Creating a Welcoming Community
North Park Hosts CCCU's 2015 Diversity Conference
CHICAGO (September 30, 2015) — Last week, North Park University welcomed to campus Christian higher education leaders from around the country for the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) 2015 Diversity Conference. Hundreds of faculty and staff from CCCU member institutions gathered from September 24–26 to discuss the challenges and opportunities that arise in creating a diverse, inclusive community.
“This conference builds on many years of people hoping to make a difference because they serve a gracious and loving God,” said CCCU President Shirley V. Hoogstra in a Friday morning address. “And while there have been many sincere efforts, I want to confess to you that at times our own efforts have been timid. But where we have been timid, we no longer will be. We are no longer going to be cautious; we are going to be visionary. If we have been distracted, we are going to be focused. If we have been inconsistent, we pledge to be trustworthy.”
On Friday and Saturday, participants met in rooms across North Park’s campus to discuss topics including, “What Faculty Can Learn From Students of Color,” “Navigating Confessional Commitments and Academic Freedom,” and “Building Capacity for Diversity and Inclusion.”
North Park University President David L. Parkyn welcomed the audience to campus on Friday morning with a reflection on North Park’s founding president, David Nyvall. The young president happened to lay the cornerstone of the University’s first building on this very weekend 122 years ago. That same weekend, Nyvall also gave an address to religious leaders from around the globe, calling for “harmony in the midst of diversity," quite simply because "hospitality is especially insisted upon.”
“Our welcome to this conference and to North Park is framed by David Nyvall’s statement,” Parkyn said. “Hospitality has been our guiding principle for 124 years.” Later in the conference, Parkyn served as a panelist with a group of presidents from CCCU member schools, who all shared how the vision of diversity is intrinsically linked to the mission of Christ-centered institutions.
On Friday afternoon, Dr. Jodi Koslow Martin, North Park's vice president for student engagement, helped lead a session on navigating LGBTQA concerns on Christian campuses.
“We learn from students about where they feel safe, and we learn by listening,” Koslow Martin said, in discussing North Park’s Queers and Allies group, a community on campus that seeks to break down stereotypes and stigmas that are placed on the LGBTQA community in order to create a more liberating environment where all students are able to flourish. “We have an institutional commitment to hospitality. To love every student who walks across the threshold of our doors and help them have a welcoming experience.”
Dr. Terry Lindsay, North Park’s dean of diversity and intercultural programs, who played a key role in planning and hosting the event, also participated in a session focused on retention and success of underrepresented students. Alongside North Park staff members Dr. Velda Love, director of justice and intercultural learning, Dr. Barrington Price, director of student success, and Tony Zamble, director of University Ministries, Lindsay shared a few of the University's recent strategies, programs, and practices that have allowed underrepresented students to achieve success.
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