Valparaiso University has passed through three distinct phases. From 1859-1871, this Methodist institution pioneered coeducation as the Valparaiso Male and Female College. In 1873, it was revived by an enterprising educator, Henry Baker Brown, as the Northern Indiana Normal School, renamed Valparaiso College in 1900, and re-chartered in 1906 as Valparaiso University. During these years, it established business and law schools and won national recognition as a low-cost, no frills institution of higher learning.

Valpo’s modern era began in 1925 when it was purchased by the Lutheran University Association, a group of clergy and church laity. Distinguished by its Lutheran heritage of scholarship, freedom, and faith, Valparaiso University continues to fulfill the dreams of these modern founders. During this period, Valpo has established itself as a premier Midwestern university that combines a thorough grounding in the liberal arts with solid professional training. In the 1940s, the University, spurred by student action, established a school of engineering and adopted a student-administered honor system. The Christ College honors program and a school of nursing further enriched the University’s offerings. The majestic Chapel of the Resurrection, a fitting symbol of the University’s commitment to its Lutheran ideals, was built in 1959.