North Park has served five generations of students and continues to grow in diversity, academic relevance, and Christian commitment. Our Chicago location is a great asset that reflects the School鈥檚 global reach and outlook.
After 125 years, we鈥檝e learned how to streamline the process of helping qualified applicants seek admission to North Park and find affordable ways to attend. If you don鈥檛 see what you鈥檙e looking for on our website, please contact us directly!
North Park offers more than 40 graduate and undergraduate programs in liberal arts, sciences, and professional studies. Classes average 17 students. 84% of our faculty have terminal degrees. Academics here are rigorous and results-oriented.
North Park Theological Seminary prepares you to answer the call to service through theological study, spiritual development, and the formative experiences of living in a community with others on a similar life path.
The Office of Alumni Engagement fosters lifelong connections by engaging alumni with the university and one another in activities, programs, and services that support the university鈥檚 mission and alumni needs.
萝莉社鈥檚 Center for Civic Engagement partnered with a local community organization to prove their efforts to lessen neighborhood violence have been successful.
萝莉社鈥檚 Center for Civic Engagement partnered with a local community organization to prove their efforts to lessen neighborhood violence have significantly reduced crime.
Founded in 2003, the Firehouse Community Arts Center in North Lawndale engages local children and teens in various art programs to prevent them from joining gangs or participating in criminal activity.
North Park鈥檚 Assistant Professor of Psychology Amy Governale, along with two student workers, concluded crime had dropped 73.7% since 2020 after parsing four years鈥� worth of crime statistics. Using data from 2021 to now, they tracked three two-mile-wide areas in the North Lawndale neighborhood, examining the number of police responses and encounters, 911 calls, and ShotSpotter alerts.
One especially effective way to track the program鈥檚 success is to compare North Lawndale to other neighborhoods where crime has also fallen. When Governale and her group did so, they discovered the decrease鈥攕pecifically in homicides, fatal shootings, and aggravated batteries鈥攊n North Lawndale has been so dramatic that parts of the neighborhood are no longer considered high-crime areas.
For instance, homicides were down 30% in the area the Firehouse Community Arts Center serves compared to a decrease of 14.6% in the rest of Chicago. Violence and gang-related 911 calls in the area decreased by 35% over the same three-year period, and non-fatal shootings declined by 80%.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a sense of awareness that the people who used to create terror on our streets are not doing that as much because they鈥檙e with us, learning to cook and creating art,鈥� Firehouse founder Rev. Phil Jackson told WGN-9 TV recently.
Governale is excited about how North Park can engage with other institutions to provide similar services. She said her two student workers, Jayla Sotelo and Nora Nunez, have become highly proficient in parsing and analyzing data.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e extremely well-trained in crime analysis, and for us to go to places and offer this skill to community groups, people are extremely impressed,鈥� Governale said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 something they can take with them after college and use to help non-profits.鈥�
Now, the Firehouse is widening its reach by collaborating with local corporations and sports teams, such as the nearby Chicago Bulls and Blackhawks, to assist in job placement for teens it mentors.
For more information about the Firehouse Community Arts Center鈥檚 work, go to .
Former 萝莉社 School of Education Dean Rebecca Nelson was unanimously approved as co-interim superintendent for Community High School District 128.
Former 萝莉社 School of Education Dean Rebecca Nelson was unanimously approved as co-interim superintendent for Community High School District 128, which comprises Libertyville High School and Vernon Hills High School. Nelson was dean from 2008鈥�21, a position from which she retired. She serves as co-superintendent alongside Raymond Lechner, with whom she has successfully worked as a team on several interim assignments, most recently at Hinsdale Township High School District 86. Read more at the .
This fall, 萝莉社 (萝莉社) will begin its ESL Teaching Cares program to provide childcare and English classes to refugees who have recently arrived in the Albany Park area.
This fall, 萝莉社 (萝莉社) will begin its ESL Teaching Cares program to provide childcare and English classes to refugees who have recently arrived in the Albany Park area.
萝莉社’s Community Outreach & Global Partnerships team within University Ministries developed this program alongside the South-East Asia Center and the City of Chicago’s Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights.
ESL Teaching Cares will provide its services primarily to refugees living in the former U.S. Marine Corps facility on Foster Avenue, which the City of Chicago purchased for $1.5 million last fall to convert into a migrant shelter.
萝莉社 students will serve as childcare providers or English tutors under the leadership of Ben Swihart, coordinator of Community Outreach and Global Partnerships, and 萝莉社 student intern Davianna Schuh.
鈥淭he ESL Teaching Cares program overall promotes the care and advancement of underserved populations in our community, working alongside organizations that have been doing this work for decades,鈥� Schuh said. 鈥淥pportunities like this have been proven to increase graduation rates, diversify students鈥� perspectives, and increase professional credentials for North Park students.鈥�
萝莉社 previously provided resources to immigrant families by hosting a food and clothing drive last December. More than 60 volunteers鈥擭orth Parkers and representatives from the North Park Community Association, Alderman Samantha Nugent’s office, Aramark, and other community groups鈥攃ollected and distributed clothing, blankets, and supplies to 225 families.
