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.
Dwight Perry has been called to be the new dean of faculty at North Park Theological Seminary.
Dr. Perry to begin July 1, 2017.
CHICAGO, IL (April 20, 2017) 鈥� Rev. Dr. Dwight Perry has been called to be the new dean of faculty at North Park Theological Seminary, as well as professor of homiletics and leadership.
Starting July 1st 2017, Rev. Dr. Perry will serve as Dean of Faculty and Professor of Homiletics and Leadership. 鈥淒r. Perry is an exceptional choice, he comes with extensive pastoral experience, denominational leadership, and academic administration experience,鈥� says Rev. Dr. David Kersten, vice president for church relations and dean of the Seminary. 鈥淩ev. Dr. Perry wants to make a significant legacy contribution to the community of pastors and feels particularly called to NPTS and the ECC,鈥� adds Kersten.
Both scholar and practitioner, this rare combination fills a need in theological education. Rev. Dr. Perry is ready to, 鈥渟erve in academic leadership within an evangelical seminary that is urban in its context, biblical at its foundation, and seeks to equip men and women for the work of the gospel,鈥� notes Rev. Dr. Perry as his career objective. As the first African American to graduate with a PhD from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, IL, Rev. Dr. Perry has persevered across many barriers on race and diversity.
Prior to joining NPTS, Rev. Dr. Perry served as regional president/executive minister of Converge Great Lakes where he was known for his straight-talk approach to ministry. He also served as a professor of pastoral studies at the Moody Bible Institute, as a denominational executive with the Baptist General Conference, and as a senior pastor and associate pastor in several churches in Illinois. He is a sought-after national speaker and is passionate about proclaiming God’s Word. As a pastor and teacher in homiletics, he is one of the premier expository preachers in the U.S.A. He has spoken across the country in the area of diversity and inclusion, homiletics, organizational and systems development especially within a not for profit setting along with strategic planning and leadership development.
Rev. Dr. Perry and his wife Dr. Cynthia Perry, a tenured professor in the College of Education at Edgewood College in Madison, Wisconsin have four adult children and five grandchildren.
Read about this news on Covenant Companion News.
Look for more on Dr. Perry when he begins his new role in July 2017.
A testament to 萝莉社鈥檚 distinct Christian identity and Professor Alice Iverson
This is a staff blog post written by Andy Meyer, C鈥�06. Andy graduated from North Park in 2006 with degrees in math and biblical and theological studies. He鈥檚 currently Head of Electronic Resources and ILL at Brandel Library.
A testament to 萝莉社鈥檚 distinct Christian identity and to Professor Alice Iverson
萝莉社 recently hosted Dr. Chris Gehrz from Bethel University to deliver a lecture titled The Pietist Option for (Current and Former) Evangelicals. In this lecture, Dr. Gehrz reflected on how pietism, a historical movement and ethos central to the Evangelical Covenant Church, could renew Evangelical Christianity.
This lecture inspired me to look back at my own experiences as a 萝莉社 undergraduate to see how this unique aspect of North Park鈥檚 Christian identity shaped my experience as a student. And in my reflecting, my thoughts have coalesced around a particular moment in the classroom that I see as embodying the Pietist ideals for higher education that define North Park鈥檚 mission.
As an undergraduate, I double-majored in mathematics and biblical and theology studies and eventually became interested in the intersection between the two fields. For some, the connections between mathematics and theology might seem laughable or even highly suspect. However, many Christian colleges and universities take these connections seriously. Within this realm, integrating faith and learning might look like understanding how Christian beliefs relate to mathematical axioms and truths. Another general approach would ask how Christian beliefs might guide the eventual application of this study鈥攖oward what end are you doing math? These are critical and important questions at Christian institutions. They are questions that I wrestled with as a North Park student. But, as I hope this story will illustrate, my experience as a student moved beyond these standard approaches and offered something unique.
The class was Real Analysis鈥攁 class that focused on abstract concepts and proofs. We started with a few simple axioms and progressed until we proved the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus. I remember one class period toward the end of the semester when the entire board was covered in what I thought to be a mess of unconnected thoughts. Then, in a powerful moment of surprise, Professor Alice Iverson connected the dots and I understood this otherwise incomprehensible mess.
