Ku Klux U: An Indiana University briefly considers KKK Control in 1923

Hoosier State Chronicles posted a fascinating article by Stephen J. Taylor on January 6, 2016, "Ku Klux U: How the Klan Almost Bought a University." 

Taylor explores a brief period in 1923 when Valparaiso University, facing seemingly insurmountable financial problems, entered into talks with Milt Elrod, editor of the KKK's The Fiery Cross newspaper. 

While the conversations didn't lead to any serious offer, they did cause quite a bit of concern with opposition to any deal reflected in a number of articles and editorials published in various newspapers. 

Taylor incorporates images of newspaper articles and advertisements into his writing and places them within a broader narrative explaining how the once promising institution of higher education was at a point of desperation where it seriously considered a possibility of KKK control.

JSTOR also offers an article online by Lance Trusty, All Talk and No "Kash": Valparaiso University and the Ku Klux Klan, from the Indiana Magazine of History, Vol. 82, No. 1 (March 1986), pp. 1-36.

Visit the Valparaiso University web site for a timeline and more information on institutional history.

Several previous College History Garden posts provide more information on Valparaiso University history:

• Sunday, September 2, 2012  Valparaiso Male and Female College (IN)
• Tuesday, December 19, 2017  Campus Fires Shape Valparaiso University and Students Present Results of Archival Research
• Sunday, December 13, 2015  Campuses: Four Centuries of Changes and Challenges