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’s global reach and outlook.
After 125 years, we’ve learned how to streamline the process of helping qualified applicants seek admission to North Park and find affordable ways to attend. If you don’t see what you’re 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’s mission and alumni needs.
As University Dean, Dr. Liza Ann Acosta’s hope is to facilitate the work of faculty development—with a student body comprised of a diverse population and mirrored by a diverse faculty.
“I am invested in the wellbeing of my students and my colleagues. Being asked to do more with little is overwhelming, but my colleagues’ dreams for our students are on my mind every single day. My wish is to make those become real possibilities. An investment in our faculty is an investment in our students.”
Facilitating Faculty Development
As University Dean, Dr. Liza Ann Acosta’s hope is to facilitate the work of faculty development—with a student body comprised of a diverse population and mirrored by a diverse faculty, so that all our students can see themselves reflected in the people who teach them. A new mentorship program for first-year and ongoing rising faculty and a partnership with the Faculty Senate and Office of Institutional Effectiveness for the inclusion of adjunct faculty development are among the initiatives supporting Dean Acosta’s vision of having a well-rounded, diverse faculty at North Park.
Retention and Recruitment of Faculty of Color
Dean Acosta has initiated efforts to more effectively recruit and retain faculty of color who can and do impact the student learning experience through expertise, mentorship, and role-modeling. In these efforts, Dean Acosta advises and serves on search committees, advocates for faculty and staff of color, and leads monthly meetings for faculty and staff of color for community-building.
Helping Students Have an Enriching Intercultural Experience
Dean Acosta is encouraged every day by North Park students as she observes them make connections between classroom and world. “Preparing students to contribute in real possible ways—through the arts, life sciences, technology—is what we seek at North Park, with faculty who have a passion for planting a seed and watching students grow.”
At North Park, Dean Acosta continues to teach, advise, and mentor students. She is also part of the Council on Diversity Equity and Inclusion whose central role includes bias reporting. “I am always thinking of ways that North Park’s faculty, as a collective, can be even better in their respective specialty fields, and how we can help students have an enriching, intercultural experience,” said Dean Acosta. Academic programs are structured in a way to reflect both a rigorous learning experience in the classroom and experiential learning opportunities outside the classroom when engaging how the diverse city of Chicago functions and thrives.
Core principles guide Dean Acosta: encouraging creativity, providing resources for continuous improvement and innovation, documenting and learning from best practices in research and teaching, advocating for a diverse faculty, and nurturing professional development for all faculty members. Meeting the needs of both students and faculty is an ongoing process—a role that for Dean Acosta is always evolving.
Jonathan Almer C’91, utilizes both his liberal arts and physics education in research involving a 1,800-year-old mummy.
Jonathan Almer, C’91, recently welcomed a 1,800-year-old mummy to his office for the day.
Of course, Almer, a physicist at Argonne National Laboratory, doesn’t have your average desk job. As part of his work there running the Advanced Photon Source (APS)—a highly sophisticated X-Ray machine—he conducted an in-depth examination of the mummy, believed to contain the body of a 5-year-old Egyptian girl.
“We’re hoping our data will help us better understand details of her bone tissue, and her teeth,” said Almer, who majored in physics at North Park and received his PhD in material sciences from Northwestern University in 1998. “This kind of information will help us enrich the historic context of the mummy as well as the Roman period in Egypt.”
Almer’s expertise with Argonne’s APS allowed him and his partner, Northwestern Prof. Stuart Stock, to peer into the mummy at a high resolution, and “in a non-destructive way,” Almer said.
The mummy is one of only 100 so-called “portrait mummies” in existence. Such mummies feature life-like paintings of the deceased person’s face. This particular mummy is owned by Northwestern University and will be on display for several months in 2018 at the school’s Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary. Almer and Stock’s fascinating research was featured in a recent Chicago Tribune article.
Almer credits his North Park education with sparking his sense of curiosity.