I remember a profound feeling of awe and even gratitude that鈥檚 hard to put into words. In that moment, I remember Professor Iverson putting the cap back on the marker and telling us: 鈥淪omewhere it is written: 鈥榳hatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable鈥攊f anything is excellent or praiseworthy鈥攖hink about such things.鈥欌�� And then, while gesturing to the board, she said: 鈥淎nd this is True. And this is Beautiful. And we should think about such things.鈥�
At stake here was not our intellectual understanding of the subject matter or the proof on the board. The real lesson was that we should pursue the true and the beautiful in all areas of life. In this moment I was transfixed and transformed. Or, to borrow from language the Pietists, I was converted and reborn. This is a distinctive of North Park鈥檚 Christian identity. North Park focuses not only on forming correct opinions or on providing a Christian approach within a given discipline but also focuses on building a lifelong orientation toward the good, true, and beautiful.
And Professor Iverson鈥檚 concluding remark that 鈥渨e should think about such things鈥� was not a command from a teacher to a student. It was an exhortation that applied to us all鈥攖eacher and students鈥攅qually. Friendships with fellow math majors and my relationship with Professor Iverson embodied North Park鈥檚 focus on community-based Christian higher education.
This memory stays with me. The verses that Professor Iverson recited that day were read at my wedding and encapsulate much of what I learned as a student at North Park. In my current role in the Brandel Library, I work to support this educational missional by serving a community of students, faculty, and staff engaged not only in learning but also in transformation.
Thuswaldner is dean of arts and sciences and professor of humanities at 萝莉社.
Thuswaldner is聽dean of arts and sciences and professor of humanities at 萝莉社.
He is now an active member of the Academy鈥檚 Class I (Humanities). The ceremony took place at the University of Salzburg, Austria. The European Academy of Sciences and Arts promotes excellence in fields such as the humanities, medicine, arts, sciences, economics, law, and religion.
The European Academy of Sciences and Arts’聽1,900 members include 29 Nobel Prize recipients and former Pope Benedict XVI. The members of the Academy have a distinguished academic publication record and an impeccable reputation in academia. The Academy鈥檚 nominating committee nominates potential members who are then voted on by the Senate of the Academy. Funded by the European Union, the Austrian State as well as by private donors, the European Academy of Sciences and Arts is one of the biggest academic think tanks in the world that is dedicated to interdisciplinary research and regularly discusses pressing issues in the academy and civic society.
Being voted into the European Academy of Sciences and Arts is regarded as a great honor.
New award recognizes leader in restorative justice
New award recognizes leader in restorative justice
CHICAGO (January 26, 2017) 鈥� At 萝莉社鈥檚 January 16 Martin Luther King Jr. celebration, called 鈥淭he Movement Continues,鈥� Dr. Mary Trujillo was honored with the University鈥檚 inaugural MLKJ Award.
Dr. Trujillo says she鈥檚 “deeply honored to have my work mentioned in the same sentence with Dr. Martin Luther King,” as she’s been greatly influenced by the work, life, and teachings of Dr. King.
Dr. Trujillo is a communication arts professor, focusing on intercultural communication and conflict transformation. Preparing students to examine the idea of community in the context of urban, religious, and international conflict, she’s committed to restorative justice and nonviolence. She teaches students to identify their own approaches to conflict transformation and to apply their strategies to bring peace to Chicago.
“I pray that Dr. King’s commitment to social justice will always be the standard to which North Park aspires,” she added.
The honoree, who has been at North Park since 2002, is currently training to become a certified Kingian nonviolence trainer and practitioner. In 2014, she was selected to attend the James Lawson Institute, where she studied nonviolence with Rev. Lawson, a strategist for Martin Luther King Jr. and leader of desegregation sit-ins in Nashville during the civil rights movement.
Jacqueline Strapp C’08 created the MLKJ Award shortly after joining the staff in fall 2016 to lead the Office of Diversity. She says that she wanted to highlight people on campus and recognize those who are doing exceptional work in the area of restorative justice and racial reconciliation.