The seemingly divergent worlds of Matt Flesch BA ’96 and Nancy Faust BA ’69 came together four years ago during the COVID-19 pandemic, thanks to their mutual connection to the Chicago White Sox.
The seemingly divergent worlds of Matt Flesch BA ’96 and Nancy Faust BA ’69 came together four years ago during the COVID-19 pandemic, thanks to their mutual connection to the Chicago White Sox.
Faust鈥攖he team’s long-term organist and Major League Baseball’s first female organist鈥攎et Flesch, a lifelong fan of the South Siders, when he started a project to distract him from the boredom of home confinement. A massive Sox fan, Flesch鈥攚ho works in marketing for Amgen, a biopharmaceuticals maker鈥攚as making a now completed documentary about the Sox’s home stadium called “Last Comiskey.”
He posted a request for archival Comiskey videos on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) and was shocked and delighted to receive a response from Faust, the organist at Comiskey for more than 40 years.
“Nancy Faust is a legend to Sox fans,” Flesch said. “So, I was so elated when she reached out; it was a bonus to find out she was so nice.”
A native of Edgebrook, Illinois, Faust went to North Park because “music was the only thing I knew, and North Park was the place for music.” But she soon noticed that her fellow students could read music and knew all the classics when she had only a natural ear. Eventually, someone pulled Faust aside and told her that her ability to play any song by ear wasn’t enough to continue as a music major. Taking his advice, she switched to elementary education. Spoiler alert: she never taught.
Instead, she continued to pursue her true love by forming a musical trio, performing at parties and events. Ironically, it was her knack for playing just about any song by ear that grabbed the attention of the Sox general manager鈥攚ho was attending one of her gigs鈥攖hat sealed her fate. He gave her his card, and she followed up. The rest is history.
It was a match made in baseball heaven, with flash-fingered Faust able to react instantly鈥攚hether it was the moon coming up over the scoreboard or a black cat running onto the field鈥攁nd pound out the appropriate tune. Perhaps her biggest claim to fame is popularizing “Na Na Na Na Hey-ey Goodbye” when an opposing player strikes out.
“I had a dream job, and they took good care of me,” Faust said of the Sox.
So, when she saw Flesch’s post about the documentary, she was eager to help, putting him in touch with many former players and managers, including Jack McDowell and Ozzie Guillen. Thanks to the boredom of COVID-19, plenty of people were happy to unspool their memories during Zoom interviews.
Flesch taught himself video editing and, with the help of his brother, Mike, spliced together a series of videos that premiered on YouTube in March 2023. The series received local media coverage, and Faust and Flesch attended its premiere, including a game at the Sox’s current home, Guaranteed Rate Field.
Now, Flesch is hard at work on a series about the old Chicago Stadium, the legendary home of the championship Chicago Bulls and Blackhawks, for release sometime next year. Faust, incidentally, also played the organ there.
Thanks to their many connections, including North Park, Faust and Flesch now consider themselves good friends. Flesch’s family has visited Faust and her husband at their home in Mundelein, Illinois, where Faust raises donkeys. Incidentally, the hobby started when Faust stepped in to adopt a donkey that, shockingly, went unclaimed at a White Sox giveaway.
“That’s what I love about North Park; you meet alumni everywhere,” Flesch said.
“I tell so many people how North Park was the perfect school for me. I got to do so many different things, from playing baseball to being sports editor for the newspaper, where I got to interview [then Seattle Seahawks Coach] Mike Holmgren a week before they played in the Super Bowl. North Park was just a very well-rounded experience for me.”
Oh, and in case you’re wondering who covered for the inimitable Faust on her sick days? Pretty much no one; over the course of her career, which ended in 2010, she only missed six home games following the birth of her son, Eric.
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) brought its People’s Academy, a condensed version of its Training Academy, to North Park’s campus last month.
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) brought its People’s Academy, a condensed version of its Training Academy, to North Park’s campus last month.
COPA is an independent agency that investigates allegations of police misconduct. The academy’s goal is to engage Chicago residents in weekly meetings throughout the city to educate them about the agency’s work in public safety and accountability.
“In many instances, residents only learn about COPA based on media reports or hearsay,” said Ephraim Eaddy, COPA’s first deputy chief administrator. “Because our investigations and outcomes are related to police and community interactions鈥攊n the form of complaints to the agency, for example鈥攊t is imperative we provide clarity of process and core functions.”
Eaddy emphasized the interactive nature of the meetings, as community input is vital to their operations.
“If we expect people to trust an agency like COPA with their experiences, then we must be willing as leaders of the agency to make ourselves available to hear from residents, and we must be incredibly transparent about our investigations,” he said.
COPA is led by Chief Administrator Andrea Kersten BA ’01, daughter of former North Park Theological Seminary Dean David Kersten. Read more about Andrea and her work with COPA here.
Congratulations to all the students who made the spring 2024 dean鈥檚 list.
