Beyond the various positive features Rev. Konkol brings with him to VU, the university needs to take advantage of this opportunity to reinvigorate the faculty and students on campus, among all alums (but particularly including sports fans given Konkol's background), in fundraising efforts, with Lutheran schools and churches across the region and the country, and to further strengthen relations with the local community. In this forum we have repeatedly written about lost chances for energizing and expanding Valparaiso University's profile, especially on two occasions—the Bryce Drew NCAA game and the move to the Missouri Valley. In both instances, follow-up publicity and promotion fell flat, and the window for excitement and external interest passed without a great measure of advantage for the university. Frankly, they were golden occasions that were mostly lost.
With Konkol taking over immediately, there are now twice as many time periods to celebrate and market the university—January and again at the start of the new school year in August. Valpo should not be shy about going over the top in its salutes and festivities. Every avenue to use this transformation as a new starting point for university relations and promotion should be exploited.When possible, every activity within the next year should be tied to Konkol's arrival and attendance, perhaps using his presence as a way of re-branding and reintroducing the university. Make that person we viewed in the introductory video the welcoming face to new students and old donors, as well as the outside world yet to learn about Valparaiso University. Additionally, there should be bold and imaginative new initiatives in fundraising specifically designed to celebrate, welcome, and support the new president. Moreover, there should be many campus events open to outside visitors and joint ventures with the city of Valparaiso, reviving the town/gown relationship. This may be the last chance to revive the spirit at VU, and I hope this time it does not get squandered.
When looking through some of Brian Konkol's writings, I found the following passage to be interesting:
"The human community consumes at a rate that far exceeds the speed with which resources can be renewed. While many reasons are given for such an alarming ecological situation, a significant level of research has shown that the current economic model-a neoliberal capitalism driven by the world's most powerful nations-of mass production, an excess of consumption, and the pursuit of unrestrained economic growth are key contributors that drive the earth toward such massive levels of damage. On top of such disturbing environmental issues, neoliberal capitalism also creates massive levels of economic discrimination and extreme improverishment, with billions of people forced to ensure the painful aftermath and carry the burden while others receive the profits."
(page 17, from "Mission as Accompaniment: A Response to Mechanistic Dehumanization" by Brian Konkol. Published in 2017)
He goes on to argue that these economic behaviors lead to massive indifference, lack of empathy, and devaluing of individuals around the world...and that ELCA needs to more effectively respond to neoliberal capitalism and objectifying human attributes.
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One could debate the merits and issues within this philosophy for a long time, but that is not my point here. My points (based on the points from this book) are:
-It is likely he is not politically conservative (I don't view that as good or bad).
-He may have difficulties with some groups, such as wealthy donors and faculty in the College of Business. While those people may well see the need to address issues valued by Dr. Konkol, they are not likely to take kindly to being seen as the villain because they support capitalism and were successful in that system.
-Thinking he would build/reestablish relationships with groups (like LCMS) that have moved in more conservative directions may be unlikely.
In the current climate, these concerns are well-taken. And given VU’s serious challenges, it would be unfortunate if any new president used the position as a soapbox for their airing political and policy positions.
I’m betting that Rev. Konkol is sensitive to these matters and knows how to effectively engage folks of different social, religious, and political views….especially if matters on the table relate to fundraising, development, and institutional support. I think on priorities relating to reviving VU, while holding true to its mission and legacy, there is much room for building common ground.
In terms of his ELCA background vs. an LCMS pastor history, I think that the LCMS horse has left the barn for Valpo. It was chased away by Mark Heckler who had a distaste for the LCMS and started a rapid 17-year enrollment decline in that cohort. Sadly, he ruined the Lutheran high schools ties to not only LCMS member families, but also lost the pipeline to the non-Lutheran friends of the families at the high schools, and in turn lost their friend networks.
While Valpo has had many unforced errors when it comes to recruiting Lutheran students, we can’t overlook the changes to the LCMS in that same time period. Matthew Harrison was elected in 2010 and ushered in more conservative positions and moved the synod to the right. Valpo always occupied a precarious position within the LCMS, so those changes altered the relationship.
I’m hopeful that Rev. Konkol can begin to reestablish a Lutheran pipeline to Valpo. Both synods need to understand how a strong Valpo also benefits them.
Like others, I am hopeful for a good result, though the horse may have in fact left the barn.
The notes above are a correct synopsis. That said, we can't overlook the fact that historically, Valpo tried to walk a fine line between both wings of American Lutheranism. At the time VU had recently elected its first non-LCMS president, the ELCA turned to the left, and the LCMS turned right.
