From the moment Chris Hanson ‘93 arrived on Valparaiso University’s campus, he sensed he had found a place that would stretch him in the best ways. The promise of a faith-centered education drew him, the sight of the Chapel of the Resurrection standing at the heart of campus, and the opportunity made possible by scholarship support, Valpo felt both just far enough from home and deeply right. Once Chris learned of Christ College – The Honors College, the deal was sealed. Hanson was thrilled at the chance to join a small community of students immersed in great books, big questions, and rigorous conversation.
Hanson’s years at Valpo were defined by curiosity and involvement. He was a student who refused to be boxed into a single lane, nearly completing majors in both theology and history before ultimately choosing theology, a discipline he later learned to translate for the wider world as “religious studies.” Along the way, Chris made the most of everything Valpo offered: singing in the Chapel choir, playing in the jazz band for four years, working at the radio station, serving on Christ College’s Student Advisory Council, and even taking on leadership roles like vice chair of the Honor Council. Additionally, he studied abroad, edited the literary magazine, joined Phi Sigma Kappa, and routinely found himself deeply engaged in campus conversations concerning justice, inclusion, and the responsibilities of community involvement.
Valpo was also where Hanson learned humility. Arriving confident from high school, he quickly discovered that Christ College demanded more from him: clearer thinking, sharper writing, and deeper reading. A tough early critique on a paper still stands out for Chris as a formative moment. Reflecting on these experiences, he says that Valpo was not just a place of fond memories or nostalgia. It was where he grew up, made mistakes, learned from them, and began to see and understand the person he was becoming.
Certain images from campus remain vivid in his mind, even decades later: Nine Lessons and Carols filling the Chapel at Christmas, Earth Day celebrations on the lawn, late-night conversations about how to make the world better, and the quiet comfort of sitting beneath the great oak tree near the Chapel. Christ College’s common room was often a space for thinking, arguing, and discovering how ideas shape lives.
Scholarship support played a decisive role in making Chris’s Valpo experience possible. With parents who were teachers, affordability mattered, and the scholarships he received from Valpo were the difference between choosing a large public university and attending the university he really wanted. Hanson says that this investment in him and his future changed the trajectory of his life. It not only made Valpo accessible, but it also opened doors he could not yet see. Doors that would eventually lead him to Yale Divinity School.
After graduation, Chris’s path unfolded through a series of chance encounters and bold explorations, all rooted in the broad, integrative education he received at Valpo. While studying theology in England, mentors encouraged him to explore environmental ethics. This interest led him to Yale, where he combined divinity studies with forestry coursework, eventually creating a joint degree program that bridged ethics, science, and public policy.
This blend of disciplines Hanson created became the foundation for a career few could have predicted: environmental policy, nuclear safety, and public service at the highest levels. From consulting on nuclear cleanup and environmental protection to serving as chair of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Chris brought with him the habits Valpo had instilled in him: careful thinking, moral imagination, respect for institutions, and the courage to reform them when necessary.
Hanson credits Valpo, and especially Christ College, with teaching him how to see the world through multiple lenses. Reading philosophers, theologians, historians, and scientists side by side gave him a framework for navigating complexity. He says, “It was an intellectual and spiritual launchpad,” whether for understanding global politics, emerging technologies, or the ethical challenges of nuclear energy.
Now, Chris’s career continues across consulting, writing, advising governments, and supporting innovation in nuclear energy. Yet when he returns to campus, Valpo feels like home. It is the place where the process of becoming a whole person truly began for him.
To Hanson, Valpo means finding his people, discovering his vocation, and setting in motion a life of service and leadership. The universe, as he puts it, is still expanding, but the spark traces back to a chapel-centered campus in Northwest Indiana, and to a curiosity about the world that made it all possible.
