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Hello Alumni, Parents, and Friends of CC,
Greetings from Mueller Hall. As I write we are about a month into the new school year and the Commons, classrooms, and hallways of Mueller are hopping. This summer, we continued to upgrade our beloved building to enable students to plug in laptops and charge devices in the new lobby workspace. In addition, we added a screen and projector discreetly in the ceiling in the Commons so we can screen films at events. I think about the various changes to the building throughout my time here, noting that we are always in the process of making way for changes in the world around us while preserving the core values of reading closely, interpreting generously, discussing thoughtfully, and being fully in community.
In that vein, I opened the school year with the annual Dean’s Address titled: The Value of Curiosity. Setting the tone for this school year, I argued that curiosity is a value that leads to human flourishing. It is a social value that requires humility — intellectual and spiritual — and courage to open yourself to discovering something which might change you, and care because the things that matter most in life are those that we do in community. I ended with a charge that I will share with you as well: to live by the value of curiosity in our approach to learning wherever that may be; in our lives at home, in our communities; and in our interactions with each other. Even as tension heats up with the election, as slurs and slander proliferate, focus not on the things that make your heart and mind seize up and shut down — fear, anger, anxiety, panic — but on the things that make you truly curious in the best sense of the word, leading with humility, courage, and care.
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CC in Pictures: 2024 CC PicnicOn August 27, students and faculty beat the late summer heat with an indoor version of the CC Picnic in the Commons. Despite the necessity to pivot from a cookout to a cook-in, attendees did venture outdoors to enjoy one very special addition to the program: The Valpo Velvet ice cream truck! Before dinner, the community had the opportunity to hear from Dean Prough in her annual dean’s address.
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Upper row, left to right: CC students Bianca Olfert, Drew Attinger, Gabby Unzicker, Madeleine Koetke, Sarah Iselin, Noah Durlam, and Becca Schatte pose with the Valpo Velvet ice cream truck. Dean Jennifer Prough enjoys a moment of levity in the annual dean’s address.
Lower row, left to right: Moira Lindner and Connor Joffe enjoy a picnic in the Commons. Visiting Assistant Professor of Humanities and Literature Amanda Ruud and her children inspect the First-Year Program author buttons designed by CC senior Quinlan Scott. Professor of Art History & Humanities Gretchen Buggeln and Aiden Koch stay cool in Mueller Hall.
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Visit Us at Homecoming & Family Weekend
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Valparaiso University Breaks Ground on the Rifai Institute
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Thanks to a generous gift from neurosurgeon Dr. Hytham Rifai and his family, Valparaiso University broke ground on August 23 for the Rifai Institute, an interfaith and intercultural center that will serve as a hub for programming that deepens the campus’ cultural literacy and prepares students for citizenship and careers in the broader global community. As a part of the ceremony, Christ College Scholar and Distinguished Student Award recipient Jenna Rifai ’21 offered a Muslim prayer. Also in attendance were University President José Padilla, J.D.; Congressman Frank Mrvan; Valparaiso Mayor Jon Costas ’89 J.D., ’19H; and CC Scholar Momin Mirza ’22, ’24 MA, who will serve as the Institute’s inaugural director.
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From left: Hytham Rifai addresses the crowd in attendance at the future site near the Kade-Dusenberg German House. Jenna Rifai ’21 leads attendees in a prayer from the Muslim faith tradition. Rep. Frank Mrvan asserts “Our nation was founded on freedom, and freedom of religion – a freedom that recognizes our diversity. That diversity is our strength in the Northwest Indiana region.”
Below: The Rifai family pose at the groundbreaking.
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As we begin another exciting recruitment cycle searching for the Class of 2029 CC Scholars, your memories and advice will help sustain our community of learning and shine a light on how truly special the Valpo CC experience is. Share your story by filling out the Christ College Alumni Spotlight form and we’ll feature you on Christ College social media, here in our Spillikin e-newsletter, on our website, and in other important communications to the CC community.
If you have other news you would like to share or ideas for connecting with the College, current students, or alumni, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at christ.college@valpo.edu.
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| In Closing
I hope to see many of you on campus for Homecoming or hear from you throughout the year. The new Alumni Spotlights have been a great way for us to see firsthand the amazing things CC alumni are out doing in the world. As we feel the tensions of a polarized nation in which the reigning values often seem to be shouting hyperbole and falsehoods, and even hatred, I am heartened to know that all of you — CC grads with the habit and skills of reading closely, thinking deeply, and conversing compassionately even with those with whom you disagree — are out in the world doing great things.
I look forward to connecting with you all again soon.
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Jennifer Prough ’91, Ph.D.
Dean and Professor of Humanities and East Asian Studies
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