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https://t.e2ma.net/webview/g32bun/8a9a26f09e8335a53b15c0ad06317119.
Here is a letter that went out today. Apparently the theology department got the news just this morning.
Dear Friends -
I'm writing to give you a heads up about some news that you may hear coming out of Valpo today. Over the past year we have been going through a program review as part of our strategic planning process. Part of that review includes evaluating the number of majors we offer and the enrollment in each program.
The decision has been made to place a small number of programs into a program discontinuance process. The Theology major and minor are among those programs. You can find the full information here: https://t.e2ma.net/webview/g32bun/8a9a26f09e8335a53b15c0ad06317119.
This does not mean that the programs will definitely be discontinued. It also doesn't mean that Theology would disappear even if the major and miner were discontinued. All of our students have to take 2 or 3 Theology courses depending on their major. Regardless of final decisions, all current students enrolled in these programs will be able to finish their degrees at Valpo.
I wanted to let you know about this before you hear about it elsewhere. The campus community received an email at 11:30 AM. The affected departments were informed this morning.
Valpo remains committed to its Lutheran identity and faith-based mission to prepare students "to lead and serve in church and society." This is evidenced by the fact that we have the highest number of students we've ever had in our Allen Scholars program. This program helps students discern how they are called to live out their Christian vocations. Many of those students are discerning a call to ministry; all of them will be fantastic leaders in their congregations.
What can you do?
1. Please pray for our community...particularly those who are directly affected by the cuts.
2. Feel free to reach out to me and/or the President's office to express your feedback. My email address is brian.beckstrom@valpo.edu and you can email the President at president.admin@valpo.edu.
3. Please pray for wisdom and guidance for the coming review process. After I learned about the affected programs on Tuesday, I felt a lot of emotions. Now I find myself asking, "What is God up to at this moment? How is God calling us to reimagine the way we prepare ministry leaders and help all our students to develop theological literacy?"
Thank you for your prayers and faithful service to the church. May you be filled with the hope of the resurrection even as we travel with Jesus this Lenten season through the darkest valleys.
Blessings,
Brian
