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Six athletic teams from Valparaiso University have received the NCAA Public Recognition Award for outstanding academic performance.

The NCAA announced that the softball, women’s basketball, women’s cross country, women’s golf, and women’s indoor and outdoor track teams each received the honor. All six squads were repeat award recipients, while the softball program earned the Public Recognition Award for a fifth straight season.

“We are excited that our student-athletes once again have demonstrated an outstanding commitment not just to their efforts on the playing fields, but also in the classroom,” Valparaiso University Director of Athletics Mark LaBarbera stated. “We are very proud that year in and year out that they are succeeding as both students and athletes.”

The award is presented to teams that have an NCAA Division I Academic Progress Rate in the top 10 percent of all teams in their respective sport. The calculation of APR tracks the academic progress of each student-athlete and includes eligibility, retention, and graduation.

With six teams honored, Valpo leads all current Horizon League member institutions.

The awards continue to highlight the success that Valpo student-athletes achieve in the classroom. In April, 121 student-athletes received Presidential Academic Honors in recognition of earning a cumulative grade point average of 3.25 or higher after at least three semesters at Valpo. Last November, an NCAA report showed that 80 percent of Valpo’s student-athletes graduated within six years of enrollment and that they had a Graduation Success Rate of 94 percent, ranking highest among Horizon League members in both metrics.

Valparaiso University’s Office of Continuing Education will offer two courses emphasizing ethical leadership in sports as part of its Coaching Certificate program in July.

Former Valparaiso University men’s basketball coach Homer Drew will teach Coaching Leadership and Psychology on July 1, 15 and 29 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (the July 29 class ends at 1 p.m.). This course will examine leadership strategies by relating psychology theories to the sports world.

Legal and Ethical Issues of Sport, taught by Dana Drew Shaw, J. D., provides an overview of legal issues in sports. Topics include ethical issues such as sportsmanship, drug use and cheating. The class takes place July 17 and 24 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and July 31 from 9 a.m to 1 p.m.

Deadline to register is June 20. Cost is $600 per class. The courses, provided in collaboration with Valpo’s athletics department, will count toward a 10-credit coaching certificate. These credits or units may be eligible for teaching or coaching license renewal depending on the licensing renewal board’s approval.

For more information, please contact Cindi Czapla at 464.5313 or Continuing.Ed@valpo.edu.

Nearly 700 undergraduate and graduate students participated in Valparaiso University’s commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 19, and more than 150 law students will graduate on Saturday, May 25. The ceremonies cap an academic year that has been filled with record enrollment, campus improvements, prestigious recognition and continuing advancement for Valparaiso University.

“As another academic year comes to a close and the campus bursts in bright colors, I am reminded of the beauty and blessings that surround us every day at Valpo,” said Mark A. Heckler, PhD, Valparaiso University President. “I am grateful for all that our students, faculty and staff do to support the mission of Valparaiso University and contribute to this extraordinary place of learning and faith.”

Valparaiso University has once again been named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, joining a group of select universities and colleges across the country that are honored for their support of volunteering, service-learning, and civic engagement.

A 2012 Honor Roll member, Valpo is one of only four universities in Indiana to achieve Honor Roll with Distinction status for 2013.

“This distinction in the honor roll celebrates the ongoing commitment that our students have in serving our communities and the deep ways they learn through these experiences,” said Brian Johnson, Executive Director of Campus Ministries. “This is the first time that Valparaiso University has received this level of recognition, yet it represents the long tradition of serving that our students regularly engage in.”

Sponsored by the Corporation for National and Community Service, the Honor Roll annually highlights the role colleges and universities play in solving community problems and placing more students on a lifelong path of civic engagement by recognizing institutions that achieve meaningful, measurable outcomes in the communities they serve.

Three Valparaiso University seniors have been awarded Fulbright grants to continue their international studies while making a contribution to the cultures of Taiwan, Germany, and Poland.

