$2 Million Gift to Valpo Increases Scholarship Funds

A gift of $2 million to Valparaiso University from the estate of Henry and June Giebel will significantly impact the long-standing Study Abroad relationship between Valpo and Germany. The gift will double the funding of two previously established endowed scholarship funds that, to date, have been awarded to more than 80 students.

The Henry and June Giebel Study Abroad Endowed Scholarship was created in 2007. It provides financial assistance to Valpo students who are studying in Rottenburg am Neckar, Germany, and in the neighboring cities of Reutlingen and Tübingen, where Valpo has long had a presence. The Giebel Scholarship has made it possible for 48 Valpo students to study in Germany.

The Giebels’ support of Valpo began in the late 1990s, when they were seeking an institution engaged in educational cooperation between the U.S. and Germany. This led to the establishment of the Josef Eberle Endowment to honor Henry’s uncle, the late Josef Eberle. Eberle was a native of Rottenburg am Neckar and co-founder and longtime chief publisher of the Stuttgarter Zeitung, a leading German newspaper.

Since it was established, the Eberle Endowment has been awarded to 36 German students and provided funding for them to study at Valpo. The Giebel and Eberle funds also support travel between Germany and the U.S. for German and Valpo-based scholars engaged in professional activities on the partner’s campus.

Theresa Hinz, a church music major from Rottenburg, Germany, is among the many German students who have benefited from the Eberle Scholarship. Theresa spent the fall 2018 semester at Valpo. “I would not have had the possibility to study at Valpo without the Eberle Scholarship.” she said. “While I learned a lot about American culture, music and myself, worship service in the Chapel is a memory that will stay with me.”

The Giebels’ gift supports Forever Valpo: The Campaign for Our Future, a $250 million endowment campaign focused on raising permanent support for student scholarships, faculty development and programs that prepare students for lives of leadership and service. Forever Valpo was officially launched on Sept. 23, 2016, and has raised more than $193 million.