Valparaiso University President José Padilla announced Wednesday that he will retire at the end of the calendar year, capping a five-year tenure which saw disruptions on campus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the expansion of partnerships and programs to bring in new students as faculty and programs were cut, and the controversial planned sale of key artwork from the university’s museum.
His announcement comes three months after the Faculty Senate took a majority vote of no-confidence in Padilla. It was forwarded to the university’s Board of Directors as their October meeting began; the board issued a statement at the time saying it fully supported Padilla.
“It has been an honor to lead Valparaiso University, and build on its long, excellent legacy — and I am fully committed to continuing this work to provide our students with the best possible experience throughout the end of my term,” Padilla said in a release about his departure. “After a long and rewarding career in higher education, it was my vision to enter my retirement at the conclusion of this chapter at Valpo.”
In a memo to the campus community, outgoing board chair Robert Hansen, who also announced his retirement at the end of the year after 18 years on the board, including the last five years as chair, said the board respects Padilla’s decision to resign at the end of his five-year contract.
“As many of you know, when President Padilla accepted the position to lead Valparaiso University in 2020, he made it clear he planned to lead and remain at Valpo until he retired,” Hansen said in his memo. “This decision aligns with that original vision.”
A faculty member who requested anonymity out of concern for their job said the resignation is what a vote of no confidence looks like.
“It says a lot the message of his retirement was announced by the president of the board and not the president himself,” they said. “He expected (a) contract extension. The vote of no confidence made that difficult for the board.”
In an email to the Post-Tribune, Bharath Ganesh Babu, president of the Faculty Senate, said the direct relationship between the faculty vote and the president’s decision was unknown to him and he didn’t want to speculate.
“However, the faculty vote did bring forth tangible efforts from the Board of Directors to improve meaningful communication with us, which we welcome,” he said.
In late October, a majority of the Faculty Senate voted in favor of a no-confidence resolution for Padilla, followed by a majority vote of the full faculty supporting that resolution. The vote took place as the board was holding a meeting on campus.
The resolution, provided by a source to the Post-Tribune, noted six areas in which the Faculty Senate said Padilla failed the university, including not fulfilling primary fundraising responsibilities and not improving student enrollment and retention.
At the time, the board voted unanimously in support of Padilla, according to a statement issued then by university spokesman Michael Fenton.
The board’s resolution said it “hereby expresses its full confidence in President Padilla, commends him for his actions, and encourages him to continue to move the institution forward to ensure the success of Valparaiso University and preserve its Lutheran tradition.”
The Board of Directors, according to its release, will convene a search committee including the board, faculty and additional constituents across the campus community to select the university’s 20th president, and also will engage the efforts of a third-party search firm to support the process. The search is expected to begin in April, with regular updates to the community.
The board has elected Jon Steinbrecher, P.E.D., to serve as Chair-Elect, effective immediately. He is a 1983 graduate of the university.
As the board moves forward with its search for a new president, Babu shared in his email what his expectations are for the campus community in the coming months and for a new university president.
“Valparaiso University is a vibrant institution that offers tremendous value to our service-minded students, and through them, to the community as a whole. I am convinced that the faculty, staff, students, and alumni are committed to working together for its continued service to the region despite various challenges,” he said in his email.
“We would like the next president to inspire harmony, coherence, and a shared vision, but also be a pragmatic visionary who can tackle institutional management with effective communication, agility, care, and compassion.”
Valparaiso University President Jose Padilla says he looks forward to being a part of the Valparaiso community at a gathering of the Valparaiso Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, April 29, 2021 at Aberdeen Manor. Padilla announced Wednesday that he is retiring at the end of the year. (Michael Gard/Post-Tribune)
Padilla announced academic program cuts in July, along with which programs were being “reimagined,” and which ones would be re-evaluated in three years, with the expectation that there would be a “modest reduction” in the faculty. The university eliminated 14 staff positions in June as part of a restructuring effort, including Jonathan Canning, director of the Brauer Museum of Art.
Padilla also received widespread criticism from the campus and art communities when he announced the possible sale of three cornerstone pieces of artwork from the Brauer Museum in February 2023. The plans to use the proceeds from the sale of Georgia O’Keeffe’s “Rust Red Hills,” Frederic E. Church’s “Mountain Landscape” and “The Silver Vale and the Golden Gate” by Childe Hassam, to fund dorm renovations for first-year students are moving forward.
The museum’s namesake and founder, Richard Brauer, tried to intervene in the university’s petition to amend the Percy H. Sloan Trust to allow for the sale but withdrew his request in late August, the day before Porter Superior Court Magistrate Ana Osan’s ruling in support of the university, because he risked being beset with an unknown amount in legal fees.
During his tenure, Padilla developed partnerships with Ivy Tech Community College and the City Colleges of Chicago to foster campus diversity. University officials have said that expanding diversity at VU is part of the university’s five-year strategic plan, called “Uplift Valpo, Our Beacon for the Journey Forward.”
alavalley@chicagotribune.com
Georgia O’Keeffe’s “Rust Red Hills” seen through Richard Hunt’s stainless steel “Becoming” at the Brauer Museum of Art on the Valparaiso University campus in Valparaiso, Indiana Friday February 10, 2023. Campus and community members continue to react to announcement of the pending sale of O’Keeffe’s and two other works to fund first-year student dorm renovations. (Andy Lavalley for the Post-Tribune)
