VALPARAISO, Ind. (AP): The contract of Valparaiso University’s president has been extended through June 2021.

The university’s board of directors announced Monday that it had entered into a new five-year contract with President Mark Heckler. He first became the university’s president in 2008.

Board members cited Heckler’s leadership overseeing the university’s enrollment growth, campus expansion and implementation of a strategic plan.

Before Valparaiso, Heckler served at the University of Colorado Denver for over a decade, including as provost.

Valparaiso University is a Lutheran college in northwest Indiana with roughly 4,500 students.