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.
This year鈥檚 theme for the Winter One Act Festival is 鈥淏reaking out of the Box,鈥� stories which tell of how people make decisions and the consequences. The plays aim to show how these impact us and the ways in which they make us who we are.
鈥淭he Winter One Acts gives you a seat to the world-premiere of five new shows put on by your听fellow students,鈥� says director and costume designer Pia Mueller.
Students of all majors will join together from Wednesday, February 28 through March 3 to perform the Winter One Acts. Also known as the One Act Festival, these are one-act plays written and performed by North Park Students.
鈥淚 love the variety of people that are involved. For other shows, it is usually the same group of people involved; but for the One Act festivals, it’s people from all over campus. We have everyone from听music majors to international students,鈥� says Pia. Pia is a criminal justice major who enjoys the creative power and liberty which comes along with creating costumes for each of the shows. 鈥淚 have the ability to shape how the audience sees the characters. And as a director, I can take a script and create a show from it.鈥�
This year鈥檚 theme for the Winter One Act Festival is 鈥淏reaking out of the Box,鈥� stories which tell of how people make decisions and the consequences. The plays aim to show how these impact us and the ways in which they make us who we are.
When the lights go up, it is Stage Manager Mara Franzen who gives the order. 鈥淢y favorite part is Tech, which is when we bring in all the costumes, light, sound, props, costumes, and actors all together in the same place for the first time. During the actual performances, I am in the booth calling light and sound cues, and overseeing transitions between the different shows.鈥� Mara, who is a triple major in theater, creative writing, and Scandinavian studies, describes her favorite part of the One Acts: 鈥淢y favorite part is the very first run of the shows with tech, all the pieces come together, we get to see the whole festival fall into place, and there is such a sense of pride in the art we are creating.鈥�
The shows will begin every evening at 7:30 and will run for about an hour and a half. Admission is $5 for anyone who wishes to attend (but if you find a 鈥淏reaking out of the Box鈥� promotional postcard on campus, you can get $1 off). The One Act Festival is open to all!
鈥淚 would tell someone who hasn’t seen the One Acts to just give it a shot. It鈥檚 all student-led so it鈥檚 flexible and it鈥檚 just a great intro to 萝莉社 theatre,鈥� says Payton Walles, who is an actor this year. The English education major adds, 鈥渢his year, the plays all do a good job of showing people reaching a different breaking point and how many different ways someone can deal with life-changing incidents.鈥� This will be Walles鈥� second year acting in the Winter One Acts.
鈥淭he challenges and joys that accompany storefront theatre provide the perfect foundation for a tight-knit community,鈥� says Professor of Theater Dr. Chad Eric Bergman, 鈥渁nd that is exactly what you can expect from North Park Theatre.鈥�
North Park’s Carlson Tower Gallery is a living hub of art as it houses student, faculty, and guest artist works throughout the academic year.
North Park’s Carlson Tower Gallery is a living hub of art as it houses student, faculty, and guest artist works throughout the academic year. Most prevalent each spring semester is the work of senior art students as they complete their senior seminar project which involves creating, curating, and exhibiting a solo art show.
Leading up to their senior exhibitions the students also participate in curating an “En Route” show, featuring up-and-coming local artists. The task of seeking out and engaging with professional artists听is part of the senior seminar experience as students witness first-hand the pursuit of art-making outside of the classroom.
The recent exhibit听En Route: Fine by Design showed side-by-side the work of two young artists, Dylan Bradshaw and Madeleine Hettich, graphic designers by trade whose personal practice also includes work that would traditionally be characterized as fine-art. Works shown听by Hettich included detailed drawings of live and taxidermied animals from Chicago’s Field Museum and a hand-made book exploring the artist’s short-term memory loss. Bradshaw’s works included a series of commissioned dog portraits created with vector illustration as well as an embroidered textile exploring Chinese culture and the concept of “craft” or “women’s work.”
Madeleine Hettich
Dylan Bradshaw
Bradshaw and Hettich visited the gallery for the show’s reception, during which they were able to share about their works, their processes, and their thoughts towards the distinctions made between fine-art and graphic design. Both artists expressed some dismissal of these distinctions while recognizing that design-oriented work often poses unique creative challenges which help听inspire their听other practices. In regards to making work by commission in contrast to one’s own volition, Hettich denied that she thought of one as superior or more inspired than the other. “Half of Rembrandt’s work was likely commissioned. We recognize his work as fine-art, yet we can’t know if he听would have created them on his own.”
奥丑颈濒别听Fine by Design was an engaging, thought-provoking听show, it was also just a taste of what is still to come for Carlson Tower Gallery this spring. Currently on display is the annual Student Art Scholarship Exhibition which features student work submitted for the coveted art scholarship. A limited number of scholarships are awarded each year, and the submissions听are a fine display of promising talent. The scholarship show will remain through March 7, with the first senior exhibition of the year opening soon after.
