O.P. Kretzmann Award

recognizes alumni for long-time and exemplary service as a university employee.

Name: Esther Kruger
Major: Business Administration
Home: Valparaiso, Indiana
Employer: (Retired) Valparaiso University
Job Title: VU Guild, Administrative Assistant

ESTHER (FOELBER ’45) KRUGER earned a bachelor of arts degree in business and, after two years spent teaching in California and Fort Wayne, she served as an accounting instructor in the Valparaiso University Business Department from 1947 to 1948. In 1964 she returned to university employment as the assistant to the director for the VU Office of Financial Aid, a position that she held until 1975. From 1975 to 1980, Kruger served as assistant to the dean for the VU School of Law, after which she began her tenure as administrative assistant for the VU Guild. Kruger had become a member of the VU Guild in 1947 and had served the organization for more than three decades as a volunteer by supporting local events and projects, often opening her home to host social gatherings and committee and board meetings. Upon beginning her 15-year professional position with the Guild, Kruger was able to engage her work and support the office's leadership staff with a rare depth of institutional knowledge and experience. Kruger is still serving the Guild by volunteering her time to preserve and organize the Guild's historical archives. In addition, she is a member of ReVU and the Valparaiso Organization for Learning and Teaching Seniors, a program sponsored by VU’s Office of Continuing Education.