SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Rev. Brian Konkol, who has been serving as VP and dean of Syracuse University’s (SU) Hendricks Chapel, will become the 20th president of Valparaiso University in Indiana.
Valparaiso’s board of directors on Tuesday announced the appointment, which goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2026, per the university’s website.
Konkol brings more than two decades of higher-education leadership, global experience, and “mission-centered vision” to the role. He is also an ordained minister of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
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During his time at SU, Konkol was a member of Chancellor Kent Syverud’s executive team. He led a strategic plan and oversaw a 933 percent increase in student participation at Hendricks Chapel; expansion of more than 2,000 annual programs; and the development of a nationally recognized model for spiritual, ethical, and interfaith engagement in higher education, per the Valparaiso announcement.
Konkol also played a key leadership role in Syracuse’s successful $1.5 billion campaign, including “dramatic” growth in annual giving and donor engagement.
As a professor in SU’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Konkol has taught courses on religion, conflict, and collaboration, and is also a senior research associate in the Program for the Advancement of Research on Conflict and Collaboration (PARCC).
“I congratulate Brian Konkol on his appointment as President of Valparaiso University,” Syverud said in the Valparaiso announcement. “Brian has been an exceptional leader at Syracuse University, bringing a deep commitment to student success, interfaith understanding, and academic excellence. He has led dialogue across differences, supported students in moments of joy and challenge, and strengthened the values that define us as an institution. Valparaiso has chosen a leader of great wisdom, compassion, and purpose. We are deeply grateful for Brian’s service to the Orange community and wish him every success in this new chapter.”
Konkol is married to Kristen Konkol, associate teaching professor and undergraduate director of exercise science at SU’s David B. Falk College of Sport.
