry on your journey today… This is always an exciting week at Valparaiso University. We are filled…