Nursing graduated in 1971. In 1976, Valparaiso University began NCAA Division I competition.
In 1991, Valparaiso became home to the Lilly Fellows Program, a national program that supports young scholar-teachers, during its inaugural year. This program has grown to almost 100 universities. The 1998 men's basketball team reached the Sweet Sixteen of the Division I national tournament. In 2002, a new international study center was established in Hangzhou, China (since shuttered). Phi Beta Kappa established a chapter at Valparaiso University in 2004. In 2013 the university completed a solar furnace and research facility, the only undergraduate institution to operate a solar furnace, and one of only five solar furnaces in the US.
=== Enrollment declines and financial challenges ===
In 2008, Mark Heckler became Valparaiso University's 18th president. During his initial years in office, Heckler embarked on the "most comprehensive and collaborative strategic-planning endeavor in the University’s history". The plan …