If one had to pick a date where the left wing of American Lutheranism turned more left (and subsequently the ELCA lost hundreds of congregations to new Lutheran denominations), it would be August 19, 2009 when the ELCA convention voted for the "Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust" statement; the same day a tornado struck the steeple of Central Lutheran church which was home to the worship services for the convention. This is about one year after President Heckler took office (July 2008), and one year later President Harrison was elected to lead the LCMS (July 2010).
I just spoke with a fellow Valpo alum who has been a substantial (my term) but not a seven figure contributor to Valpo over the years. He told me that he had received a direct call from the President elect, a couple of days before the formal announcement, including discussing the upcoming Bears/Packers game! Now THAT, is hitting the ground running!
Rev. Konkol will be on campus Friday morning. I received the following invitation, but I am expecting he will be available more widely for more than the one hour.
Dear Valpo Community,
You are invited to an informal meet and greet with Valparaiso University’s 20th President, Rev. Konkol, on Friday, December 5, from 8:30 – 9:30 a.m. in the Christopher Center Community Room. Rev. Konkol will offer brief welcome remarks at the start of the event before spending time greeting attendees.
Please feel free to stop by, say hello, and extend a warm Valpo welcome as we prepare for this next chapter for our University.
If your schedule does not allow you to attend, please rest assured there will be plenty of opportunities to meet Rev. Konkol once he begins his service as President in the new year.
In executive successions, particularly ones associated with turnarounds, the new executive is typically given 2-3 mandates of what must be accomplished foremost and (in many cases) first. I would expect that to be the case with this transition. One of the early signs of problems with Pres. Padilla's tenure was that he led the creation of 15 strategic priorities with sub-priorities for each item and then provided no prioritization of those activities. Key areas like enrollment were treated evenly with unrealistic ambitions like Hispanic Serving Institution.
It will be very interesting to see how the new President approaches this. I would not expect him to have this ready now, but I will suggest that he have this story ready when he starts to meet regularly with various key stakeholders. A theme or 'good intentions' is not likely to cut it...he will need specifics with realistic short and longer term outcomes.
vu72's note about already reaching out to donors is encouraging.
@vu84v2 - argggh!!! no wonder Padilla was so ineffective! 15 priorities and sub-priorities! No wonder nothing got done and his leadership was poor! Obviously nothing will get done in that way. Good leaders have "wildly important goals" - 2, maybe 3 goals that are the most critical where you want to expend all you energy to knock them out of the park.
https://www.franklincovey.com/courses/the-4-disciplines/discipline-1-wildly-important/
If one had to pick a date where the left wing of American Lutheranism turned more left (and subsequently the ELCA lost hundreds of congregations to new Lutheran denominations), it would be August 19, 2009 when the ELCA convention voted for the "Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust" statement; the same day a tornado struck the steeple of Central Lutheran church which was home to the worship services for the convention. This is about one year after President Heckler took office (July 2008), and one year later President Harrison was elected to lead the LCMS (July 2010).
valpo95 I agree with most of what you say in this quote, but would like to add a few things. The election of Harrison was in direct response to the more left-leaning direction Rev. Dr. Gerald Kieschnick took the LCMS during his terms as President. The LCMS has shifted back to the right during the Harrison presidency, while ELCA governance has taken a sharp left-hand turn. This sharp turn by the ELCA is not always reflected at the congregational level. In many cases, I find congregants at ELCA churches to be blithely ignorant of some of their leaders' left-leaning directives. Adiaphora has certainly increased during Harrison's presidency, which has also been marked by a consistency in doctrine.
valpo95 I agree with most of what you say in this quote, but would like to add a few things. The election of Harrison was in direct response to the more left-leaning direction Rev. Dr. Gerald Kieschnick took the LCMS during his terms as President. The LCMS has shifted back to the right during the Harrison presidency, while ELCA governance has taken a sharp left-hand turn. This sharp turn by the ELCA is not always reflected at the congregational level. In many cases, I find congregants at ELCA churches to be blithely ignorant of some of their leaders' left-leaning directives. Adiaphora has certainly increased during Harrison's presidency, which has also been marked by a consistency in doctrine.
I think most of this is pretty enrollment-irrelevant. While students/families definitely care if there is an actual Christian vibrancy to the place, I'm not sure they care about the intra-Lutheran 1980s-early 2000s fights that much. If, as you, say most congregants are 'blithely ignorant' of these top-level ecclesial politics, surely most prospective applicants are even that much more unaware! And probably for the best... it's not exactly great for anybody sense of Lutheran pride or institutional unity to have these internal divisions of identity and culture. I have learned some about the LCMS/ELCA difference just by being around Valpo, but for most people it's sort of like hearing about the the Swartzentruber vs Buchanan Amish... like huh, okay, these are different words, but what??
