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.
New partnership makes it easier for more students to connect with North Park
聽CHICAGO (April 18, 2016) 鈥� Students applying to 萝莉社 for Spring 2017 or later will now have the ability to do so through the , an online system used by nearly 700 colleges and universities in the United States and around the world to manage the college admission process.
According to Genaro Balcazar, vice president of enrollment management and marketing, 鈥淔or 萝莉社, becoming a member of the Common Application is about making the college application process a little more manageable for students. North Park and the Common Application share a joint goal of promoting college access by reducing barriers in the college application process.鈥�
The Common Application is a nonprofit member organization that seeks to advance 鈥渁ccess, equity, and integrity in the college admission process.鈥� Over 900,000 students use the Common Application online system annually to submit more than four million applications.
鈥淥ur partnership will help alleviate some of the complexity of having to complete multiple admission applications, and puts us alongside many of our peers in the industry,鈥� added Balcazar.
鈥淓ach of our new members comes to the Common Application with a unique mission and distinctive qualities that attract a broad range of bright and talented students,” said Common Application senior director Scott Anderson. “We are excited to welcome innovative institutions that all share our commitment to advancing college access.”
Interested students can聽. Common Applications for the 2017鈥�2018 academic year will to 2018鈥�2019 and beyond. The answers for any of the questions that appear in the six sections of the 鈥淐ommon App鈥� tab (Profile, Family, Education, Testing, Activities, and Writing) will be preserved. High school counselors can use , a flexible advising tool, to introduce students and families to the college preparation and application processes whenever is best for individual needs.
Students can still choose to submit their application . For more information about how to apply to 萝莉社, please contact admissions@northpark.edu.
President Parkyn addresses MAP Grant funding and North Park鈥檚 commitment to affordability
The Monetary Award Program (MAP) has provided grant funds for Illinois residents to attend college in the state since 1967. The State of Illinois budget, which includes authorization for this program, ran out on July 1, 2015, leaving many students and universities (including 萝莉社) vulnerable to funding shortages. Significant coverage has been given by news outlets to the impact of the budget impasse on higher education.
Last month, Professor Jon Peterson on how the state arrived at this point, as well thoughts on what must happen at the state level to restore these funds. Director of Financial Aid Carolyn Lach also in the Spectrum, North Park鈥檚 student magazine.
Here, in an open letter to future North Park students and their families, President Parkyn addresses concerns related to MAP Grant funding and other financial aid issues.
By Dr. David L. Parkyn, President of 萝莉社
Many of us here at 萝莉社 and around the state of Illinois have been carefully monitoring the budget impasse in Springfield. The standoff involving the governor and both sides of the legislative aisle represents a real threat to the way all colleges and universities across the state are able to provide students with a high quality of affordable education. This confrontation has left the Monetary Award Program (MAP) awaiting funding for the current (2015鈥�2016) budget year as well as for the next (2016鈥�2017) budget year. No one in the state knows when funds for MAP may become available. However, as the legislature reconvenes this spring for its next session, we are hopeful for some good news.
I wanted let you know that all of us at 萝莉社 are keenly aware of the sacrifices that students and families make, and the careful considerations that you will be making about where to attend college in the fall. I want to assure you that, despite threats from the state, 萝莉社 is strongly committed to making every effort to support our incoming students and their families to make attending North Park a reality.
Here at North Park, we often think about who we are. Our core values of being Christian, urban, and intercultural are clear to anyone who steps onto our campus. Along with these values, we like to reference something our founders mentioned 125 years ago. They said North Park would be an institution where 鈥渉ospitality is especially insisted upon.鈥� Hospitality offers the sense that everyone is welcomed. In higher education, it means that students feel valued in their learning environment. At North Park, it means that each student is a treasured member of our tight-knit community.
North Park decided over a decade ago to offer a private, high-quality education at a price point well below our competitors. Since that time, we have kept our tuition at a competitive level, and with substantial financial aid from the University, our students graduate with close to the lowest amount of debt for Chicagoland colleges and universities (as by Crain鈥檚 Chicago Business). We鈥檝e remained committed to offering an affordable education to align with the integrity of our Christian identity.
As such, we encourage our incoming students to contact us about the affordability of a North Park education. Please continue the conversation with our admission staff to determine the best way to finance your education with us, including a review of institutional aid opportunities, user-friendly payment plans and ways to ensure appropriate student loan indebtedness upon graduation. Take us up on the offer to learn about the welcoming family that is 萝莉社.
In doing so, I am confident that, as I have come to experience, you will feel the promise of our hospitality and love of our community.
A dispatch from North Park鈥檚 annual writing retreat
By Andie Roeder Moody
Note: As web content manager and writer for University Marketing and Communications, I spend the majority of my days holed away in my office on Spaulding Avenue, writing about what鈥檚 happening across campus. A few weeks ago, I had the rare privilege to join some of our students and faculty for a writing and hiking retreat. I was there to observe, write about the trip, and teach. Below is my account of the weekend.