Congratulations to all the students who made the spring 2024 dean鈥檚 list. Degree-seeking students with at least 12 semester credit hours at 萝莉社 and a GPA of 3.5 or higher are eligible for this honor.
The MMP will feature four tracks: vocal arts solo, vocal arts ensemble, keyboard arts vocal coaching, and keyboard arts conducting.
鈥淲e are excited at the possibility to broaden the potential graduate student pool by creating a more attractive, versatile, and practical degree with direct application to numerous jobs in music,鈥� said Chad Eric Bergman, interim co-dean of SMAT. 鈥淲e are also partnering with Chicago arts organizations to provide an optional internship program for our graduate students to bridge the gap between study and professional practice.”
Musical professionals will lead the program, guiding students through a curriculum of theory and practice in music performance, pedagogy, and leadership skills, all against the backdrop of Chicago鈥檚 rich cultural arts scene.
Students will benefit from a personalized program with small cohorts of five to eight and flexible class schedules for working professionals. An undergraduate degree in music is not required to enroll.
The two vocal tracks will include intense vocal training. Soloists will focus on stage and concert repertoire, while ensemble students will study choral singing and conducting. Keyboard arts vocal coaching students will concentrate on solo and chamber performance; keyboard arts conducting students will study directing diverse genres.
North Park has designed this degree to prepare students for the rigorous and multifaceted career demands of professional musicians. Dr. You-Seong Kim, a SMAT professor of applied voice and vocal pedagogy, hopes the MMP will produce 鈥渘ot only music makers, but music lovers.鈥� SMAT also aims to equip underrepresented musicians with the opportunity to take on leadership roles in their chosen fields.
萝莉社 announces Jerri A. Haynes as the new dean of its School of Education.
萝莉社 announces Dr. Jerri A. Haynes as the new dean of its School of Education.
Haynes holds a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education and a Master of Education in Elementary Education from Florida A&M University. From Nova Southeastern University, she earned her Doctor of Education in Child and Youth Studies with a minor in curriculum development and systemic change and an Education Specialist degree in teaching English to speakers of other languages with a minor in educational leadership.
A seasoned leader, Haynes most recently served as the dean and a tenured professor at the College of Education and Human Development at Jackson State University. There, she led five departments and directed four academic centers that offered degrees in multiple modalities, from the bachelor to doctoral levels.
Previously, Haynes was the dean and a tenured professor at Tennessee State University’s College of Education, where she led a faculty and staff of 60 and managed an enrollment of 900 students. Her earlier roles included assistant dean, director of assessment and accreditation, and associate professor at Fort Hays State University; she also held various leadership positions at Bethune-Cookman University and the Madison County School District.
Haynes’ extensive experience in academic and administrative roles, combined with her commitment to educational excellence and leadership, positions her to guide the School of Education toward a future of growth and innovation.
Martha Shimkin BA 鈥�84 has been named director of the Environmental Protection Agency鈥檚 (EPA) Chesapeake Bay Program Office (CBPO), where she will work to preserve the local environment.
Martha Shimkin BA 鈥�84 has been named director of the Environmental Protection Agency鈥檚 (EPA) Chesapeake Bay Program Office (CBPO), where she will work to preserve the local environment.
鈥淲hat we鈥檙e really looking forward to is not just restoring and protecting and conserving, but alsohanding up something to the next generation that is even better,鈥� .
Shimkin previously served as the CBPO deputy director from May 2021鈥揇ecember 2023. At North Park, she studied Swedish, German, and business administration. Shimkin joined a service trip that built a school in Haiti, then joined the Peace Corps before working for the EPA, according toThe Banner.
Coach Kimberly Maljak and North Park dance team captains Katelyn Paulus BS 鈥�24 and fourth-year Jayla Sotelo co-authored an academic article for Strategies: A Journal for Physical and Sport Educators.
Coach Kimberly Maljak
Katelyn Paulus
Jayla Sotelo
Coach Kimberly Maljak and North Park dance team captains Katelyn Paulus BS 鈥�24 and fourth-year Jayla Sotelo co-authored an academic article for Strategies: A Journal for Physical and Sport Educators. Paulus and Sotelo were captains during the 2022鈥�23 and 2023鈥�24 academic years. In the summer of 2023, they and Coach Maljak created ways to keep the team conditioned and motivated leading up to their August pre-season camp.
The article, results from the success of those ideas and an effort to share them with other dance coaches. Maljak, Paulus, and Sotelo hope to motivate high school and college dance team student-athletes to physically prepare for camp independently. Additionally, their “Motivational Mondays” and weekly skill videos aim to build camaraderie during the offseason.
Coach Maljak said of Paulus and Sotelo, “Working with these two outstanding students outside of dance-related events was a pleasure. Their dance experience and research knowledge allowed them to contribute meaningful insight to this article.”
Paulus studied exercise science with a minor in psychology, and Sotelo is majoring in psychology. The dance team attended nationals for the first time in March, placing sixth in poms and eleventh in jazz.
Author Kennedy MurphyPosted on Categories Stories