“My physics courses were challenging but sometimes even fun, thanks to Linda McDonald,” said Almer, of the longtime NPU physics professor.
“North Park provided an excellent basis for my career,” Almer said. “The strong overall liberal arts focus at North Park meant I took a much broader set of courses than most of my colleagues I’ve worked with since.”
Almer also joked, “Such broad-based knowledge helps personal development in a myriad of ways, but also provides practical benefits such as communication skills which, let’s face it, scientists could use more of.”
The excitement on campus continues to build as North Park’s men’s soccer team leaves Wednesday for their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Division III Final Four in Greensboro, North Carolina.
The excitement on campus continues to build as North Park’s men’s soccer team leaves Wednesday for their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Division III Final Four in Greensboro, North Carolina.
“What an amazing time for North Park,” said President Carl Balsam, who plans to make the trip to cheer on the team in person. “This Viking men’s soccer team has surpassed every milestone for their program, and they aren’t done yet.”
The 20-1-1 Vikings will face off against regional rivals University of Chicago on Friday at 6:30 p.m. NPU defeated the Maroons 1-0 in their one regular season match-up. The winner of that game goes on to face either Messiah College or Brandeis University in the National Championship game Saturday.
“The team has been training hard in practice and has had an amazing focus about them,” Head Coach John Born said. “They are an extremely close-knit and competitive group.”
While Born and the team respect the talent and experience of the other three squads in the tournament, the Vikings have a clear goal.
“We aren’t just pleased to be there, we intend to make our own history this weekend,” Born said.
Athletic Director Jack Surridge, who is also making the trip, says “this is a significant weekend in the history of North Park Athletics and another chapter in a series of achievements in men’s soccer.”
NPU is providing a fan bus for students who’d like to cheer in person for the team, which boasts a diverse, international roster, with players from as far as Sweden, Norway, Germany, and England, and as close as Chicago, Michigan, and Minnesota. One player hails from neighboring Von Stuben Metro Science High School.
“We appreciate the fine way in which this team represents our university and we wish them every success as they pursue a national championship,” Balsam said.
Born said he and the team have been overwhelmed by the support of the North Park community.
“We are extremely humbled and grateful,” Born said. “We will do our best to make you all proud.”
The Vikings outlasted the University of St. Thomas Sunday 1-0 in a penalty-filled match that secured the squad’s first trip to the NCAA Division III Final Four in program history.
The Vikings outlasted the University of St. Thomas Sunday 1-0 in a penalty-filled match that secured the squad’s first trip to the NCAA Division III Final Four in program history.
For the second game in a row, the winning goal was scored by freshman Shatil Khoury, off a pass from senior Jason Gonzalez. The Tommie’s and their defense dominated the opening minutes of the half. But with 15 minutes left in the first half, Khoury struck, and the momentum shifted to the Vikings.
Each team played their trademark physical games, with the Vikings earning 26 fouls and the Tommies 20.
The win means North Park will head to Greensboro, NC, where they will face division rival University of Chicago on Saturday. The Vikings defeated the Maroons 1-0 during their one regular-season matchup.
The winner of that all-Chicago game will go to the National Championship, where they will face either Brandeis University or Messiah College. Reigning champion Tufts University was eliminated in semi-final action Sunday by Brandeis.
North Park’s men’s soccer squad advanced to the third round of the NCAA Division III tournament for the first time in team history after cruising to a 6-1 victory against the Wis.-Platteville Pioneers Sunday.
Battling a stiff wind and driving rain, the North Park Vikings defeated Virginia’s Washington & Lee University 3-0 to advance to their first-ever NCAA Elite Eight soccer game Sunday.
Senior Shatil Khoury struck first for the Vikings, scoring just 1:47 minutes into the first half on a pass from sophomore Peder Nalum Olsen. The 25-mile-per-hour wind-whipped flags and made the ball difficult to pass, keeping the Vikings on the defense for most of the first half. But sophomore goalie Mathias Stulen was able to keep the ball out of the net the entire game, earning the shutout.