Read the students鈥� writing from the weekend .
CHICAGO (March 29, 2016) 鈥� It鈥檚 the Friday before midterms, and we鈥檙e loading up vans in the lot behind Burgh Hall. The students are discussing all the homework they鈥檒l be trying to disremember for the next few days. They don鈥檛 get credit for attending this, and it鈥檚 not mandatory. Students of all majors are welcome, but there鈥檚 a strong showing of English and philosophy majors. 鈥淭丑别y鈥檙e about to take on the final push before spring break,鈥� , associate professor of philosophy, tells me. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a breaking point in the semester where most of them could really use a rest. The trip is good for that.鈥�
On the six-hour drive to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, students sing, reminisce, and discuss philosophy. A few know each other already; most of them are breaking the ice. When we arrive at Covenant Point Bible Camp, just past the Wisconsin border, it鈥檚 been snowing all evening. The grounds are coated in a thick layer of powdery snow, and our van struggles to make it up the hill to the cabins. I didn鈥檛 anticipate having no cell phone service. The faculty make no apologies for that鈥攐r for the length of the drive. Though there are closer places we could hold the retreat, Covenant Point is special to them. It鈥檚 remote and wooded; it feels connected to a tradition of nature writers, whom they harken this weekend: Thoreau, Emerson, Dillard. To get to our sessions, we walk several minutes from where we鈥檙e staying to the isolated Nature Center, which is surrounded by trails and forest. Once there, we put our chairs into a circle around the fireplace, where one devoted student builds and tends the fire all weekend. For a few days, we get a slower pace of life than Chicago鈥攐r even other camps鈥攐ffer. Before long, no one misses their cell phones much. A student tells me she鈥檚 really enjoying not knowing what her friends are up to on Facebook.
Saturday and Sunday, our full days at the camp, are structured around meals and learning sessions, with time in between to write and two readings to share your work. Professor of Philosophy opens the retreat with a lesson on tracking animals. We walk around a snowy field and follow the tracks of rabbits and deer. Greg鈥攚hom the students refer to by first name鈥攕ends them off to track animals. He asks them to come back with a story: what the narrative of the animals鈥� movements might be. One group of students tracks the path of a rabbit they imagine to be a Rambo-style secret forest police officer. Another group finds tracks so big that the only imaginable solution is a Yeti. I suggest snowshoes; they are unconvinced鈥攁nd share a poem they wrote about the Yeti.
The lessons build off each other. A quote from Greg’s tracking session becomes a writing prompt for the day: 鈥淭丑别 tracks tell you the story of what happened.鈥� Students read us their stories about tracks of all sorts鈥攕cars, train lines, tattoos, a friend鈥檚 suicide, a carpenter father鈥檚 hands. , professor of English, leads an experiential session on walking. (Listen to the students read their responses to her prompt .) After we eat dinner together, Karl teaches on his two passions鈥攑hilosophy and photography. We close the day by having students read a piece of published writing they enjoyed. On Sunday, I lead a session about how writing has allowed me to learn to pay attention to the world around me. , professor of English, follows me that afternoon with a talk about, essentially, finitude, which she called 鈥渢he dilemma of the day.鈥� Kristy and the authors she referenced offer one answer鈥攑lay.
This was perhaps the lesson that we were all learning most acutely that weekend. Though the sessions and the writing time were powerful and thought-provoking, what felt most remarkable was the shared experience. Afternoons spent鈥攆aculty and student alike鈥攖ubing carelessly down hills and pegging each other with snowballs. An evening when we took on the 鈥減olar bear plunge,鈥� which consisted of sitting in a sauna to get warm before jumping in the frozen lake. The students, in their invincibility, were so delighted with the feeling of the plunge that they did it two or three more times each. Kristy鈥檚 seven-year-old son, Caleb, reminding us all of how the world looked from a few feet lower, chiming in with a childlike perspective during heady conversations, and keeping us laughing. On our last day, a pack of us cross-country skiing and snowshoeing across the mile-wide lake to explore its islands, where we discovered yurts and giant swings. 鈥淚 think when you play together, it鈥檚 the best way to get to know each other,鈥� Markus Tenf盲lt, a , told me. 鈥淧eople relax when they have fun鈥攊t breaks down the barriers.鈥�
Several international students were on the trip, in part to improve their English. Some were self-conscious about sharing writing in their second language, but Kristy commended their work鈥檚 clarity, beauty, and strength. I agreed. 鈥淚nternational students don鈥檛 have a home to go home to during the breaks, like the Americans have,鈥� Axel Rejler, a Swedish exchange student, told me. 鈥淪o this is our chance to get off campus, calm down, and think.鈥� Looking around the snowy terrain, he said, 鈥淩eally, it looks like home. This could be Sweden.鈥�
But the weekend was more than recreation. There were chunks of time devoted to writing on your own, and the students took it seriously, preparing earnestly to share new pieces of writing on Sunday night. What they exhibited throughout the weekend in playfulness, they matched with vulnerability. One shared a poem about the shame he once harbored over his mother鈥檚 vocation as a home cleaner. Another, a ballad about surviving depression. Another, Bob Dylan-inspired lyrics about Swedish politics. The prompts given in all of our lessons were represented鈥攑oetry from a creative writing assignment Kristy gave, essays about walking. I cried as a student read her reflections about the power of paying attention. I鈥檓 not sure what I was expecting from the students鈥� writing, but what they shared throughout the weekend far exceeded it. I鈥檝e collected some of it , because I think what they wrote is beautiful and worth reading.
