John Ruff News Today

A judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed against Valparaiso University and its president, José Padilla, in a bid to stop the sale of millions of dollars of artwork to fund dorm improvements for first-year students. Sale of the artwork isn’t going forward yet, as the Indiana Attorney General’s Office still has to rule on whether the Percy H. Sloan Trust, which provided directly or indirectly for ...

Warm Fall Aids Harvest – Extends Outdoor Fun

The warmer-than-average October is the sixth consecutive month of above-average temperatures for North Dakota, according to Daryl Ritchison, director of the North Dakota Agricultural Weather Network

Wednesday’s tour of the Brauer Museum of Art on the Valparaiso University campus by residents of Pines Village Retirement Communities was to celebrate the legacy of Josephine Ferguson as a major benefactor of the museum. Ferguson, who died March 11 at age 99 and also lived at Pines Village, would have been 100 on Aug. 30. Her investment in artwork, said those leading the tour of the Ferguson ...

Clagett Sailing and U.S. Sailing will host the 2023 U.S. Para Sailing Championships alongside the 21st C. Thomas Clagett, Jr. Memorial Clinic and Regatta

Could the historic St. Johns River Lighthouse at the edge of Naval Station Mayport be opened to the public, or even moved? Advocates hope so.

Court documents are expected to be filed in Porter County on Monday against Valparaiso University and its president, Jose Padilla, in an attempt to stop the sale of artwork from the university’s Brauer Museum of Art in violation of the trust that provided it to raise funds for the renovation of dorms for first-year students.

As controversy swirled on the Valparaiso University campus weeks after President Jose Padilla announced the private school was considering selling three cornerstone pieces from the Brauer Museum of Art to fund dorm renovations for first-year students, the university purchased The Market, formerly Strongbow Inn, for $2.2 million, according to Porter County records.

For Valparaiso University junior Ashley Vernon, a visual media arts major, news that the university plans to sell three cornerstone works from the Brauer Museum of Art to raise funds to renovate dorms for first-year students was just another thing that makes her feel as if the university is increasingly pushing arts programing to the side.

As the Valparaiso University campus grappled Thursday with news about the pending sale of cornerstone artwork from the Brauer Museum of Art for dorm improvements, four organizations representing North America’s art museums issued a statement condemning the university’s decision and the irreparable harm they said it will cause.