The Vikings scored on the Generals again with just 5 minutes left in the first half, when sophomore Gustav Ericsson deked a defender and passed to senior Mathias Warp, who booted the ball in. The Vikings final goal came in the second half off a sweet backward heel pass from Warp to senior Chase Lennartz.
Although the Generals had more shots on goal than the Vikings, they failed to capitalize on their best opportunity, with Stulen making a diving save on a line drive shot by the Generals with just 7:30 left in the game.
The Vikings will move on to the Elite Eight round of the tournament, where they will face the winner of Saturday’s matchup of Ohio’s Otterbein University v. University of St. Thomas of Minnesota. That game will also be hosted by North Park, at 1 p.m. Sunday at the Holmgren Athletic Complex.
If the Vikings win tomorrow, they will move into the Final Four, with a shot at the Division III National Championship in North Carolina in the beginning of December.
North Park University is cited for efforts to diversify its student body and faculty in a recent book that examines the populations of 150 Christian colleges and universities across the country.
North Park University has been cited for its efforts to diversify its student body and faculty in a recent book that examined the populations of 150 Christian colleges and universities across the country.
The book, Diversity Matters: Race, Ethnicity and the Future of Christian Higher Education, cited North Park’s specific mission to “use Chicago as a classroom, a strategic effort to connect with the faith communities” in the city.
Diversity Matters, edited by Karen A. Longman, features North Park as a case study. The book notes that North Park promotes its city-centered, intercultural academics by requiring faculty candidates to demonstrate how they would use Chicago as a classroom.
The book finds that the percentage of nonwhite students attending schools that are part of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities had increased by about 10 percentage points between 2004 and 2014. However, most of that growth was at urban-centered universities such as North Park. Such schools tend to be more inclusive.
“It should be noted that despite the media’s painting of evangelicals with a broad brush, the tent of Christian views is quite broad,” Longman said in an interview with Inside Higher Ed.
For instance, Longman noted, 68 percent of evangelical Christians support a legal path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. Earlier this year, North Park’s then-president, David Parkyn, joined 600 public and private colleges and university presidents in signing a letter supporting its DACA [Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals] students.
Longman noted that many Christian universities, North Park included, are naturally inclined to see social justice issues as a Biblical imperative.
“Because of their mission and theological heritage, [Christian colleges] emphasize the practice of social justice and are intrinsically motivated to work for racial harmony and interethnic healing,” Longman said.
At a Catalyst on Campus event, representatives from the Lawndale Christian Health Center (LCHC) spoke on the importance of providing health care that is accessible to everyone, especially those who can’t afford insurance.
As part of the Catalyst 606__ program, North Park University hosts on-campus presentations and lectures in addition to classroom excursions. Catalyst on Campus events aim to broaden students’ experience of the city and enrich campus culture with relevant dialogue. This past week, the Catalyst on Campus event was sponsored by the School of Nursing and entitled “Health in the City.” Representatives from the Lawndale Christian Health Center (LCHC) spoke on the importance of providing health care that is accessible to everyone, especially those who can’t afford insurance.
Heather Duncan, Assistant Professor of Nursing, opened the Catalyst event analyzing what poverty means, and its cause and effect on healthcare. “Poverty is both a cause and consequence of poor health,” she described as the latest statistics on the correlation between wealth and health rolled on the screen. The stability of a neighborhood depends on the resources available. When those with resources leave neighborhoods, they take with them the resources which aid in the stability of that neighborhood.
Lawndale Christian Health Center’s mission is to bring some stability and resources back into neighborhoods where these are not present. In addition to providing health care, LCHC provides other services such as Christian Life leadership and, through partnerships, aquaponics. These services are especially impactful as over 30% of LCHC’s patients are uninsured. In total LCHC provides 12 different services to communities across their five locations in Chicago.