Students protested as we packed up our vans to head back to Chicago Monday morning. I wanted to protest too. Kristy calls this trip a 鈥渉igh-impact learning experience.鈥� Classroom time, writing, and exams are present at all universities, but this is the kind of thing that sets North Park apart. In exit interviews with seniors, she often hears the writing retreat brought up as a highlight and formative experience.
At the outset of the trip, a student told me he was thinking about transferring; he hasn鈥檛 been able to make good friends in his first year at North Park. Over the next four days, I see a change in him as he learns and writes with his peers鈥攈e鈥檚 more open, happy, understood. I don鈥檛 know where he is in his decision now, but he did tell me the retreat was the most meaningful experience he鈥檚 had at North Park so far.
When asked to describe the weekend in one word, students said 鈥渞estful,鈥� 鈥減eace,鈥� 鈥渆motional,鈥� and 鈥渞ejuvenate.鈥� My word would be 鈥渃onnected.鈥� This, to me, is the heart of the weekend: connection. A college education is more than the sum of one鈥檚 syllabi or credit hours. It鈥檚 the connections of those things with other, memorable, cherished components鈥攃onversations, experiences, relationships, intellectual revelations. It鈥檚 the connections between disciplines: What does it look like to be a writer when you鈥檙e majoring in government? What does an adult life of balance and connection look like? What we began on the retreat with the students is a start towards what we hope they鈥檒l do throughout their time at North Park and beyond: live connected, think deeply, play, pay attention.
Dr. Jon Peterson offers background of how Illinois arrived at the current budget impasse, as well as thoughts on what must happen at the state level to restore MAP grant funds.
Editor’s Note: The Monetary Award Program (MAP) has provided grant funds for Illinois residents to attend college in the state since 1967. The State of Illinois budget, which includes authorization for this program, ran out on July 1, 2015, leaving many students and universities (including 萝莉社) vulnerable to funding shortages. Significant coverage has been given by news outlets to the impact of the budget impasse on higher education. Here, Professor Jon Peterson offers some background of how the state arrived at this point, as well as thoughts on what must happen at the state level to restore these funds.
The current issue of the Spectrum, North Park’s student magazine, addresses this issue in a , director of financial aid.
By Dr. Jon Peterson, assistant professor of politics and government
We currently have no MAP grant funds because Governor Bruce Rauner and the Illinois General Assembly (that is, the state house and the state senate) have failed to pass a state budget. We do not have a state budget because our Republican governor and our Democratic legislative majorities have very different opinions about how to fix the serious problems in our state鈥檚 finances.
Last spring when and Democratic legislative leaders (like House Speaker and Senate President ) began negotiating the budget, the state estimated it would collect about $32 billion in taxes in 2016. The problem is, just to keep state services at last year鈥檚 levels, the state needed $38 billion. So, to fix a $6 billion gap in state finances, our state leaders had three choices: 1. cut services by reducing spending; 2. collect more money by raising taxes; or 3. some combination of both.
Governor Rauner chose the first option. He proposed a budget with no tax increases and steep spending cuts. Democrats in the General Assembly rejected the governor鈥檚 proposal and chose the third option. They passed a series of budget bills that increased taxes and cut spending. But according to the governor, those bills did not cut spending enough, since they would have spent $4 billion more than the state would have collected in taxes. As a result, Rauner vetoed every budget bill except the one that paid for public elementary and secondary schools.
Since the governor and state legislators failed to pass a budget, every state agency and program (other than public schools) technically ran out of money on July 1, 2015. But a series of court orders has forced the state to continue paying state workers and funding state programs at about 90 percent of their 2015 levels. The budget gap remains, however, and Illinois is now spending money faster than it is collecting it. By the end of June, we will overspend by more than $4 billion.
This budget standoff forms the backdrop of the debate. The bill funding MAP grants was one of the budget bills that Governor Rauner vetoed last spring, so the program is currently unfunded. At the end of January, the General Assembly approved , which included full funding ($373 million) for MAP grants. Governor Rauner on February 19, arguing that the state does not have the money to pay for the program. He also wants the General Assembly to give him new authority to make spending cuts during financial crises. Republicans in the legislature have introduced a bill that would give the governor this authority and fully fund MAP grants. But they do not have enough votes to pass the bill, and Democratic legislators are unwilling to give up budget power to the governor.
