萝莉社 has launched the Center for Civic Engagement, an outgrowth of its Catalyst 606 program in which the university’s faculty and students will work with community leaders to strengthen the important work they’re doing in Chicago’s聽neighborhoods. As part of the initiative,聽North Park will also offer a Public Policy major beginning in fall 2023.

“The main idea is to build more of a city-centered ethos on campus, and to augment North Park’s commitment to the just flourishing of cities by honoring the work that is going on in neighborhoods,” said Richard Kohng, assistant vice president for the Center of Civic Engagement.

The center enacts this mission through four core divisions: the Catalyst Hub; the Community Assets and Program Evaluation Consortium; the Community Development Hub; and through public policy engagement.

“The Center for Civic Engagement elevates聽North Park’s unique distinctives as a Christian, city-centered, intercultural university,” North Park听笔谤别蝉颈诲别苍迟听Mary K. Surridge said. “Faculty and students learning and working alongside community leaders across Chicago聽is yet another example of聽North Park living into its mission of preparing students for lives of significance and service.”

As part of the center, faculty will provide their specialized expertise to community groups for a reduced fee. For instance, Assistant Professor of Psychology Amy Governale will provide at-cost guidance on program development for organizations that lack the resources to do so themselves.

“A lot of locally led groups don’t see the money they should from grants or philanthropy,” Kohng said. “This will help level the playing field.”

Students will be involved as well, via the Catalyst Hub. Since 2017, students have participated in a designated civic engagement block every Wednesday afternoon. The schedule allows immersive learning experiences to be incorporated into classes across the curriculum, Kohng said.

Building on Catalyst’s success, the new program will incorporate a consortium that allows students to work on real-time projects that benefit community groups. For example, a business class might work on a marketing campaign for a fundraising drive, or a math class could analyze data related to program participants.

The center will be led by a board of community leaders from across the city, and with the guidance of partner Transform Capital鈥攁 nonprofit lending initiative cofounded by Paul Hawkinson, a professor in聽North Park’s School of Business and Nonprofit Management.

Learn more about the Center for Civic Engagement

Newly released by NYU Press is聽Market Cities, People Cities: The Shape of Our Urban Future,聽co-authored by Michael Emerson, Provost of 萝莉社, and聽Kevin T. Smiley.

萝莉社 Provost Emerson

North Park junior Stephen Nielsen saw a need for a campus publication that allowed students to freely express their opinion on politics, religion, and culture. So, he and a friend, Ricardo Huerta, started Vista Magazine.

鈥淣orth Park is a very politically charged campus, and we wanted to create an outlet for students to express themselves,鈥� said Nielsen, who, with Huerta, wanted to veer slightly from Spectrum, the existing, newsier student magazine.

鈥淲e didn鈥檛 see enough students participating in written dialogue,鈥� Nielsen said.

A sampling of the magazine鈥檚 most recent issue seems to help address that: An article about gun reform shares space with a movie review of smash box office hit Black Panther by Ghanian student Frank Roberts; there is also a page devoted to students sharing their #METOO experiences.

The quarterly, which premiered this past winter and was followed by a recent spring edition, is currently in search of talented writers and designers for next year.

鈥淥ur goal is to show that North Parkers are thinkers from all walks of life,鈥� said Nielsen, who encourages students to reach out to him if they鈥檇 like to join his staff or submit their original writing.

Nielsen and Huerta started the magazine from scratch, seeking approval and financing from the Student Government Association, then asking Dr. Reinhold Dooley if he would be their faculty advisor. The English professor and one-time North Park Press faculty advisor said yes immediately, and has mostly allowed the staff to be autonomous.

鈥淚f we need advice on an issue or about publishing something controversial, Dr. Dooley has been there to help guide us through the decision,鈥� Nielsen said.

He and Huerta hope the magazine lives on after their graduation and even created a five-year business plan with the future in mind. Right now, the magazine needs to staff up for next year.

鈥淭he most important thing to know is that we exist to serve North Parkers,鈥� Nielsen said. If you鈥檙e interested in being a part of his mission, visit .

Palgrave Macmillan to publish聽The Hermeneutics of Hell: Visions and Representations of the Devil in World Literature, edited by Gregor Thuswaldner, Dean of Arts and Sciences and Professor of Humanities at 萝莉社.

Dr. THUSWALDNER’s Profile

North Park will forever be the place where I met lifelong friends and mentors. It will also always represent challenge and growth for me. The most valuable lesson I learned at North Park is that your education, and your life in general, is what you make of it! Though I was a transfer student and rather shy, I put myself out there and made friends with whom I am even closer today.

I spent my first summer after graduation working for Shoreline Sightseeing downtown and having a wonderful time just enjoying living in the city. I then moved back to Michigan to begin a position as a substitute teacher. I had been unsure as to what was next for me and wanted to gauge my interest in returning to school for a teaching certificate. After taking on multiple paraprofessional roles, I decided that I would like to go back to school for a Master鈥檚 in English. I knew that I wanted to teach at the college-level. Loyola University Chicago, in Rogers Park, had a 鈥榯eaching track鈥� for their Master鈥檚 in English program.

