Valparaiso University is honored to announce that the campus fitness center will be renamed in honor of Rin Curtis ’76 Seibert, an alumna and dedicated leader of the campus community whose decades of service have been instrumental in shaping competitive and recreational sports at the University. The renaming celebration will take place later in the semester.

“We are honored to celebrate the impact of Rin Seibert‘s legacy through renaming our fitness center in her memory,” Director of Athletics Laurel Hosmer said. “While serving the Valpo student body for four decades, Rin exemplified sportsmanship, courageousness and selflessness while fostering a positive and welcoming environment for all. The ideals that she embodied will forever remain part of the Valpo experience.” 

Seibert graduated from Valpo with a degree in physical education, and helped build the competitive gymnastics program as the assistant director of the Valparaiso Family YMCA. Afterwards, Seibert pursued a graduate assistantship at Indiana University in Bloomington, earning her masters in recreation in 1979. 

From 1980 to 2020, Seibert served as a beacon of leadership in sports and recreation at Valparaiso University as the head of recreational sports, associate director of athletics,  and undergraduate instructor in kinesiology. She was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma as a student, and served as faculty advisor for the sorority on campus. Seibert’s many awards and accolades included the NIRSA Regional Award of Merit for Outstanding Contributions to Region III in 2016, the Panhellenic Council Excellence in Teaching Award in 2015, and the Valparaiso University Outstanding Service Award for 30 years of service in 2010.

“Rin made a lasting impression on countless students through her time at Valpo and was a mentor to so many student-athletes,” said Carin Avery, head coach of the Valpo volleyball team. “She was an inspiration, with the courage and faith she showed through multiple battles with cancer, all the while continuing to faithfully serve the University.”

Beyond campus, Seibert had a distinguished, 30-year career as an IHSAA judge for high school gymnastics, including 12 state finals. In 2017, she received the Interscholastic Athletics Official Award for excellence in the sport of gymnastics.

Today, Seibert is remembered for her dedication to bettering the lives of young athletes, and her courage and faith in her battles with cancer. In addition to the naming of the fitness center, her legacy lives on in the Rin Seibert Scholarship and Rin Seibert Sportsmanship Award.