During the seminar, the three representatives were able to speak about their different experiences from in-clinic care to assisting patients and others acquire affordable insurance. Two of the representatives, Stacy Atkins and Bennett Csukor are North Park Alums who began working at LCHC for several reasons. Both described their journeys to working at LCHC and their most impactful memories. For Stacy, it was her mom who won bingo games to pay for Stacy’s education to get her in the position she is in now. For Bennett, it was one of the first times he witnessed what it was like for people to truly live without healthcare; he now works to insure as many patients as possible.
LCHC has worked to provide affordable healthcare to those who don’t have access to it, and has been doing so for over 30 years. LCHC keeps its doors open and serves the public through donors and staff who uphold their values and work to provide the healthcare everyone deserves. Lawndale Christian Health Center has opportunities for students and recent graduates in the form of internships and jobs for both students in the medical field and those who are not. Working in healthcare isn’t only about being a nurse or doctor—something the representatives emphasized—but places like LCHC need marketers, technicians, and more. Contacting LCHC for internships is as easy as emailing Jeffery Chen.
Learn more about Catalyst on Campus and other Catalyst events on the Catalyst home page. Catalyst on Campus happens every week on Wednesdays.
North Park’s men’s soccer squad advanced to the third round of the NCAA Division III tournament for the first time in team history after cruising to a 6-1 victory against the Wis.-Platteville Pioneers Sunday.
North Park’s men’s soccer squad advanced to the third round of the NCAA Division III tournament for the first time in team history after cruising to a 6-1 victory against the Wis.-Platteville Pioneers Sunday.
Led by CCIW Coach of the Year John Born, the Vikings dominated the Pioneers, with goals by Gustav Ericsson, Carel Kuzona, Erlend Kemkers and Ricky Pimentel. Those players join Jason Gonzalez, Peder Nalum Olsen, and Matias Warp in being named Monday as All-Conference Players, with Warp being named Player of the Year and Olsen Newcomer of the Year.
Born called Sunday’s victory a huge relief. “Getting our first NCAA victory under our belt sure felt good,” Born said. “We were excited and thankful to be able to play in front of a great home crowd.”
Scoring in the opening minute of the game, the Vikings swiftly put to rest any concerns they might be rusty after a bye round.
“When we scored 40 seconds into the game, there was no doubt in my mind that we were ready to play at a high level,” said Athletic Director Jack Surridge.
The NCAA National committee also announced the Vikings will also host their matchup against Virginia’s Washington & Lee University at noon Saturday, as well as the other regional semifinal, Minnesota’s St. Thomas v. Otterbein University of Westerville, Ohio, at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.
Previously, the farthest the Vikings had advanced in the NCAA tournament was to the second round, in 2010, 2011, and 2012. With their latest victory, the Vikings have now won 18 games in a row.
Going forward, Surridge believes the team is in a great position to go all the way.
“We are a formidable opponent when we play at this high level,” Surridge said.
Students, faculty, and special guest honor the service and memory of our veterans.
“My friend has been gone for 47 years. Those are 47 years that I have been given and he has not. That is a sobering thought,” began Interim President Carl Balsam during his opening remarks at yesterday’s Annual Veterans Day Commemoration Service, which took place in Anderson Chapel. “One comment left on my friend’s site caught my eye; it said: ‘Save one backward glance when you are leaving for the places they no longer can go.’ In other words, remember them.”
This year’s Veterans Day Service was organized by student-veterans Nico Canete and Roberto Martinez in conjunction with Dr. John Laukaitis and Renee Martinez. The guest speaker for the service was a friend of Nico’s, Weston Polaski, who served in the United States Marine Corps from 2005-2009.
Polaski shared his story on his road to enlistment and proceeded to give an account of what life was like throughout boot camp and into his first deployment. Polaski described some of the desperate living conditions he encountered during his initial time of deployment. He also described an encounter on the phone with his father where Polaski asked him “what am I doing here?” to which Polaski’s father replied, “you probably should have gone to class, huh?” Polaski described how this one call spurred him on to the next adventure back home in America where he returned to school to finish his degree.
