Mission, Vision, and Values
Mission
The mission of North Park University, as an intentionally Christian university of the Evangelical Covenant Church, is to prepare students for lives of significance and service through education in the liberal arts, professional studies, and theology.
Vision
Our vision, building on our core institutional identity – Christian, urban, multicultural – is to fashion a university of uncommon character and enduring excellence where faith, learning, and service meet.
The Distinctive Learning Community
North Park University claims a rich and substantial history, one which over many years has shaped
the institution we are today. We bring to our students a strong and lasting heritage of faith, a tradition
of 115 years of education at the corner of Foster and Kedzie Avenues in the city of Chicago, and a
practice of welcoming students from myriad cultures, social traditions, and faith experiences. Simply
put, our space is Christian, urban, and multicultural. Yet this familiar history must be cast anew for
today’s learning environment, now as in the past shaped by and for the community and world our
graduates will live in and to which they will be called.
Core Values
The University’s challenging academic programs and supportive learning environment are molded
by three core institutional values. Our learning community is:
Distinctively Christian – We nurture faith, balancing commitment and freedom, affirming the
historic Christian faith of the Church worldwide shaped by the ethos of the Covenant Church, even
while we welcome students from all faith traditions.
Intentionally Urban – We engage Chicago as our dynamic place of learning and service; Chicago is
our classroom and all Chicagoans are our teachers.
Purposefully Multicultural – We embrace and value all people, celebrate the complex global
cultural tapestry, and engage the reconciling mandate of the Christian gospel.