To stay informed about future art exhibits and receptions be sure to check in with the art events calendar.
The MLKJ Award highlights those on campus who are doing exceptional work in the area of restorative justice and racial reconciliation.
Daniel White Hodge, 萝莉社鈥檚 assistant professor of intercultural communication, is the 2018 recipient of North Park鈥檚 Martin Luther King Jr. Award.
Hodge, who before coming to North Park spent 17 years working with urban youth through organizations such as Young Life and World Vision, continues to advocate for urban youth justice issues.
He鈥檚 also a recognized youth culture expert and cultural literacy scholar. At North Park and at schools including Fuller Theological Seminary, Hodge has taught classes on race and ethnicity in religion, black popular culture, and听hip-hop discourse.
The MLKJ Award was created in 2017 by Jacqueline Strapp C鈥�08, head of the Office of Diversity, to highlight those on campus who are doing exceptional work in the area of restorative justice and racial reconciliation.
Dr. Mary Trujillo, a communication arts professor, was the recipient of North Park鈥檚 first MLKJ award last year.
Trujillo and Hodge were recognized for working continuously with the community, faculty, staff, and students to 鈥渂e disciplined in our demeanor in not being divisive, to continue to do better, and strive for peace at the forefront鈥攚ith peace being what MLK fought for,鈥� Strapp said.
Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at North Park, Gregor Thuswaldner joined the ACAD Board of Directors’ Class of 2019 and will serve a two-year term.
Gregor Thuswaldner, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, was elected as a Board Member of the American Conference of Academic Deans (ACAD) at the Annual ACAD/AAC&U Conference in Washington, DC. Thuswaldner joined the Board of Directors’ Class of 2019 and will serve a two-year term.
The American Conference of Academic Deans was founded in 1945 to support the work and development of provosts, deans, and other university leaders. According to their website, “ACAD provides academic leaders who share a commitment to student learning and to the ideals of liberal education with networking and professional development opportunities to support them in their work as educational leaders.”
Learn what the Career Development and Internships Office has to offer students at 萝莉社.
The Career Development and Internships Office (CDIO) is a resource for every student throughout and after they complete their studies at North Park. The CDIO听helps undergraduate students match their vocation to major, develop critical work skills, master professional branding, engage in a job search, and network with alumni and professionals.鈥� CDIO staff walk alongside students from their prospective visits, throughout college, and into the workplace.
NP: Who does the CDIO serve?
Bozeman:听The CDIO serves all undergraduate students as well as North Park’s graduate students and alumni.鈥� We focus on professional coaching, career mapping, advanced networking strategies, and simple financial planning related to salary negotiations.
NP: When should students connect with the CDIO?
Bozeman:听We make every effort to connect with students as soon as they arrive to campus.鈥� We know that our high-performing graduates complete hundreds of hours of volunteer service, internships, career research, professional development, and financial planning.鈥� To inform and support students about best practices, we created the Career Advantage program.鈥� The program lists critical activities for each year of study at North Park, and includes an easy tracking system to help students articulate their accomplishments.
Pamela Bozeman,听Senior Director of Career Development and Internships
NP: What is “Career Advantage” and why should students participate?
Bozeman:听Career Advantage is a four-year plan, fully on-line, connected to employers and campus activities, incentivized, and is what employers want to see.
NP: Why should students seek internships and jobs during their studies?
Bozeman:听According to an on-line source鈥疌areerUp, 鈥淚f you have a鈥�痙isplayed on your resume, it will give you a competitive advantage over all the candidates applying for the same position. Employers understand that graduates that do not have any practical experience may lack the skills required to excel on the first day of their employment. Employers value internship experience because they provide students with skills that they cannot acquire in a school setting.鈥�
NP: Does the CDIO have a job or internship finder for students and alumni?
Bozeman: Yes, Carer Hub. CDIO staff assist students looking for internships and jobs using several search engines, professional contacts, off-site job fairs, and our own on-line job directory – Career Hub.
NP: What do you wish students knew about your office?
Bozeman:
The CDIO staff have a cumulative total of 20 years of experience in higher education, 20 years of experience in college admissions and career readiness, and more than 10 years in workforce development.
We serve our students and alumni for as long as they need us, free of charge.
A look at the unique messaging of North Park’s new marketing campaign.
A new marketing campaign for 萝莉社 will soon be featured on billboards throughout the city of Chicago as well as on traditional FM radio and Spotify Radio ads. For听interested members of the North Park community, the University offers this insight into the campaign’s unique message.
