Valparaiso University is a selective, independent Lutheran institution in Valparaiso, Indiana, an hour’s drive from Chicago. Founded in 1859, Valpo offers a thorough grounding in the liberal arts as well as professional training and graduate study, helping students find their own paths to lifelong personal, spiritual, and professional growth. Valparaiso University offers more than 70 undergraduate degree programs and interdisciplinary options throughout our five undergraduate colleges as well as programs through our Graduate School and
Law School. You’ll take classes in the humanities, arts, sciences, and social sciences along with courses required by your major. Each step of the way, your professors and academic advisor will guide you as you discover how to turn your passion into a rewarding career.
In 1859, citizens of Valparaiso were so supportive of the placement of the college that they raised $11,000 to encourage the Methodist Church to locate there. The school opened on September 21, 1859, to 75 students, and was one of the first coeducational colleges in the nation Students paid tuition expenses of $8 per term (three terms per year), plus nearby room and board costs of approximately $2 per week. Instruction at the college actually began with young children, and most of the students were in elementary and grade levels.
Courses at the collegiate level included math, literature, history, sciences, and philosophy. Courses stressing the Christian faith included “moral philosophy” and “moral science.”
Due to the fallout of the Civil War, the school closed in 1871. At this time, most men (both students and administrative members) had enrolled in the army. In addition, Indiana passed an 1867 bill that provided state support for public education, and the Methodists’ broad state wide efforts toward higher
education meant that none of the schools were self-sustaining. The combination proved too much to overcome for the Male and Female College. Henry Baker Brown bought the American College of
Medicine and
Surgery from Northwestern University; he later changed the name to Chicago College of
Medicine and Surgery. Students could save money by spending their first two medical college years in Valparaiso. In 1905 the university formed an affiliation with Chicago College of Dental
Surgery to provide dental
education for its students.
For the next two decades, Valpo gained a national reputation as an economical institution of higher learning, earning its positive nickname The Poor Man’s Harvard. At the height of enrollment in 1907, it was the second-largest school in the nation, behind only Harvard University. In 1914, monthly literary magazine The Torch was founded; it became the universitys weekly student newspaper in 1915. The university began intercollegiate athletic competition in 1916. Valpos first game was a basketball game against the Chicago YMCA Training School, in which VU fielded players from intramural teams. In 1917, World War I and the death of President Brown took its toll, and the school was forced into bankruptcy. Valparaiso University sold the Chicago College of
Medicine and
Surgery to Loyola University Chicago. In 1923, a fire destroyed the original 1860 Old College Building, and VU could not afford to clean the site
Last Updated on: Nov 28, 2024