President Harre to Retire in June 2008

$200 Million Campaign Serves as Capstone to VU Career

After two decades serving as president of Valparaiso University, Alan F. Harre has announced that he will retire at the end of June 2008.

Harre made the announcement in a news conference on June 26, at which he also stated that Valpo was launching the public phase of the largest fundraising campaign in its history.

A Fox News reporter interviews President Alan Harre following the June 26 news conference at the university.

“Our Valpo, Our Time, 150th Anni­versary Initiative” has already seen solid success from corporations and friends of the university toward a goal of $200 mil­lion. The campaign supports capital projects, scholar­ships and aca­demic programs.

“During the past 20 years, VU has been blessed with many advancements thanks to the hard work and generosity of the board of directors, campus admin­istrators, alumni and friends,” Harre said. “The ‘Our Valpo’ campaign will ensure the university stands in its strongest pos­sible position for the next president, and I am firmly committed to its success.”

Under Harre’s leadership, the univer­sity increasingly enhanced the quality of education for students through improve­ments to academic program­ming and campus facilities. During his tenure, Valpo’s endow­ment grew from $37 million to ap­prox­imately $190 million, providing scholar­ships for students and aca­demic program support for faculty.

President Alan Harre addresses reporters and members of the Valpo community at a press conference on campus June 26.

In the 1990s, Harre spearheaded efforts to develop a campus master plan. Adopted in 1997, the plan pro­vides a framework for new facilities that best promotes the faith-based, residential community education that distinguishes Valpo.

To make the plan a reality, three cam­paigns during Harre’s time raised funds toward the construction of several major facilities.

The “Lighting the Way” campaign in the early 1990s raised $37.5 million, with $9 million for endowment, and made possible the Center for the Arts. In the late ’90s, the “Three Goals, One Promise” campaign raised $121 million, with $53 million for endowment, and brought students the state-of-the-art Christopher Center for Library and Information Resources, and the Kade-Duesenberg German House and Cultural Center.

This past November, construction began on a new campus union to be completed by 2009. The union is one of the major components of the “Our Valpo” initiative.

Numerous significant programs also were launched under the leadership of President Harre, including:

• a master of science in nursing, master of science in business administration and master of science in engineering management;
• an international study program in China;
• the Lilly Fellows Program in Humanities and the Arts;
• the Lutheran Education Alliance With Parochial Schools;
• the Bach Institute;
• a VU chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s oldest and largest aca­demic honor society recognizing excellence in the liberal arts and sciences.

Read more about President Harre on Pages 20-25.