Robert W. Bertram Collection
Robert Walter Bertram (1921-2003) was a Lutheran pastor and theology professor at Valparaiso University from 1948 to 1963. During his time as chair of the Department of Theology he pioneered, together with departmental colleagues, a unique program of theological education for church-related schools, bringing other academic disciplines into Biblical and ethical studies. In 1963 Bertram accepted a call to teach at his alma mater, Concordia Seminary in St. Louis. And for the rest of his life St. Louis was his home. The collection consists of three boxes of copies of Bertram's works (publications, sermons, and letters) in addition to books from his personal library that contain significant marginalia, underlining, or inserted notes.

Katharine Ertz-Bowden Collection
Katharine Ertz-Bowden (1876-1965) was an alumna, librarian, and archivist of Valparaiso University.  She and her husband Charles L. Bowden traveled on the lyceum circuit from 1900-1910 in the United States and Canada lecturing on "Hiawatha" and "The Passion Play at Oberammergau."  Documents in the collection date from 1900 to 2015. The collection consists of eleven series: correspondence, scores, biographical information, photographs, programs, advertisements, scripts, newspaper clippings, negatives, posters, and lantern slides. These eleven series are arranged in seventeen boxes. The collection also contains eleven original wooden lantern slide boxes (housed separately).

Idael Makeever Collection
The Idael Makeever Collection is from the estate of Idael Makeever who lived from 1867 to 1954. Documents date from 1888 to 1986. The Idael Makeever Collection consists of eleven series: books/manuscripts, poems, photographs, published poems, short stories, articles/commentaries, biographical information, miscellaneous items, sheet music correspondence, J.L. Makeever books/manuscripts and oversize items.

Ernst C. Schwidder Collection
Ernst Carl Schwidder (also known as Ernest C. Schwidder) (1931-1998), former faculty member and first head of the Department of Art of Valparaiso University, was widely recognized for his work in ecclesiastical art and architecture. He was involved in over 350 church building or renovation projects and his work can be seen throughout the United States and Canada. The collection consists of sixty-eight tubes of plans and drawings; six boxes of mixed materials including drawings, photographs, posters, and documents; four biography scrapbooks covering the years 1953-1974; a liturgical artist notebook; thirty-four boxes of slides that have been scanned; and an additional thirteen boxes of slides that have not been scanned; two boxes of unprocessed materials.

Soul Purpose Collection
Soul Purpose, the liturgical drama troupe of Valparaiso University, began by performing plays by David H. Kehret and transitioned to developing original plays based on biblical texts like Luke, Matthew, John and many others. Founded and directed by John Steven Paul (1951-2009), a Professor of Theatre at Valparaiso University, the Soul Purpose troupe performed for masses of people in congregations, schools, conferences, and other settings between 1987 and 2009. The Soul Purpose group traveled for many of their performances and visited various cities throughout the continental United States. Additionally, Soul Purpose offered plays, workshops, and other events at the Institute for Liturgical Studies. The Soul Purpose troupe was disbanded with the unexpected death of John Steven Paul in 2009. Overall, the Soul Purpose collection contains 34 originally produced liturgical dramas and multiple adapted plays. Further information can be found on the Soul Purpose Liturgical Drama and Essays page on Valpo Scholar.

Wienhorst Collection
Composer Richard William Wienhorst had a long and mutually beneficial relationship with Valparaiso University. Dr. Wienhorst wanted a set of his compositions to remain in the possession of the University, where and for whom so many of them were written. This link describes the collection and his compositions.