On the Lutheran Tradition of Higher Education and Valparaiso University

Earlier this semester, I developed and taped a longish lecture on the Lutheran tradition of higher education and Valparaiso University. I had hoped that, through this lecture, first-year students in my Core class (on empathy and dialogue) might gain a better understanding of aspects of Valpo's identity and its Lutheran heritage. While I had developed the lecture for them, I later thought that perhaps others beyond Valpo might like to watch it as well. 

I have broken the lecture into three segments.

Part one may be viewed here.

Part two may be viewed here.

Part three may be viewed here.

As I told my freshmen students, the lecture will test your patience, but if you stick it out to the end, you just might gain greater clarity about this place and about some of the central theological ideas that have historically shaped it. One of the nice features of a taped, online lecture is that one can pause it whenever a break becomes necessary. You can stop the professor from talking whenever you want!

Also, as I state at the beginning of the lecture, this is simply my "take" on the Lutheran tradition of higher education and its relationship to Valparaiso University. Other professors at Valpo or other Lutheran scholars might put the emphases elsewhere or describe Valpo's identity differently. But I do think that what I present in the lecture highlights some of the key features of that complicated tradition and shows their abiding connection to the university I'm proud to serve.