More than 1,500 students, faculty, and staff from Valparaiso University, along with community members, elected officials, faith leaders, and academic representatives from around the country, filled the Chapel of the Resurrection to capacity, with two overflow locations also filled, to celebrate the inauguration of the University’s 20th president Rev. Brian Konkol, Ph.D. The ceremony honored a new chapter for Valparaiso University, and celebrated a promising future as an institution that changes the world for the better and builds lives for good.
“What does the world need from us? I believe that the world needs people whose lives are built for good or, to state it more clearly, the world needs more Valpo graduates,” Rev. Konkol said. “My hope and prayer is that, 500 years from now, those people will look back and say that our time was a special time, a time where we embraced our calling with courage. To all who are here, the future is calling and, by God’s grace, let us answer.”
Several other speakers took to the stage during the ceremony, including alumnus Lem Cartman ’21 ’24 MHA, Manager of Community Relations at Henry Ford Health, Caroline Ban, MSW, program director and associate director of social work at the University’s College of Arts and Sciences, J. Michael Haynie, Ph.D., Chancellor and President of Syracuse University, and Matthew Wells, Ph.D., president and CEO of One Region. These representatives of Valpo and beyond shared their excitement for the University’s new chapter, and their visions for how Valpo can work together with the world around it.
“The question before us is not simply what President Rev. Brian Konkol will do for Valparaiso University, but what we will dare to do with him,” said Wells.
Rev. Konkol began his tenure as Valparaiso University’s 20th president on Jan. 1, 2026. Now in his first full academic year, Rev. Konkol’s tenure has seen remarkable forward momentum for the University, including the first year-over-year enrollment increase for undergraduate students in 10 years. The University was also recently recognized by U.S. News and World Report as the #6 overall top-rated institution and #2 in best value among Midwest colleges and universities.