Since his arrival back home, Polaski has made efforts to connect with Veterans and create connections for returning Veterans. Polaski began as the President of the Student Veteran Club at his alma mater and has since moved on to aiding the transition of returning veterans by connecting them with local businesses and veterans. “Every year over the next 5 years, 250,000 service members will exit the military,” Polaski said—all of whom will need jobs, education, and communities.
After the service, Nico Canete commented on why events like these at North Park are important to him and other veterans on campus: “It demonstrates the University’s commitment to those who have served. It reaffirms that the University supports veterans, supports them in their transition from military to academic life, and that it is proud to have them on campus.” Roberto Martinez also added that “It shows me that I’m welcome here as a US Army veteran; it shows me that we honor the sacrifice of those who went before us, and shows me that veterans are welcome here. It also gives us a sense of brotherhood and a place to share our experiences whether in combat or not.”
Dr. John Laukaitis had this to say in his closing remarks to conclude the Annual Veterans Day Service, “Our country has depended on veterans to stand strong against the threats to our liberty and way of life. They serve without expectation of recognition; they are humble servants. We thank you, the men and women, who have courageously put their lives in harm’s way for the sake of our country; today we thank the veterans of our country.”
North Park University and the Vikings host their first NCAA Tournament games ever, as the team seeks a trip to the Sweet 16.
This weekend, North Park University and the Vikings will host their first NCAA Tournament games ever, as the team seeks a trip to the Sweet 16.
After dominating their conference all season, North Park and its top-ranked Men’s Soccer team will host the NCAA Division III Men’s Soccer Tournament this Sunday.
Having earned the top seed in their bracket after a 17-1-1 season, the Vikings will enjoy a bye round as UW-Platteville faces off Saturday against Fulton, Mo.-based Westminster College. The Vikings will take on the winner of that game Sunday evening for a shot at the Sweet 16 and the possibility of hosting another round of the tourney.
The only other team to receive a first-round bye is #1-ranked Tufts University, winners of the 2016 NCAA DIII championship.
This year’s Viking team boasts a diverse, international roster, with players from as far as Sweden, Norway, Germany, and England, and as close as Chicago, Michigan, and Minnesota. One player hails from neighboring Von Stuben Metro Science High School. Among them, the team speaks 12 different languages.
“I have had the pleasure of coaching some amazing teams at North Park,” Head Coach John Born said. “However, the 2017 team is unparalleled in their talent as well as team chemistry.”
Tthe NCAA National committee announced the tournament seeding and hosting sites earlier this week.
“Being selected as a host site and rewarded with a first-round bye is a phenomenal honor,” Born said. “We’ll do our very best to represent North Park throughout the tournament. We certainly know that the entire North Park community is behind us, and we appreciate the tremendous support.”
The team has clearly benefited from North Park’s “strong cultural heritage” tying it to Sweden and Norway since the school’s founding over 125 years ago, said NPU Athletic Director Jack Surridge. Scandinavians feel comfortable and welcome here, as each year NPU hosts dozens of them as students. It also doesn’t hurt that Assistant Coach Kris Grahn is a Swede. “He can pick up the phone or FaceTime with recruits in their native language,” Surridge said.
One of those is Norwegian senior midfielder Matias Warp, whose leg injury kept him off the highly competitive European and American Division I teams. Instead, he chose North Park, and other players followed.
Fellow Norwegian and goalkeeper Mathias Stulen has nine shutouts this season, and five of the CCIW’s top-10 scorers are Vikings, including Swede Carel Kawale and Norwegian Peder Nalum Olsen, who hold the number one and two spots, respectively.
The defense has been an iron curtain, led by defensive back Ricky Pimental, of Franklin Park, IL.
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