The Illinois Constitution gives the General Assembly the ability to override a governor鈥檚 veto, but they need 3/5 of their members to agree to do it. As long as Republican legislators side with the governor, the Democrats did not have enough votes to override the governor鈥檚 veto. On March 1, a motion to override the governor’s veto was filed in the Senate, and it arrived to the House on March 2. However, the 3/5 majority vote to override was not successful, and the veto of SB2043 stands.
Looking forward, any successful MAP grant bill is going to need the support of both a majority in the Illinois General Assembly and Governor Rauner. And until that happens, 130,000 college students across Illinois will be left without their much-needed MAP grants.
is assistant professor of politics and government at 萝莉社. His expertise is in the areas of American government and politics, public opinion and voting behavior, and religion and politics.
Singers to bring classical and contemporary works to Covenant Congregations over Spring Break
North Park’s University Choir and Chamber Singers perform throughout the year under the direction of Dr. Julia Davids.
CHICAGO (March 4, 2016) 鈥� Today, 萝莉社 students, faculty, and staff are putting the final touches on months of choral preparation. Next weekend, they鈥檒l be in the Pacific Northwest, nearly 2000 miles away from campus, on a five-city tour over the course of four days.
North Park’s and Chamber Singers will tour the Pacific Northwest over spring break, March 12颅鈥�15. Forty-one students, from聽 and music programs, in addition to several non-music majors or minors, will make stops at six Evangelical Covenant Church congregations and a Covenant retirement community in Portland, Ore.; Mercer Island, Wash.; Seattle, Wash.; Mount Vernon, Wash.; and Bellevue, Wash.
The tour, titled will feature a diverse array of both classical and contemporary sacred and secular works from composers including Ivo Antognini, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ren茅 Clausen, Keith Hampton, Don Macdonald, Edwin Fissinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, James MacMillan, Anders Edenroth, Frank Ticheli, and Larry L. Fleming.
鈥淚 purposely selected varied works that creatively explore the concept of light鈥攖hrough the music and lyrics and overall affect,鈥� explained Dr. Julia Davids, 萝莉社’s聽.
鈥淭丑别 Chamber Singers will perform a ‘Real Group’ arrangement of Swedish and Finnish folk songs聽that nod to our school鈥檚 unique heritage,鈥� Davids added.
In the spirit of North Park鈥檚 vision to be a “campus without borders,” the tour complements student musicians鈥� formal training with experiential learning and real-world performances.
鈥淚 get to experience what it means to be a committed choral member and musician,” says senior major Emily Swearer. “Choir tours mean singing under pressure, when you may not be feeling your best, when you have a million other things you need to do, and singing beautifully and intentionally anyway. It means being in close quarters with the same people for several days and choosing to work together, despite frustrations or fatigue, to make beautiful music.”
The tour also provides an opportunity to see the world beyond Chicago and build relationships with choirmates and faculty. Students room with local families during the tour and enjoy bonding during the bus rides between destinations.
鈥淲ith my family and church family so far away, they never get to see me perform with the North Park choirs鈥擨 can’t wait to look out into the crowd and see their faces,鈥� Swearer says. 鈥淭his is my last year at North Park, and it’s also possibly my last choir tour ever. To have the end of such an influential chapter of my life close at home, is like coming full circle. I’m thankful.”
School of Music touring ensembles regularly visit parts of the country where there are concentrations of University alumni and ECC congregations.
鈥淚 always enjoy seeing students grow and meet the challenges we鈥檝e given them,鈥� said Davids. 鈥淚t鈥檚 also a pleasure to serve as an ambassador for the University.鈥�
All performances are free and open to the public:
Saturday, March 12, 6:30 pm, at Evergreen Covenant Church, Mercer Island, Wash.
Sunday, March 13, 11:00 am, at First Covenant Church, Seattle, Wash.
Sunday, March 13, 7:00 pm, at Bethany Covenant Church, Mount Vernon, Wash.
Monday, March 14, 7:00 pm, at Milwaukie Covenant Church, Portland, Ore.
Tuesday, March 15, 7:00 pm, at Highland Covenant Church, Bellevue, Wash.
Four of seven student applicants granted awards in 2014鈥�2015
Kate Asnicar C’2015 (left) is serving as an English Teaching Assistant with the Fulbright Program in Malaysia. She began her assignment at a secondary school on the island of Borneo in January, with a primary focus on encouraging her students to use the English language.
In a recent email to Dr. Linda Parkyn, she said, “I am having an excellent time here, surviving the 90-degree heat, and am having a hard time coming up with reasons to ever leave. Thank you again for all your support and allowing me to have the best experience of my life!”
CHICAGO (March 2, 2016) 鈥� 萝莉社 has once again been named a top-producer of students winning Fulbright awards, keeping company with schools that include the University of Chicago, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Villanova, and more. The Chronicle of Higher Education in conjunction with a February 22 article exploring Fulbrights鈥� efforts to diversify the students and scholars who participate in this international exchange program.
