Alumni Connections

Homecoming 2024

Alumni and friends from near and far will make their way back to Valparaiso University for Homecoming 2024 and Family Weekend, now combined to create one unforgettable event. Join us for the newly designed, more action-packed kickoff on Oct. 4, and the Lutheran Centennial Hymn Festival, featuring a 500-voice choir, on Saturday, Oct. 5. Cheer on your Valpo football and volleyball teams as they take on the Drake Bulldogs on Saturday at noon and 6 p.m., respectively. Go Valpo!

Coming Together for the Joy of Music

As winter came to a close and spring crept into the Region, Valparaiso University alumni were invited to attend a March 2, 2024 concert by the Fox Valley Symphony Orchestra in Appleton, WI. The show featured Nicole Lee, adjunct instructor of music and a member of the Valpo faculty since 2007, performing Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, described by FVSO conductor Dr. Kevin Sütterlin as “perhaps the most difficult piano piece ever written.”

Also in early March, gatherings of Valparaiso University alumni and friends in Valparaiso, Fort Wayne, and Cedarburg, WI, were kicked off with performances by the Valparaiso University Music Department and The Bach Institute. The groups presented Soli Deo Gloria — a worshipful concert of anthems, hymns, and a cantata by J.S. Bach.

Baseball Near and Far

Valparaiso University alumni had the chance to celebrate their alma mater and their love for baseball both in the Midwest and in the nation’s capital. On June 8, 2024, fans in Brown and Gold cheered on the Washington Nationals as they took on the Atlanta Braves, while members of the Valpo family rooted for the Cubs and Brewers at American Family Field on June 29.

Bringing Expert Knowledge

Alumni, friends, and members of the community had the opportunity to benefit from a wide range of experts covering fascinating topics this year. Professors from around the country gathered to discuss interfaith issues on January 29, 2024, during the panel titled “The Virgin Mary from Christian and Muslim Perspectives,” hosted by Valparaiso University’s own Ossama Abdelgawwad, Ph.D., assistant professor of theology.

Those with their eyes on the stars learned more about the mathematics that put human explorers among them, as well as some of the political challenges they faced. In the presentation “The Mathematics of Hidden Figures,” hosted by Talitha Washington, Ph.D., of Clark Atlanta University, participants learned about the mathematician behind John Glenn’s historic space flight: Katherine Johnson. The event was hosted by the Phi Beta Kappa Society.

Valpo alumni, along with the meteorology department, gathered for the second time at the American Meteorological Society Annual Meeting on Monday, January 29, 2024. Members of the alumni family enjoyed each other’s company and had the chance to speak with Valpo students and alumni while hearing from the University’s distinguished meteorology faculty.

For more on upcoming alumni events, please visit the calendar here.