Halina Hopkins, Hannah Scupham, and Sterling Summerville completed their undergraduate careers during Valpo’s May 19 commencement ceremony. As recipients of the Fulbright award for 2013-2014, these students will have the opportunity to use their skills within a new environment and broaden their experiences.

“I am very pleased to see the hard work, dedication, and accomplishments of Halina, Hannah, and Sterling so deservedly well recognized by the Fulbright Program,” Valparaiso University Provost Mark Schwehn said. “This honor reflects the high academic standards that we hold for all Valparaiso University students, and I am confident that they will continue to succeed in their future endeavors.”

Valparaiso University announces that the Rev. John Arthur Nunes, who served as keynote speaker at the University’s May 19 commencement ceremony, will join its faculty as the Jochum Professor and Chair. Since 2007, Nunes has served as president and CEO of Lutheran World Relief, a $49 million global organization, leading staff in 17 countries in working to end poverty, injustice, and human suffering worldwide.

The Emil and Elfriede Jochum Chair, a University professorship established through a gift from Emil Jochum, supports the study of Christian values in public and professional life.

“As an international Lutheran university, Valpo is concerned with both the intellectual and spiritual development of our graduates,” said Mark R. Schwehn, PhD, University Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs. “Pastor Nunes’ career is a model for those seeking to become leaders who will be informed by their faith and who will tirelessly strive for justice in the world. As Jochum Chair, Pastor Nunes will hold this University to its highest ideals of scholarship and faith.”

The Valparaiso University-based Lilly Fellows Program in Humanities and the Arts was awarded a $1.19 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. This is the 10th such grant that has been awarded to the Lilly Fellows Program, which has supported more than 60 Lilly Postdoctoral Fellows since its inception in 1991.

“We are both humbled and deeply encouraged that Lilly Endowment Inc. will continue to support this life-giving program,” said Joe Creech, Director of the Lilly Fellows Program and Adjunct Associate Professor of History and Humanities in Christ College. “This program gives our Graduate Fellows a rare opportunity to develop into teacher-scholars who attain the highest credentials of their disciplines but also retain a sense of the initial love for learning that pushed them to graduate school in the first place. We offer them a space to think through not only their vocations but also the intersections of faith and higher learning.”

The Lilly Fellows Program in Humanities and the Arts seeks to strengthen the quality and shape the character of church-related institutions of learning through three key initiatives. First, the program offers two-year, residential postdoctoral teaching fellowships at Valparaiso University for early-career scholars who wish to renew their sense of vocation within a Christian community of learning in order to prepare themselves for positions of educational leadership within church-related institutions.

Valparaiso University professors Jeff Will, Doug Tougaw, and Carmine Polito were honored at the American Society of Engineering Education Illinois/Indiana Section, held at Trine University this spring.

“The achievements of Jeff, Doug, and Carmine demonstrate the outstanding caliber faculty we have in the College of Engineering at Valparaiso University,” said Eric Johnson, Dean of the College of Engineering. “This recognition attests to their dedication in providing an extraordinary education to our students.”

Valparaiso University’s Office of Undergraduate Admission and Summer Global Leadership Institute announce an exciting new academic camp for elementary and middle school students: Summer Smart, Summer Fun.

“Summer Smart, Summer Fun will provide a wonderful opportunity for elementary and middle school students to enjoy hands-on learning experiences that are fun, engaging and educational,” said Alan Bloom, director of Summer Smart, Summer Fun and associate professor of history at Valparaiso University.

Valparaiso University’s Committee to Enhance Learning and Teaching has selected Mark Budnik, Kevin Jantzi and Lissa Yogan as recipients of the Excellence in Teaching Award for 2013-2014.

The award recognizes outstanding faculty who demonstrate teaching excellence, with particular attention to excellence in any of three areas: curriculum/course development, pedagogy and faculty-student rapport. Each award winner will receive funding for a pedagogical project intended to promote excellence in teaching on the Valparaiso University campus.