This honor as a top-producer is based on the 2014鈥�2015 academic year, when seven North Park students applied for the program, and four were granted awards: , , , and . Since 2008, graduating North Park students have taking them around the globe, including to Indonesia, Brazil, Mexico, Andorra, Poland, Romania, Latvia, Bulgaria, Malaysia, Ecuador, Turkey, and Colombia.
, professor of Spanish, spearheads North Park’s efforts around Fulbright awards, serving as mentor and encourager to student applicants. She has been a Fulbright Scholar and twice a Fulbright Senior Specialist, and readily admits to having 鈥淔ulbrightis.鈥� Good candidates, Parkyn says, have stellar grades, a keen interest in some other part of the world, involvement with immigrants and/or refugees at home, and knowledge of another language. 鈥淔ulbright is a prestigious award,” says Parkyn. “But to have this experience early in your life, to give back your first year out of college and become an American ambassador sharing language and culture, it will affect your career choices for the rest of your life鈥攁nd affect change for good in our world!鈥�
Parkyn has been working this academic year with student applicants, but official decisions on who will win student awards will be revealed by the Fulbright Program later this spring. “I can’t give anything away about our student applicants, but we do anticipate more North Parkers to travel the world with Fulbright this year,” she said. “We have three Fulbright semi-finalists for the 2015鈥�2016 year.”
The February list of top-producing institutions is categorized by institution type, and North Park falls into the 鈥渕aster鈥檚 institution鈥� category, a reflection of standard Carnegie Classifications for higher education institutions. This is the second time North Park has earned this distinction.
, the U.S. government鈥檚 flagship international educational exchange program, is sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the United States Department of State. Since its inception in 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided more than 300,000 participants鈥攃hosen for their academic merit and leadership potential鈥攚ith the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.
Clergy, congregations, and students invited to March 5 event
Metropolitan Kallistos Ware’s lecture, “The Unchanging Gospel in an Ever-Changing World,” will offer practical wisdom and suggestions for congregations in the task of keeping the Gospel clear and central to faith for all generations.
CHICAGO (February 23, 2016) 鈥� Metropolitan Kallistos Ware will present the inaugural lecture at 萝莉社鈥檚 , a free, single-day conference, Saturday, March 5, 2016, from 10:00 am until 3:30 pm. The author, professor, and bishop, perhaps best known for his book The Orthodox Church, will present a two-part lecture, followed by responses from other theologians.
According to , professor of biblical and theological studies at North Park and organizer of the Speakers鈥� Series, 鈥淥rthodoxy is on the cusp of a major theological renaissance in the 21st century. This annual event will help establish Orthodox theology as a vital religious force in American life and thought. Kallistos Ware is the right person for that. Coming from Oxford University, he is one of those rare individuals who come along every hundred years in the history of Christianity who is both brilliant and humble. He is a person of the academy, but also of the church. He鈥檚 a living legend in our time.鈥�
Orthodoxy on an Evangelical Campus
As host of this event focused on Orthodox faith traditions, 萝莉社 is highlighting the unifying elements of world Christianity. Nassif, a pioneer in North American ecumenical dialogue, has devoted much of his career to bridge-building between Orthodoxy and evangelicalism, building on both traditions鈥� roots in historic Christian theology and confession. Though Eastern Orthodoxy in the United States is a minority religion, it is one of the oldest faith traditions in Christianity, growing out of 鈥渢he cradle of Christianity鈥� in the Middle East, according to Nassif.
鈥淚鈥檝e worked to bring these two traditions together because I believe in both of them,鈥� he said. Nassif teaches courses in Eastern Orthodoxy as well as others that explore faith connections across traditions. Bringing Kallistos Ware to campus is one way to introduce students from all faith traditions to the Orthodox vision of life.
Centered in the Gospel
Nassif organized the Speakers鈥� Series, with funding from the John C. Kulis Foundation, in the hope of providing practical resources for congregations and ministers across Christianity in the work of spreading the gospel. 鈥淲e鈥檙e addressing a topic of central importance to Christian identity,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hat is the gospel, and what difference does it make in the life of the church?鈥�
North Park student Jeanette Habash shares her journey as an Orthoox Christian.
Ware鈥檚 lecture, 鈥淭丑别 Unchanging Gospel in an Ever-Changing Culture,鈥� will reach to the heart of the question for our cultural atmosphere. 鈥淲e鈥檙e living in a time when Christianity is constantly being redefined in order to fit the agenda of contemporary culture rather than the gospel of Jesus Christ,鈥� Nassif said. 鈥淢y greatest hope is that Bishop Kallistos will help people understand that the solution to the world鈥檚 problems is found most comprehensively in the witness of historic Christian faith. As a result, I hope pastors and people alike will learn how to keep the gospel clear and central for each generation鈥攖he very thing that is most urgently needed in Christianity today.鈥�
The event has received an official endorsement by Demetrios, the Greek Orthodox Archbishop of America. 鈥淣orth Park’s efforts combined with the generosity of the Kulis Foundation will provide a new forum for engagement with the essential role and power of the Gospel in our Orthodox faith,鈥� Demetrios said.
