Valparaiso University President Alan F. Harre

Alan F. Harre was named 17th president of Valparaiso University in 1988 and has guided the University to new levels of excellence marked by new facilities, a strengthened faculty and expanded opportunities for students. A native of Illinois, he served as assistant pastor of a Lutheran church in Michigan prior to entering the field of higher education.

He received a bachelor of arts degree from Concordia Senior College, Fort Wayne, Ind.; a master of divinity degree from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis; a master of arts degree from Presbyterian School of Christian Education, Richmond, Va.; and a doctor of philosophy degree from Wayne State University, Detroit.

President Harre began his professional career in 1967 as assistant pastor of St. James Lutheran Church of Grosse Pointe in Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich., where he served his seminary internship during the 1964-65 school year. In 1973, he joined the theology faculty of Concordia University in Seward, Neb. He later served that institution as assistant to the president, as dean of student affairs, and, briefly, as acting president.

He was named president of Concordia University in St. Paul, Minn., in 1984 and served there four years before accepting the presidency of Valparaiso University.

He and his wife, Diane, are parents of two daughters and a son and have nine grandchildren.

Dr. Harre has served in leadership roles for numerous national, state and local organizations.

He has served on two special committees with the National Collegiate Athletic Association and is a past chair of the Council of Presidents for the Associated New American Colleges, the Presidents' Council of the Mid-Continent Conference and the President's Board of Indiana Campus Compact. He also has served on the Boards of Directors of the Lutheran Educational Conference of North America, The Luther Institute and the Independent Colleges of Indiana.

He also has served on the boards of the Porter County Community Foundation, the Community Development Corporation, the Northwest Indiana Forum, the Quality of Life Council, the Community Foundation of Northwest Indiana, the Greater Valparaiso Chamber of Commerce, and the Gary Accord Communities in Schools. He is a member of the Advisory Board of the Valparaiso Family YMCA and holds membership in the Indiana Conference of Higher Education, Northwest Indiana Business Roundtable, the Indiana Society of Chicago, and the Union League Club of Chicago. He is co-founder of the Valparaiso affiliate of Rebuilding Together, formerly known as Christmas in April.

Dr. Harre has been recognized for his leadership and service by numerous organizations. He was recipient of the 2008 Outstanding Executive Award presented by the Association of Lutheran Development Executives and the 2008 Presidential Award presented by Indiana Campus Compact. He also received the Quality of Life Council's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007, the Chief Executive Leadership Award presented by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education District V in 2006 and Wheat Ridge Ministries' Seeds of Hope Award in 2006. He was recognized with the Greater Valparaiso Chamber of Commerce's Distinguished Community Leader Award in 1998, the Sam Walton Business Leader Award in 1999 and the Asian American Medical Association's Crystal Globe Award in 1999.

He is author of Close the Back Door and numerous professional articles and essays, and is a corresponding editor for Christianity Today.

He and his wife own Crusader Simmentals and maintain a small herd of these purebred beef cattle on property they own in Nebraska.