I found a graduate assistantship as a Tutoring Coordinator with the TRIO Student Support Services program on campus鈥揂chieving College Excellence (ACE), which serves students who are the first in their family to go to college, have higher financial need, and/or have a documented disability. After graduating from Loyola, I went on to teach College Composition at College of Lake County, and Developmental Writing at North Park! It was so very interesting teaching in the same classroom in which I took so many of my undergraduate courses.

I later applied for a new Academic Counselor position ACE wrote into their grant. I got the job and have been with ACE as a full-time staff member for over a year now.聽I am the academic counselor and primary first and second year advisor for a group of about 70 students. I see myself as an advocate, ally, and, along with the rest of ACE, a support system for our students, who need guidance in navigating college life. I also teach two sections of UNIV 101, supervise a staff of ACE students who have trained to be peer mentors, and supervise the graduate assistant Tutoring Coordinator, my former position.

At North Park, because it鈥檚 small, students, staff, and faculty wear multiple hats鈥揑 can juggle multiple positions and projects because of my time at North Park and the opportunities I was given there. My time as a Writing Advisor, under the guidance of the great Carol Martin, gave me the experience I needed to work as an English Language Arts paraprofessional for at-risk students, which lead to Loyola鈥檚 English Master鈥檚 program and positions at TRIO.

My position with the North Park Press, political philosophy courses, and summer internship in D.C. prepared me for community organizing. I am now a Community Organizer in Rogers Park, am on the Steering Committee for our independent, progressive ward body, and am the Political Coordinator at the Heartland Cafe. This experience has been invaluable and I am putting my education and values into action.

One of the best things you can do, in my view, to give back to 萝莉社 is to go on and be a credit to the University鈥檚 mission. Are you a person of character, compassion, and common sense? Think through what it means to live a life of significance and service. It can feel like a corny line sometimes when you are in college, but I find myself reflecting on these values every day now. Folks who live lives of significance and service are so desperately needed in this world.

CHICAGO, May 18, 2017 鈥� 鈥淲hen I first heard the title Shifting Paradigms, I had to look up what 鈥榩aradigm鈥� meant,鈥� began Mark Gavoor鈥檚 speech, a professor in the School of Business at 萝莉社. 鈥淪ee here鈥檚 what I thought it was,鈥� he said, pointing to聽a pair of dimes at the top of the screen. The next slide showed the dimes move to the bottom of the screen, 鈥渁nd now they鈥檝e shifted!鈥�

萝莉社 held its inaugural TEDx event. The 鈥渪鈥� is an indicator of an independently organized TED event. Students spearheaded this first of a promising many annual TEDx events. Student Paul Clines along with Faculty member Dr. Christopher Hubbard were the initiators of the event.

鈥淭his is a great day at North Park,鈥� Dr. Hubbard stated in his opening remarks to kick off the event of the first session. Speakers such as North Park鈥檚 Drs. Soong-Chan Rah and Michelle Clifiton-Soderstrom spoke alongside change-makers Dominique Jordan Turner and Amy 鈥楬ope Dealer鈥� Williams. Shifting Paradigms, the theme of the event, challenged the attendees鈥� views on social and political issues such as making 鈥淧eace Profitable,鈥� the Silent Movement of disability, labels such as 鈥渢hugs, gangster,鈥� and poverty. 鈥淧overty has the power to change the world,鈥� was the premise of Turner鈥檚 argument for highlighting the skills of those surrounded by poverty.

Interlaced among the live speakers were videos of other TED talks in which speakers from around the globe gave five-minute talks on a variety of topics. Three of North Park鈥檚 own students were also among those who spoke: Seanna Wong, Melanie Lofgren, and Azat Toroev. Seanna Wong, a theater and communications double major and ethnographic storyteller, presented her piece about the 鈥淟istening Loop鈥� and performance, stating that her passion 鈥渨eaves together lives.鈥� Azat Toroev, an exchange student at North Park with world-wide experience, gave a compelling speech on those with disabilities, and how disabilities do not limit possibilities.

萝莉社 was proud to see students take initiative, and is excited for the next TEDx event held on campus likely to be held in 2018.

Related:

INAUGURAL TEDX NORTH PARK UNIVERSITY NURTURES TALENTS OF ITS STUDENTS

Hannah Hawkinson C’17, a biblical and theological studies major, shares about her experience at North Park.

Meeting so many people who challenge the way I think, and who are open and anxious to dialogue with each other; there are people who think so differently, but are willing to talk with each other in and outside the classroom.

I feel at home here, at North Park, seeing so many different people, and hearing so many different languages; I wanted to learn in an environment like that. Being around students who want to learn, are invested, and care about classes as much as I do is something that has been a positive surprise.

As I have refined my interest within theology, I鈥檝e noticed I鈥檓 passionate about narrative, about who is speaking this narrative, and searching for the biases that contribute to this narrative. Being able to read literature provides a different way of looking at things, but it has been very helpful.

If you鈥檙e considering majoring in BTS, take a class or two on top of the required, and try to take them from as many different professors within the department as you can. Also ask other BTS students about their experiences, I promise we鈥檙e a nice bunch. There is no pressure to continue to pastoral duties if you choose it as your major, there are so many other tracks you can take. Hopefully, you鈥檒l see that it鈥檚 a rigorous program, but I think that BTS is an important program, especially for this University.

What surprises me most at North Park is meeting so many people who challenge the way I think, and who are open and anxious to dialogue with each other; there are people who think so differently but are willing to talk with each other in and outside the classroom.