Valparaiso University students in the Art and Entertainment Administration course unveiled a new art gallery in the Urschel Hall, home to the College of Business, on Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. The gallery and its opening ceremony were planned and executed almost entirely by students in a class project that came with real-world experience.
“Working with deadlines, moving with all these different pieces, you really appreciate and understand what all goes into something like this,” said digital media arts major Sophia Hoogeven ’26.
The project is a team effort between the Communication and Visual Arts department and the College of Business as part of an effort to update the interior of the College’s main building and enhance campus culture. Giving students the chance to take on the challenges of leadership and interdepartmental collaboration set a Valpo education apart, and are part of the University’s five-year plan Uplift Valpo: Our Beacon for the Journey Forward.
To make the gallery a reality, the class had to navigate a variety of challenges. A call for art submissions was sent out to every declared art major and minor on campus, a selection committee had to be formed to see presentations, and decisions had to be made alongside College of Business administrators regarding what pieces made it to the final gallery.
Finding art, however, was only one piece of the puzzle. Other tasks included finding funding, reaching out to alumni, presenting ideas to administrators, and planning the December reception down to the catering. While much of it was behind-the-scenes work, the students involved are proud to have made a real difference on campus.
“Because it’s the first time that something like this has happened, with a cross-college collaboration and taking space in a College that isn’t ours, we can tell people we’ve done something brand-new that we didn’t know we were getting into,” Parker Kelson ’26 said.
Another aspect that has made the project unique is the approach professor Tomasek has taken in guiding the class — an approach that made the whole experience feel less like a classroom, and more like a professional opportunity.
“Aimee treats us more as employees than students,” said Maris Dodge ’26. “We executed everything with her as our mentor rather than her doing everything and us following. It’s given us a lot of real-world experience, even though we’re still on-campus, working with other offices and departments.” Artwork displayed in the College of Business Permanent Art Collection can be publicly viewed either in-person during open hours or online at collections.valpo.edu/digital/collection/studentwork. To find out more about this and other opportunities in the Communication and Visual Arts Department, click here.
