Valparaiso University welcomed its latest incoming class, the first in a decade to represent an enrollment increase, at its annual Opening Convocation ceremony on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026. The milestone announcement was met with thunderous applause in the Chapel of the Resurrection.
“Today, we welcome more than 650 new students,” Eric Johnson ’87, Ph.D., provost and vice president for academic affairs, told the assembled students, faculty and staff. “Valparaiso University’s class of 2030 represents 30 states across the U.S. and reaches across the globe, with students joining us from nine countries: Canada, China, Egypt, India, Mexico, Spain, Sweden, Tanzania, and Thailand.”
Opening Convocation also marked another milestone for Valpo: the beginning of the first full academic year under the leadership of Rev. Brian Konkol, Ph.D., who began his presidency at the University in January. In his remarks, Rev. Konkol encouraged students to approach their Valpo experience by actively choosing optimism, hope and purpose in their actions, attitudes and engagement with their community.
“Say yes to contributing to something larger than yourself, yes to lifting others up, and yes to doing what is principled is to repeatedly say no to detraction, no to tearing others down, and no to simply doing whatever is popular.” Rev. Konkol said. “And to say yes to optimism, hope, possibility, confidence, and faith is to repeatedly say no to pessimism, no to despair, no to scarcity, no to defeat, and perhaps most of it all, it is about being able to say no to being afraid.”
The incoming class joins a long legacy of graduate success. A report on the Class of 2025 showed a 98.1% graduate outcomes rate across colleges, meaning graduates were employed or enrolled in graduate school within nine months of graduation. The College of Engineering and Christ College — The Honors College each reported 100% outcomes rates, while all other colleges reported rates above 97%.
The arrival of Valpo’s largest incoming class in a decade builds on other signs of positive momentum for the University. Along with the recently reported growth in enrollment,, the University has also seen a 56% increase in donations, bequests, and endowments compared with its 2025 year-to-date results.
The 2026 academic year also brings new programs and learning opportunities for students. The University launched Indiana’s only undergraduate geospatial sciences major, opening doors for students in a fast-growing, high-tech industry.
Valpo is known for fostering leaders, and is one of only 25 universities in the United States to receive the Carnegie Elective Classification for Leadership for Public Purpose. This semester, the University is taking that commitment to leadership development to the next level with the master of organizational leadership program, a flexible, online program dedicated to developing ethical, principled leaders who serve both their workplaces and their communities.