Also at the event, Rev. Neichelle Guidry offered a keynote address that reclaimed the prominent role of women in the civil rights movement. Recording artist Corey Barksdale brought inspiration with two songs, and film director and alumna Tanika Carpenter delivered a call to hope after sharing a preview of her documentary film, Farewell Obama.
萝莉社’s Office of Diversity seeks to sustain a campus community that appreciates diversity and embraces differences as well as similarities. It maintains a climate that values diversity through programming, outreach, and support for all members.
Organization of Educational Historians focus on 鈥楶osition of Place in History of Education鈥�
CHICAGO (September 30, 2016) 鈥� Since 1965, the Organization of Educational Historians has brought together a wide range of scholars to examine the history of education through a broad framing of perspectives and possibilities.
The at 萝莉社 is sponsoring this year鈥檚 annual conference of the Organization of Educational Historians, held today and tomorrow on North Park鈥檚 campus.
Historians from institutions such as Texas A&M University, the University of Chicago, Baylor University, Indiana University, the University of Oklahoma, and 萝莉社 will be presenting on a variety of historical topics related to women in higher education, race and schooling, higher education during wartime, religion and education, and many others.
The theme of the 2016 conference, 鈥淭he Position of Place in the History of Education,鈥� directs attention to the importance of examining local dynamics as they relate to education.
鈥淐entering inquiry on particular contextual understandings brings with it the potential to shape and reshape educational history based on cultural experiences, sociopolitical landscapes, community, time, and scale,鈥� said , assistant professor of education at North Park and president-elect of the Organization of Educational Historians. 鈥淎s historians of education shift their inquiry to more localized treatments, new perspectives in the field can provide meaningful insights into the power of place in education.鈥�
Keynote speaker Dr. Ann Marie Ryan, associate dean of academic programs and associate professor of education at Loyola University Chicago, will deliver an address titled 鈥淐hicago Educators鈥� Responses to the Standardization and Measurement Movements of the Early 20th 颁别苍迟耻谤测.鈥�
For more information, visit the . North Park faculty and students interested in attending any session may pick up a program and name badge in Hamming Hall.
Ceremony includes recognition of scholarly works and installation of new administrators
CHICAGO (September 19, 2016) 鈥� The 萝莉社 community gathered in Anderson Chapel Monday, September 19, for its University Convocation, an annual ceremony honoring the achievements of faculty and staff.
鈥淲e often talk on our campus about preparing students for lives of significance and service,鈥� said University President Dr. David Parkyn. 鈥淏ut how does that walk take place? How is it that individuals can work with others and mentor them along the way?鈥� This is accomplished largely through the work of faculty, he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 our joy today to celebrate that preparation. To come together to acknowledge professional accomplishments and share in applause about the scholarship, artistic creativity, and other good things that go into being an academy.鈥�
The ceremony announced newly promoted and tenured faculty, and recognized faculty and staff who have recently published books, articles, and other scholarly and creative work, including plays, reviews, recordings, staged exhibitions, art installations, and other performances.
罢丑别听University Choir and the聽Chamber Singers聽each聽performed during the ceremony, under the direction of Director of Choral Activities and Associate Professor of Music Dr. Julia Davids, who was also recognized for receiving tenure.
Author Ana FundukPosted on Categories Announcement, Profile, Stories
CHICAGO (January 26, 2017) 鈥� At 萝莉社鈥檚 January 16 Martin Luther King Jr. celebration, called 鈥淭he Movement Continues,鈥� Dr. Mary Trujillo was honored with the University鈥檚 inaugural MLKJ Award.
CHICAGO (September 30, 2016) 鈥� Since 1965, the Organization of Educational Historians has brought together a wide range of scholars to examine the history of education through a broad framing of perspectives and possibilities.
CHICAGO (September 19, 2016) 鈥� The 萝莉社 community gathered in Anderson Chapel Monday, September 19, for its University Convocation, an annual ceremony honoring the achievements of faculty and staff.