@vuindiana , I didn't mean to turn this into a discussion of intra-Lutheran conflict and totally agree that unnecessary division and conflict is unhelpful on so many fronts.
However, it does make a difference for enrollment. In the fall of 2007 (so before President Heckler was announced) there were 2917 undergrads enrolled at Valpo. 545 voluntarily identified with the LCMS, 406 with the ELCA, 22 were WELS, and 50 were other / unknown Lutheran. This meant that 35.1% of the undergrads were Lutheran.
In the fall of 2025, there were 2071 undergrads enrolled at Valpo. 48 were LCMS, 38 were ELCA, 3 were WELS, and 114 were other/unknown Lutheran. This means that 9.9% of the undergrads were Lutheran. (BTW, in 2024 6.5% of the new students were Lutheran, and in 2025, 8.8% of the new students were Lutheran).
I get the demographic challenges that the total number of Lutherans (of all denominations) are declining and getting older, and there are far-fewer college age Lutherans. Yet the decline in Lutheran students at VU under the Heckler and Padilla administrations was remarkable, meaningful and rapid.
President Konkol would be wise to rebuild this pipeline, perhaps reaching out to some of the newer denominations like the LCMC and NALC - many of these congregations left the ELCA, and probably were part of VU's historic recruiting base anyway.
If Rev. Konkol is the right prez for VU, he will be able to transcend those intramural differences and promote a campus culture with room for all Lutherans, as well as non-Lutherans who welcome what VU can offer.
I know that sounds pollyannish. But in reality, if VU's next president can't renew its Lutheran connections while bridging that internal gap, then it doesn't bode well for the university's future.
Todays college age students know little or nothing about the LCMS/ELCA split or they care less. Hopefully the President Konkol can renew more interest in todays college bound students who profess the Lutheran faith. VU is not a Seminary. Let's hope and pray that Valpo will enroll more "Lutheran" kids than recent figures show as the new President begins a renewed effort to recruitment in this area. I believe he will indeed do that.
I recorded a podcast on my drive home from Marquette and I discussed the President hire in the back half of the pod. That was also around 1:45 in the morning and I was a bit delirious. I touched on the ELCA/LCMS conversation during that time, and I'll be honest, I plead ignorance into the many nuances of their differences. I grew up going to LCMS schools, and being told ELCA were the crazy ones, but my father became a Methodist pastor when I was 18 (and later a UCC pastor).
The analogy I used on the pod is one we often joke about in Wisconsin. There are many in Wisconsin who swear by Harley-Davidson and believe the ONLY motorcycle worth riding is a Harley. Then there are those who ride a Kawasaki or some other kind of sport bike. The line I've heard from some Harley riders has been "It doesn't matter what you ride, just so long as you ride."
I just had a discussion with a handful of my students tonight and they are excited about having a Lutheran president. They were seemingly unaware of any rift in the Lutheran church. Granted, one of them was Catholic and another is Greek Orthodox. Two others don't count themselves as overly religious, but love the ideas of good works and good will toward each other that are often preached in relation to religion. It was a good conversation.
Back to sticking to sports.
@thevictorybell Had to login just to comment. Loved the student observations and perspective. The Harley analogy - spot on.
Back to sticking to sports.
Todays college age students know little or nothing about the LCMS/ELCA split or they care less. Hopefully the President Konkol can renew more interest in todays college bound students who profess the Lutheran faith. VU is not a Seminary. Let's hope and pray that Valpo will enroll more "Lutheran" kids than recent figures show as the new President begins a renewed effort to recruitment in this area. I believe he will indeed do that.
My experience is a little different. As someone in an executive leadership position at the LCMS seminary level, I speak with young men and pastors on a weekly basis. I do not shy away from the fact that I am a Valpo graduate, even though in these circles, Valpo is theologically looked down upon. This is despite the fact that many of our faculty members who are over the age of 60 attended Valpo. I can tell you from a vast amount of experience that many Lutheran high school students from my area, which is predominantly LCMS, tell me they never considered going to Valpo. Most pastors will also tell me that they would never recommend Valpo to high school students in their congregation. I feel that LCMS students in our area, the area and congregations that purchased VU, look for more conservative religiously affiliated schools. Many more students from Concordia Lutheran High School in Fort Wayne attend Hillsdale or the LCMS Concordia Schools than attend Valpo. This was not the case 25 years ago. I still believe in Kretzmann's vision and recommend to students that they consider Valpo, especially if they are interested in STEM.
I also pray that Valpo will enroll more "Lutheran" kids and that the new President can somehow reconnect with the 130 LCMS High Schools in the US.