Respondents to Ware鈥檚 lecture include Father John Behr, dean at St. Vladimir鈥檚 Orthodox Seminary; , teaching fellow in church history at North Park Theological Seminary; and Dr. Marcus Plested, associate professor of theology at Marquette University.
For more information and to register, visit . For those unable to attend in person, Ware鈥檚 lectures will be available online through live-stream video at .
In year of diversity milestones, University launches cross-cultural campus discussions
President David Parkyn and Dean of Diversity and Intercultural Programs Terry Lindsay led a campus conversation on inclusion and diversity.
CHICAGO (February 12, 2016) 鈥� When 萝莉社 was founded by Swedish immigrants , its student body was entirely Swedish, with all curriculum taught in Swedish. Today, as the University achieves significant diversity milestones and is recognized nationally for doing so, its institutional makeup is considerably different.
This school year, for the first time in North Park鈥檚 history, there is in its undergraduate population. No group of students, including Caucasians, reaches above fifty percent, highlighting the University鈥檚 commitment to creating a diverse campus community. Last week, the Chronicle of Higher Education to the fact that North Park is 鈥渙ne of the few evangelical colleges where the number of minority students now equals white students.鈥�
鈥淒avid L. Parkyn, the college鈥檚 president,鈥� said the Chronicle, 鈥渁ttributes that success to several things, including a historic commitment to diversity, which he talks about frequently, and being located in a diverse city like Chicago.鈥�
Indeed, as Parkyn told a group of students, faculty, and staff in a campus conversation event earlier this week, 鈥淭oday, we鈥檙e trying to make a shift from an objective of becoming multicultural鈥攂eing comprised of people who come from diverse backgrounds, which is about composition as an institution鈥攖o being intercultural. How does the crossing of cultures get ingrained into the DNA of an institution?鈥�
The conversation focused on diversity, inclusion, and the role that individual members of the North Park community play in continuing to shape the campus community. 鈥淲e are a multicultural campus in terms of composition,鈥� said聽Dr. Terry Lindsay, North Park鈥檚 dean of and associate professor of cultural studies, at the event. 鈥淏ut how do we move to being intercultural? How do we prepare our students for the world that we鈥檙e graduating them into?鈥�
鈥楳oving Beyond Individualism Towards Community鈥�
Parkyn and Lindsay opened the conversation by explaining that it would be the first in a series of campus-wide discussions in which issues surrounding diversity could be raised and engaged. As they opened the floor to questions, several members of the faculty and staff, as well as some students, asked about particular areas of cross-cultural initiatives on North Park鈥檚 campus, including the need to focus on 鈥渋ntracultural鈥� work.
鈥淔or me, if intracultural isn鈥檛 happening while we鈥檙e doing intercultural work, we鈥檙e missing the boat,鈥� said Lindsay. 鈥淚 hope as we鈥檙e doing intercultural competency and development, we鈥檙e also helping students to think about who they are, their own identity. How those identities were formed. Who influenced the way they view the world, and the way they interact with cultures. And that鈥檚 the goal of this new project. We want to have some of those conversations.鈥�
Throughout the semester, Lindsay and will hold a series of conversations, 鈥淭essera to Ubuntu: Moving Beyond Individualism Towards Community,鈥� featuring faculty and staff. 鈥淣orth Park grows increasingly diverse, which offers our community many advantages,鈥� said Emerson. 鈥淏ut diversity in and of itself is not the goal.聽We seek to be a community within our diversity, to model how people from many different backgrounds can work together to encourage our faith, our studies, and our impact on the larger world.聽Our Tessera to Ubuntu Series is about how we can do exactly this, together.鈥�
The first conversation, 鈥淩eclaiming Your Cultural History,鈥� will focus on the metaphor of the tessera, an individual tile used to form a mosaic; the second, 鈥淯nderstanding Self,鈥� will explore how cultures form; and the third, 鈥淟iving in Community,鈥� will highlight cultural immersion.
鈥淲e want North Park to be a diverse and inclusive environment, one which leads to deep learning and equity of experience for all students,鈥� said Parkyn. 鈥淚f we achieve this, our graduates will be positioned to cross cultures in the workplace and engage their communities in a socially responsible and transformational manner.鈥�
CHICAGO (February 8, 2016) 鈥� Since its founding in 1891, 萝莉社 has been thought of as 鈥渁 work just beginning.鈥� The phrase, made popular by the University鈥檚 first historian, , in 1949, described a hopeful community, ready to live into its mission of preparing students for lives of significance and service.
, that same hopeful spirit is alive and well across campus, propelling the University community to seek new ways to lead and serve in Chicago and around the world for God鈥檚 glory and neighbor鈥檚 good.
