José D. Padilla is the 19th President of

Valparaiso University Valparaiso University (Valpo) is a private university in Valparaiso, Indiana. It is a Lutheran university with about 3,000 students from over 50 countries on a campus of . Originally named Valparaiso Male and Female College, Valparaiso Universit ...

. Padilla was most recently vice president, university counsel, and secretary of the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...

system, and previously held similar roles for 15 years at

DePaul University DePaul University is a private university, private, Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th-centu ...

Early life and education

Padilla was born at a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

base in

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

, and was raised in

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and according ...

. He earned a bachelor's degree in elementary education from the

University of Toledo The University of Toledo (UToledo or UT) is a public research university in Toledo, Ohio. It is the northernmost campus of the University System of Ohio. The university also operates a Health Science campus, which includes the University of T ...

and a Juris Doctor from the

University of Michigan School of Law The University of Michigan Law School (Michigan Law) is the law school of the University of Michigan, a public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 1859, the school offers Master of Laws (LLM), Master of Comparative Law ...

Career

Padilla began his career practicing law. Since 2005, Padilla had served as General Counsel at

and in 2019 became the secretary of the university. In 2010, he was named one of 100 influential Hispanics in the October 2010 edition of the

Hispanic Business The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties former ...

magazine. In July 2020, Padilla was selected to be vice president, general counsel and secretary to the Board of Regents at the

President of Valparaiso University (2021 - present)

On 28 February 2021, Padilla was inaugurated as the 19th President of

. He is the first

Mexican-American Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexica ...

and

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

president to serve the

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

university. Upon taking office, Padilla had inherited a university in declining attendance and revenue. In response, he announced a five-year strategic plan called "Uplift Valpo."

Georgia O'Keeffe controversy

On 8 February 2023, Padilla sent a campus-wide email announcing an update to the five-year strategic plan. As part of the plan, a project was now in the works to renovate the existing first-year freshmen residence halls. "We intend to pay for this initiative through a practice we will use for other parts of the strategic plan. We will consider assets and resources that are not core or critical to our educational mission and strategic plan, and reallocate them to support the plan", Padilla had stated in the email. Though he did not specify what the "assets and resources" were, an article from the

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

written by Richard Brauer, the founder of Valparaiso University's

Brauer Museum of Art The Brauer Museum of Art is home to a collection of 19th- and 20th-century American art, world religious art, and Midwestern regional art. It is located in the Valparaiso University Center for the Arts (VUCA) on the campus of Valparaiso University ...

, said three paintings were for sale, including one by

Georgia O'Keeffe Georgia Totto O'Keeffe (November 15, 1887 – March 6, 1986) was an American modernist artist. She was known for her paintings of enlarged flowers, New York skyscrapers, and New Mexico landscapes. O'Keeffe has been called the "Mother of Amer ...

, which had been in the university's collections since 1962. Valparaiso University's Board of Directors authorized Padilla to sell the paintings in October 2022. Brauer announced that if the sales were to go through, he would pull his name from the museum. Both Brauer and John Ruff said that the sales would breach the 1953 Sloan Trust Agreement, which mandates that any profits from sales must go toward other art pieces. The decision also faced backlash from faculty and students, protesting an "erosion of the arts." On 15 February 2023, at least 20 students marched to Heritage Hall to deliver hand-held letters to President Padilla's office. After receiving the letters, Padilla responded by email through University Communications Director Michael Fenton, "The students and I may not agree on this issue. But a university should be an incubator for debate, dialogue, and dissent. If the students are being civil in expressing their heartfelt views, I applaud them for doing so." Matt Murphy, the Mayor of

Valparaiso, Indiana Valparaiso ( ), colloquially Valpo, is a city and the county seat of Porter County, Indiana, United States. The population was 34,151 at the 2020 census. History The site of present-day Valparaiso was included in the purchase of land from the ...

, said he supported Padilla's decision, saying it would benefit both the university and the city. Padilla's plan has been described as "potentially illegal." The Faculty Senate voted 13-6 in a resolution to denounce the sales. Padilla said if the sales do not happen, he will cut programs and positions to make way for the dorm renovations. According to an anonymous Faculty Senate member, Padilla said to them that he would "not fundraise by asking old white guys for money."https://newrepublic.com/article/171163/georgia-okeeffe-rust-red-hills-valparaiso-battle-soul-liberal-arts-college

Personal life

José Padilla is married to Hilda and the couple has two children, Jacob and Camille. Padilla also has a dog named Coach. Ever since being elected President of Valparaiso University, he and his wife have lived in Valparaiso, Indiana.

References

External links

Valpo profile
Presidents of Valparaiso University American academic administrators People from Ohio Year of birth missing (living people) Living people University of Michigan Law School alumni {{US-academic-administrator-stub