When Dr. Alan F. Harre stepped down as president of Valparaiso University at the end of the 2007-2008 academic year, he left behind an impressive legacy compiled during 20 years as the institution’s chief executive. 

Dr. Harre took office July 1, 1988, as the 17th in University history after previously serving as president of Concordia College in St. Paul, Minn.

In the ensuing two decades he fostered a climate of collaborative leadership as he guided strategic institutional planning, led development of a long-range master plan for campus facilities and directed financial campaigns that provided more than $200 million in support of the University’s mission.

Upon his retirement, he and his wife, Diane, relocated to Nebraska where they previously had purchased property.