Valparaiso University Christ College - The Honors College

09/24/2026

While we're all in a picnic mood this weekend...

Let's take a moment for before we hit up all the picnics and barbecues at Homecoming & Family Weekend. Check out these photos from our CC Picnic & Dean's Address, and swipe through to the end to see who won the tug of war (and which university VIP gave them a pregame pep talk).

09/23/2026

We're looking forward to seeing our alumni, family, and friends back on campus for Homecoming this weekend! Make sure to join us on Saturday afternoon for an open house gathering in the Mueller Hall Commons.

📷 While you're in Mueller, check out the new photography exhibit on display in the Commons, featuring work by three Christ College students from their time studying abroad in Cambridge. We'll see you in the Commons!

09/20/2026

Looking for a job after graduation? Or just brushing up your social media skills? Come join one of Dean King’s sessions on how to use LinkedIn! We’ll have two identical sessions, so attend the one that fits into your schedule.

Hey, Seniors! This event counts for Next Steps credit — but it’s open to anyone who wants to level up their LinkedIn game.

09/18/2026

New semester, new Spillikin 🙌

Have you read the latest edition of our newsletter? We'd like to introduce you to some incredible students (not counting the ones who won the tug-of-war contest, though they're pretty great, too). We've also got this year's alumni syllabus, plus a fond farewell to Professor Slavica Jakelic. Don't wait another second -- read The Spillikin today!

🔗 https://christcollegespillikin.my.canva.site/the-spillikin-fall-2026

✉️ If you didn't receive this newsletter by email, contact [email protected] and tell them, "I want my Spillikin!"

09/17/2026

Can a human be friends with an AI chatbot?

Christ College was overjoyed (or should we say, joyed in moderation) to welcome former dean Mark Schwehn ’67, who delivered today’s first-year plenary lecture on Aristotle. Dean Schwehn shared some of what it means to think “with” Aristotle, bringing the Nicomachean Ethics to bear on some of today’s most pressing questions. (And if any computer scientists want to develop an “AI-stotle,” be sure to know what you’re making.)

09/15/2026

"Humanity—in all its grandeur and woundedness—must never be replaced or surpassed."

Next week, join us for a symposium conversation on "Magnifica Humanitas," Pope Leo XIV's first encyclical, which explores the relationship between human dignity and artificial intelligence. Join Professors Tal Howard and Ed Upton for an engaging discussion co-sponsored by Christ College, the Augustine Fellows, and the Saint Teresa of Avila Catholic Student Center.

Our symposium begins at 7pm on Monday, September 21, in the Mueller Hall Refectory. All symposium events are free and open to the public.

09/11/2026

Christine de Pizan (1364-1430) is widely known as one of the first women in Europe to make a living through writing. She is also one of the first European women known to articulate a strong proto-feminist position in writing.

Back by popular demand, our first-year program includes her "Book of the City of Ladies" (1405), in which de Pizan makes a rigorous argument for women's inherent value and capacity for virtue. Within the text, the character of Christine is visited by Lady Reason, Lady Rectitude, and Lady Justice, who help Christine to build an allegorical city populated by women of history and myth -- all exemplars of intellectual and moral virtue.

While the exact date of de Pizan's birth is not confidently known, we celebrate her birthday today, along with the recognition that virtue and vice are not the exclusive province of any one s*x. Fun fact: Christine de Pizan got her own Google Doodle on this date in 2021!

09/08/2026

"In an age that increasingly reduces higher education as a market commodity above all else — a temptation to which Valpo itself has not always been immune — the university has an opportunity to remind students and the broader culture that its highest purpose is not simply to produce skilled workers but rather thoughtful men and women prepared for lives of service, leadership, and intellectual seriousness."

On the occasion of Rev. Brian Konkol's upcoming inauguration as Valpo's 20th president, Professor Thomas Albert (Tal) Howard takes a look at what makes Valpo distinctive -- and what opportunities for growth lie ahead.

🔗https://www.valpo.edu/christ-college/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2026/09/GUEST-COMMENTARY-_-An-inauguration-is-more-than-a-new-president.pdf

On September 25, Valparaiso University will inaugurate Brian Konkol as its 20th president.

09/04/2026

If you’re new to campus (or to caffeine), we’d like to take this to shout out our “Coffee in the Commons.” Come join us in Mueller every Friday morning for coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and the occasional sweet treat.

This community gathering is made possible by the generous support of alumni and friends, whose gifts to the Christ College Dean’s Annual Fund help our honors college to flourish. Thank you!

So come join us each Friday, say hi to a professor, and swipe to the last slide to see what Meowller is sipping (cat beverages are not endorsed by the Christ College social media team).

09/03/2026

It’s , and we’re throwing it all the way back to LAST WEEK. Seniors spent a weekend retreat in Mueller thinking about vocation, life after graduation, and habitual reflection as a path to the good life. (All that, and debating the ending to La La Land — not pictured, a group photo AFTER the film!)

Thanks to our friends at Inst for Leadership & Service for reminding us that “calling is not a straight line,” and to Valparaiso University Dining for keeping us fed and flourishing all weekend!