Throughout 2016, students, faculty, staff, alumni, and the wider Chicago community will have opportunities to explore North Park鈥檚 rich past, reflect on its present, and peer into its promising future. Celebrations will culminate on September 23, 2016, when the community gathers for an expansive quasquicentennial homecoming event, featuring art, music, scholarship, and other highlights from North Parkers past and present.
鈥�2016 will be a great opportunity to remember where we have been,鈥� said 萝莉社 . 鈥淏ut equally important will be the ways in which we imagine who we can become. 萝莉社鈥檚 mission has remained constant throughout its history, and with that as its foundation, we can build a promising future for our students and the communities they serve.鈥�
Class of 1972 graduate and widely renowned composer Marvin V. Curtis has been commissioned to craft a piece that will be performed by student musicians at the event in September. Curtis, dean of the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts at Indiana University South Bend, has a history of being commissioned to write prominent works, including one for President Clinton鈥檚 1993 Inauguration, “City on a Hill.” He is the first African American composer commissioned to write a choral work for a presidential inauguration.
鈥淭丑别 is honored that alumnus Marvin Curtis has accepted our invitation to compose a musical piece for North Park鈥檚 125th anniversary celebration,鈥� said , dean of the School of Music. 鈥淭丑别 piece will be written for choir and a chamber instrumental ensemble, using a text that will be meaningful for the occasion. We very much anticipate the performance of his music, and we are confident that it will be a highlight of a very memorable celebration.鈥�
The , led by Director of Archives Anna-Kajsa Anderson, will host a series of digital and in-person exhibits throughout the year. This includes an online version of the , North Park鈥檚 yearbook, which contains essays, poems, songs, artwork, photographs, and more. Working with historians and former North Park professors Phil Anderson and Kurt Peterson, as well as current North Park Theological Seminary Professor Hauna Ondrey, the archives will also create a series of exhibits to display artifacts from the University鈥檚 history.
North Park鈥檚 present and future will also be on display in 2016 through the telling of 125 stories from 125 current students. The project, which will take place over the course of 12 months and two or three stories per week, will highlight the wide array of students who have been drawn to the University, and how they will help shape its next 125 years.
More announcements will be made throughout the year regarding new events and projects surrounding the University鈥檚 quasquicentennial. Visit for more information and to hear how you can be part of the celebration.
Amanda Detchman completes exchange program, internship in Stockholm
Amanda Detchman, shown here in Uppsala, Sweden, is completing an internship at Immanuel International Church.
CHICAGO (February 5, 2016) 鈥� Amanda Detchman had a decision to make. Having just wrapped up her exchange program semester in Stockholm, Sweden, Detchman was preparing to return to the United States when she received an email asking if she was interested in staying in Sweden to fulfill an internship requirement.
Detchman, a student at , was torn. 鈥淚 was already in Sweden, immersed in the culture and eager to learn more,鈥� she says. 鈥淗owever, signing the contract meant being away from home for another year. There was a lot of prayer and discernment involved.鈥�
Detchman鈥檚 advisor, Professor of Ministry and Director of Field Education , had gotten word that Immanuel International Church in Stockholm was seeking an interim youth pastor. 鈥淚 forwarded that email to Amanda with a little note asking if she鈥檇 be interested,鈥� he says. 鈥淭丑别 next thing I know, the match had been solidified. She had interviewed with them and impressed them, and it happened fairly quickly.鈥�
鈥淚t was evidently God鈥檚 work,鈥� Detchman says, 鈥渂ecause I happened to be attending Immanuel for the four months prior, and already felt at home there. With the Spirit鈥檚 peace and God鈥檚 courage, I agreed to work as their youth director.鈥�
Today, Detchman serves in an internship as youth director for Immanuel鈥檚 International Congregation. 鈥淚mmanuel is very unique, because it鈥檚 made up of three congregations,鈥� says Detchman, 鈥淪wedish, International, and Korean. The church staff work in the same building and have meetings and events together, but on Sunday, we hold three separate services at the same time.鈥� In her position, Detchman helps oversee a summer camp, a conference for international youth across Europe, overnight 鈥渓ock-ins,鈥� and partnerships with homeless and elderly ministries.
As has been the case throughout her time in Sweden, this ministry context gives Detchman a uniquely global learning experience. 鈥淭丑别 joy I receive working with youth from around the world is challenging, eye-opening, and live-giving,鈥� she says.