Campaign description:听“True Leaders are Truth Seekers” is a bold educational message that is unique in the market. Passion, Purpose, Preparation, and Direction are overly used competitor positions that cannot compare to the strength and purity of the word Truth. North Park’s Truth statement embodies personal truth, social truth, and spiritual truth as well as the belief that education pursues and values those truths. The North Park educational experience helps to create, foster, and direct students to be true to themselves, true to their faith, true to their principles, and therefore to be true leaders in every facet or path their career takes them.
Campaign imagery: To keep the Truth Seeker message honest and true, it was important to use real North Park students in real campus situations to embody and impart the spirit and validity of the campaign. To accomplish this, the campaign features real North Park students photographed on campus, in their environment, showing the diversity, breadth of culture, ethnicity, and individualism that is a strength of the University. The tone and style of the photography exude a quiet and strong confidence in the student’s decision, their future, and their personal truth that is inspirational and aspirational. This direction was achieved through subtle smiles, comfortable body language that is not forced, and a variety of poses and perspectives that do not always involve looking directly at the camera鈥攁ll in context of their real academic situations. The strategic direction of these visuals connect to the audience and embody not only Christian values but socially conscious positions that are very much relevant in the world today. The presentation of these powerful images in billboard executions with a clean and uncluttered messaging hierarchy and call to action maximizes impact and creates a distinctive, strong brand in a cluttered and saturated education landscape.
North Park Senior Renee Baker is nominated for the prestigious Glenn T. Seaborg Science Scholarship after completing an internship with NASA.
North Park Senior Renee Baker has been nominated for the prestigious Glenn T. Seaborg Science Scholarship, an honor bestowed upon an outstanding natural science major at one of the six colleges recognized by the Swedish Council of America as a Swedish Heritage College. North Park is recognized as such an institution because of its active connection with modern Scandinavia, via its language studies听and academic exchange programs.
鈥淚鈥檓 so incredibly honored to be nominated for this scholarship,鈥� said Baker, an environmental science major, of the award named for the famed Swedish chemist.
She鈥檚 certainly worthy: while many college kids spend their break on the beach or working a part-time job, Baker was doing test flights with NASA. Last summer, Baker spent two months in California interning with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, tagging along on plane rides, collecting atmospheric data and learning how various instruments worked.
The Carol Stream, Illinois native actually applied for the NASA internship on something of a whim. 鈥淚 honestly just got an email from [chemistry professor] Dr. Rienstra-Kiracofe, and I applied because, why not?鈥� Baker says. Rienstra-Kiracofe provided a letter of recommendation, and the next thing Baker knew, she was on her way to Irvine, Ca.
In addition to the flying experience, Baker spent several weeks on campus听at the University of California, Irvine, where she learned how to use tools to perform remote sensing and took a trip to the Jet Propulsion Lab. At the end of the internship, she and her group presented to a group of NASA employees and fellow students.
Ultimately, Baker, a physics minor, plans to pursue a career in alternative energy and biomimicry engineering, a field of science that seeks sustainable solutions to human-generated problems by copying patterns in nature. For instance, scientists who specialize in biomimicry are testing new plumbing and electric systems that mimic the branch-like structure of trees and leaves, as they may be more efficient than pipes positioned at right angles.
Baker will find out in March if she has won the coveted Seaborg prize, which includes airfare to Sweden, a living stipend, and participation in December鈥檚 Stockholm International Youth Science Seminar, a weeklong series of events arranged in connection with Nobel Peace Prize activities.
North Park Seminary has honored the Rev. Dr. Richard W. Carlson by dedicating a room in Nyvall Hall to the late professor, a lifelong learner who spent his life fighting racial injustices.
North Park Seminary has honored the Rev. Dr. Richard W. Carlson by dedicating a room in Nyvall Hall to the late professor, a lifelong learner who spent his life fighting racial injustices.
The space is called Richard鈥檚 Renaissance Room, a nod to Carlson鈥檚 devotion to a variety of pursuits, from history to baseball, Civil Rights, poetry, and biblical scholarship. Carlson鈥檚 wife, Jolene Bergstrom Carlson, said her husband also loved spending time with his children and spent his life fighting against societal hatred and violence.
鈥淩ichard especially had a head and heart for racial justice, lamenting over racial injustices until his final moments,鈥� Jolene said. 鈥淭o Richard, all people belonged and had worth.鈥�
The Richard Renaissance Room, designed as a place to read, pray, and connect with others, is being furnished by $30,000 in private donations to the Seminary. The money also provides tuition assistance via the Richard and Jolene Carlson Scholarship Fund to a seminarian whose studies focus on justice issues.
鈥淩ichard was brilliant, but he never used his mind as anything but a tool to encourage his students to engage with the complexities of faith and life through thoughtful questions and readings,鈥� Jolene Carlson said.
