The Rev. Otto Paul Kretzmann was president of Valparaiso University from 1940 to 1968. During his administration a new campus was developed, enrollment grew from 400 to 4,000, and the University became nationally recognized.

Before coming to Valpo, O.P., as he was affectionately known, had been executive secretary of the international Lutheran youth organization, the Walther League, for six years. Prior to that, he had served for ten years on the faculty of Concordia Seminary, Springfield, Illinois.

A 1920 graduate of Concordia Collegiate Institute, Bronxville, New York, he received the Master of Sacred Theology degree in 1924 from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, and pursued further graduate study at Columbia, Johns Hopkins, Harvard, and Chicago Universities. He was the recipient of ten honorary doctorates. He died on Holy Cross Day, September 14, 1975, in his 75th year.

This collection consists of notes, addresses, sermons, and speeches created between the years 1921 to 1971. These documents are part of a larger collection of O.P. Kretzmann's personal papers and are housed within the Valparaiso University Archives and Special Collections.

Baccalaureate Sermon: John 16:4, 1965
Sermons
Radio Address: From Heaven Above (Church of the Air), 1940
Addresses and Speeches
Lenten and Easter Meditation: Voices of the Passion: The Seven Words from the Cross: The Third Word, 1944
Meditations
Notes: Thanksgiving Address, 1947
Notes
The Divine Necessity: John 3:30, 1933

The Divine Necessity: John 3:30, 1933

Memorial Service for Andrew Fladeland, David Hansen, Sandra Jensen, and Wayne Brutlag: The Benediction of Sorrow, 1962

Memorial Service for Andrew Fladeland, David Hansen, Sandra Jensen, and Wayne Brutlag: The Benediction of Sorrow, 1962

Valparaiso University Chapel Church Music Seminar: Job 38:7, 1961

Valparaiso University Chapel Church Music Seminar: Job 38:7, 1961

Tenth Anniversary of the Chapel of the Resurrection: The Glorious Company of Angels: Hebrews 1:6-7, 1969

Tenth Anniversary of the Chapel of the Resurrection: The Glorious Company of Angels: Hebrews 1:6-7, 1969

The Living Presence, n.d.

The Living Presence, n.d.

The Abiding Presence, n.d.

The Abiding Presence, n.d.

In Remembrance of Me, n.d.

In Remembrance of Me, n.d.

Lenten Editorial: I Remember, 1943

Lenten Editorial: I Remember, 1943