‘A growing experience’
It鈥檚 the kind of experience that Johnson hopes Seminary students will have through their field education opportunities, whether international or domestic. 鈥淲e try to have every student have some experience in a cultural context that鈥檚 different from what they鈥檙e used to,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a key part of the experience at North Park.鈥�
Johnson had recommended the internship to Detchman, in part, because of her 鈥渆vident interest in pastoral care,鈥� he says. 鈥淥n campus, she would often offer to pray for students or faculty members. I had an aunt that died, and I mentioned it in a . She later asked if she could pray about that with me. It鈥檚 bold as a student to come up to a faculty member and ask to pray for them, but that鈥檚 kind of how she鈥檚 constituted.鈥�
Detchman in Stockholm with other THS exchange program students
Prior to her internship, Detchman came to Sweden through the Seminary鈥檚 exchange program partnership with the Stockholm School of Theology (THS). She applied for the program because 鈥渢he courses sounded insightful, and I have a heart for understanding cultures other than my own,鈥� she says. Once there, she found that 鈥淭HS was a growing experience. I learned so much about myself, my writing, and the world.鈥�
Among Detchman鈥檚 highlights of her time at THS were an Urban Theology course, which required hands-on work with a range of churches throughout Stockholm, and a Christians of the Middle East course, which included a trip to Jerusalem. 鈥淲e had amazing guides and professors,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e met with a variety of religious leaders, toured the Holy Land, and engaged in field studies of surrounding communities.鈥� In addition to Swedish students, Detchman enjoyed getting the opportunity to study alongside classmates from Burma and India.
Director of Seminary Recruitment and Admission believes that the exchange program is born out of North Park鈥檚 鈥減assion for the global church and justice issues,鈥� she says. 鈥淢any of the classes focus in this area and provide opportunity for our students to have an enriched learning experience鈥攍earning about issues of justice from a different part of the world and different cultural perspective.鈥�
Oxendale hopes that 鈥渟tudents would be able to return here with a different perspective, not just on theology and Scripture, but on who they are and who God is.鈥� For her part, Detchman seems well on her way to doing exactly that. 鈥淭丑别 people I do ministry and work with here accept me and love me so well,鈥� Detchman says. 鈥淭丑别y have taught me what it means to love deeply and engage fully in life鈥檚 adventures.鈥�
聽CHICAGO (April 18, 2016) 鈥� Students applying to 萝莉社 for Spring 2017 or later will now have the ability to do so through the , an online system used by nearly 700 colleges and universities in the United States and around the world to manage the college admission process.
Author tomgabrysiakPosted on Categories Stories
CHICAGO (March 29, 2016) 鈥� It鈥檚 the Friday before midterms, and we鈥檙e loading up vans in the lot behind Burgh Hall. The students are discussing all the homework they鈥檒l be trying to disremember for the next few days. They don鈥檛 get credit for attending this, and it鈥檚 not mandatory. Students of all majors are welcome, but there鈥檚 a strong showing of English and philosophy majors. 鈥淭丑别y鈥檙e about to take on the final push before spring break,鈥� , associate professor of philosophy, tells me. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a breaking point in the semester where most of them could really use a rest. The trip is good for that.鈥�
Saturday and Sunday, our full days at the camp, are structured around meals and learning sessions, with time in between to write and two readings to share your work. Professor of Philosophy opens the retreat with a lesson on tracking animals. We walk around a snowy field and follow the tracks of rabbits and deer. Greg鈥攚hom the students refer to by first name鈥攕ends them off to track animals. He asks them to come back with a story: what the narrative of the animals鈥� movements might be. One group of students tracks the path of a rabbit they imagine to be a Rambo-style secret forest police officer. Another group finds tracks so big that the only imaginable solution is a Yeti. I suggest snowshoes; they are unconvinced鈥攁nd share a poem they wrote about the Yeti.
This was perhaps the lesson that we were all learning most acutely that weekend. Though the sessions and the writing time were powerful and thought-provoking, what felt most remarkable was the shared experience. Afternoons spent鈥攆aculty and student alike鈥攖ubing carelessly down hills and pegging each other with snowballs. An evening when we took on the 鈥減olar bear plunge,鈥� which consisted of sitting in a sauna to get warm before jumping in the frozen lake. The students, in their invincibility, were so delighted with the feeling of the plunge that they did it two or three more times each. Kristy鈥檚 seven-year-old son, Caleb, reminding us all of how the world looked from a few feet lower, chiming in with a childlike perspective during heady conversations, and keeping us laughing. On our last day, a pack of us cross-country skiing and snowshoeing across the mile-wide lake to explore its islands, where we discovered yurts and giant swings. 鈥淚 think when you play together, it鈥檚 the best way to get to know each other,鈥� Markus Tenf盲lt, a , told me. 鈥淧eople relax when they have fun鈥攊t breaks down the barriers.鈥�
We currently have no MAP grant funds because Governor Bruce Rauner and the Illinois General Assembly (that is, the state house and the state senate) have failed to pass a state budget. We do not have a state budget because our Republican governor and our Democratic legislative majorities have very different opinions about how to fix the serious problems in our state鈥檚 finances.
The , led by Director of Archives Anna-Kajsa Anderson, will host a series of digital and in-person exhibits throughout the year. This includes an online version of the , North Park鈥檚 yearbook, which contains essays, poems, songs, artwork, photographs, and more. Working with historians and former North Park professors Phil Anderson and Kurt Peterson, as well as current North Park Theological Seminary Professor Hauna Ondrey, the archives will also create a series of exhibits to display artifacts from the University鈥檚 history.