The dedication took place Jan. 24, during the ECC’s Midwinter Conference.
To donate to the fund, visit , select 鈥渙ther鈥� and include 鈥淩ichard Carlson Memorial Fund鈥� in the comment box to designate your giving. You may also mail checks to 萝莉社鈥檚 Development Office:
萝莉社
Development Box 6
3225 W. Foster Ave.
Chicago, IL 60625.
January 15th, 萝莉社 will present an MLK Jr. Celebration featuring Gospel Recording Artist Corey Barksdale and Chicago Activist Sherida Morrison.
On听January 15th, Dr.听Martin Luther King, Jr.听Day,听萝莉社’s听Black Student Union Group will present an inspirational presentation commemorating Dr. King’s fight for justice and peace.
MLK Jr.’s own words will serve as the inspiration for the event: “The hope of a secure and livable world lies with disciplined nonconformists who are dedicated to justice, peace, and brotherhood.”
Chicago’s听leaders work to restore justice 萝莉社听is committed to supporting听Chicago’s听diversity and embracing leaders who have demonstrated restorative justice. Like King, Morrison and Hodge each believe听in nonviolent methods of pursuing social justice.
Keynote speaker听Sherida Morrison听is the founder of Demoiselle2Femme, a female empowerment group. Through the non-profit, Morrison has developed “a community-based model encouraging the avoidance of at-risk behaviors as a strategy for success while empowering girls with the hope of accomplishing their educational and professional goals through self-discipline, hard work, commitment and service to their community.”
North Park’s听Hodge, assistant professor of intercultural communication, is a recognized urban youth culture expert and cultural literacy scholar. He will also honor the legacy and racial justice work of Dr.听Martin Luther King, Jr.听at the Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary. His presentation is titled “No Church in the Wild: Christianity, White Supremacy, Black Liberation and Hip Hop.”
In addition to MLK day,听North Park’s听Office of Diversity Director听Jacqueline Horbrook听works continuously with the community, faculty, staff, and students to “be disciplined in our demeanor in not being divisive, to continue to do better, and strive for peace at the forefront鈥攚ith peace being what MLK fought for.”
The service will be held at 10 a.m. in Anderson Chapel and the celebration will be live-streamed at听.
Nearly 300 students received undergraduate and graduate degrees during 萝莉社鈥檚 Winter Commencement Convocation Friday, Dec. 15.
President Carl Balsam presided over 萝莉社鈥檚 Winter Commencement Convocation Friday, Dec. 15, in which nearly 300 students received undergraduate and graduate degrees.
In his remarks, Balsam challenged graduates to do justice and show mercy in their lives after college. He also kicked off his address with a well-received joke about tuition.
鈥淲hen I was told I was responsible for something called the 鈥榗harge to graduates,鈥� my initial thought was, haven鈥檛 we charged them enough?鈥� Balsam said to wide-spread laughter and applause.
Then, Balsam offered the graduates a message of 鈥渆ncouragement and challenge,鈥� noting that the current job market is strong, especially for those with college degrees. He then urged graduates to show mercy by 鈥渕aking things right not just for yourselves, but others.鈥�
He noted that many students had stood with fellow DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) students whose status as citizens was being challenged. Students should continue to fight for such social justice issues upon graduation, he said.
The Ahnfeldt Medallion for academic excellence was presented to Thomas H. Cellilli IV, who majored in Biblical and Theological Studies and earned a 3.969 grade point average. Board President Christine Strand awarded Cellilli the Medallion, noting his 鈥済ift of leadership鈥� as well as his many extracurricular activities while at North Park, including coaching a middle school baseball team.
Following Christmas hymns, scripture readings and a charge to students by Balsam and Provost Michael O. Emerson, diplomas were handed out by Emerson, followed by cheers from family and friends in the audience.
A reception for graduates was held in Hamming Hall following commencement.
Author Ana FundukPosted on Categories Stories
Daniel White Hodge, 萝莉社鈥檚 assistant professor of intercultural communication, is the 2018 recipient of North Park鈥檚 Martin Luther King Jr. Award.
Gregor Thuswaldner, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, was elected as a Board Member of the American Conference of Academic Deans (ACAD) at the Annual ACAD/AAC&U Conference in Washington, DC. Thuswaldner joined the Board of Directors’ Class of 2019 and will serve a two-year term.
North Park Senior Renee Baker has been nominated for the prestigious Glenn T. Seaborg Science Scholarship, an honor bestowed upon an outstanding natural science major at one of the six colleges recognized by the Swedish Council of America as a Swedish Heritage College. North Park is recognized as such an institution because of its active connection with modern Scandinavia, via its language studies听and academic exchange programs.
