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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.
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Liza Ann Acosta as University dean; Gregor Thuswaldner as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences
CHICAGO (June 2, 2016) — North Park University has announced the appointment of two new deans, effective August 15. Dr. Liza Ann Acosta will serve in the newly created position of University dean, and Dr. Gregor Thuswaldner has been named as the new dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.
As University dean, Acosta is charged with the recruitment and retention of a diverse faculty across the University; faculty development; and hearing academic grievances and student appeal cases. The position reports to Provost Michael Emerson, and will be housed within the Office of the Provost.
Acosta, who earned her PhD in comparative literature from Penn State University, has been on North Park’s faculty since 2000, and will continue in her role as professor of English. For the past four years, she has served as division director and associate dean of humanities, arts, and social sciences. Prior to that, she served as director of humanities, and two terms as chair of the English department. She has held numerous additional leadership roles on campus and in the larger Chicago community.
In addition to her success as an educator, Acosta is an accomplished writer and performer. Colleagues, students, and alumni find that she has embodied and championed North Park’s values for the entirety of her professional career. She has been a strong, consistent advocate for the ethnic and racial diversification of the student body and faculty, and has served as a role model and mentor for many.
As part of her new role, Acosta will be working with the deans of the colleges, schools, departments, and other units on campus to create strategies for faculty development and ethnic diversification. She will also oversee the Teaching and Learning Cooperative, work with the Professional Development Committee, and develop faculty-mentoring programs to help faculty progress through each stage of their careers.
In accepting the position, Acosta said, “After 16 years at North Park University, I am honored to serve my colleagues and my students in this capacity, leading the way to a campus that lives its values of equity and justice, built upon a rich immigrant heritage and a foundational Christian tradition.”
“I can think of no one better situated to serve as the inaugural University dean than Liza Ann,” said Emerson. “She embodies everything this important position requires. We need imaginative strategies to continue diversifying our faculty, and we need careful, focused attention on faculty development and mentoring. To become the university we strive to be, elevating the centrality and care of our faculty is essential.”
Gregor Thuswaldner named dean of the College of Arts and Sciences
Thuswaldner will serve as both dean and professor of humanities. A native of Austria, he has served as professor of German and linguistics at Gordon College since 2003. In his six years as department chair, he greatly diversified the department faculty, created highly successful major and minor programs, and substantially grew the number of linguistics majors.
So successful is Thuswaldner’s department that College Factual, in conjunction with the Wall Street Journal and USA Today, now rank Gordon as one of the nation’s colleges “Most Focused on Languages and Linguistics.” He is also the cofounder and academic director of the Salzburg Institute of Religion, Culture, and the Arts, a flourishing Christian liberal arts summer study abroad program. He has served most recently as interim director of the Center for Faith and Inquiry at Gordon.
The new dean has a strong background in faith-based and intercultural higher education administration, and a track record of fundraising and obtaining research grants. He is a prolific scholar—he has published six books, numerous journal articles and book chapters, and translated two books from German to English—and an award-winning teacher. After just three years at Gordon, he received the college’s Distinguished Faculty Award.
“I am absolutely thrilled to connect with the Chicago community and join North Park University,” Thuswaldner said. “North Park’s three core values—Christian, urban, intercultural—deeply resonate with me, and as a fellow Covenanter, I am very impressed with the University’s heritage and trajectory. I look forward to collaborating with the faculty on a number of projects in order to heighten the visibility of the College of Arts and Sciences.”
Nyvall Medallion presented to campus architecture designers
CHICAGO (May 16, 2016) — North Park University culminated the 2015–2016 academic year last weekend by awarding degrees to 467 students, including 318 bachelor’s degrees.
Three commencement ceremonies were held Saturday, May 14, for students from all undergraduate and graduate programs, including North Park Theological Seminary. Combined with the winter commencement held last December, degrees were presented to 682 North Park University graduates this academic year.
The weekend began with a baccalaureate service for all graduates, their families, and friends Friday, May 13, at Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago. “Tonight, take with you two lessons taught by North Park University’s first president, David Nyvall, in the very earliest days of our university’s history,” said President Dr. David L. Parkyn in remarks to graduating students. “First, our knowledge of truth is imperfect. Second, our response to this imperfect grasp of truth should be to welcome others in, to insist on hospitality.”
“If you have learned these two lessons in the course of your days at North Park, you are ready to graduate,” Parkyn continued. “Everywhere you go, and with everyone you meet, remember that you know only in part, and then in humility and grace, open your arms to all others—always for God’s glory and neighbor’s good.”
‘Commit yourself to work that really matters’
At its undergraduate commencement ceremony Saturday morning, the University presented its David Nyvall Medallion to Paul Hansen, William Ketcham, Douglas Hoerr, and Carl Balsam, four individuals who have served the school in exceptional ways over the past 20 years. Named for the University’s first president, the medallion is presented for distinguished service to the people of Chicago.
Hansen, Ketcham, and Hoerr, the University’s three architects over the last two decades, have worked closely throughout that time with Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Carl Balsam, whose leadership has been instrumental in this work. “Three architects and an administrator. Which one of these is not like the other?” Balsam joked in his remarks as he accepted the award.
Balsam worked with Hansen on designing and building Brandel Library, beginning in 1999. At the time, Hansen recommended closing the partial city street that the previous library faced, opening up a space to create a center for the campus. “That appeared wise then, but today, it seems brilliant,” Balsam said. Hoerr then created landscape design for that central campus area, which Balsam called “landscaping of striking beauty.” Next, the University worked with Ketcham on the design and construction of the Johnson Center for Science and Community Life. “The Johnson Center stands as a testimony to William’s vision,” Balsam said. “Their work has created a great treasure on the North Side of our city of Chicago.”
Balsam told graduating students the satisfaction he’s found in his work has come as he discovered his calling and worked collaboratively on that calling. “Because of your study at North Park, you have begun to discover your unique gifts, and hopefully you’ve begun to gain an understanding of the world’s needs in a way that stirs your passion,” he said. “Class of 2016, my hope for you is that you will find your special calling, and that you will realize great success as you work in community with others. Commit yourself to work that really matters, and to work that serves others.”
The Ahnfeldt Medallion, given to the senior with the highest grade point average, was presented to Alanna Dwight, Turlock, Calif., bachelor of science in mathematics. North Park’s 2016 U.S. Fulbright Award winners Katherine Bast, Holland, Mich., bachelor of arts in secondary education and English literature; Elizabeth Wallace, Oak Lawn, Ill., bachelor of arts in Spanish with K–12 teaching license and an ESL/bilingual teaching endorsement; and Bethany Joseph, Grand Rapids, Mich., a 2015 recipient of a bachelor of arts in Spanish and communication studies, were also recognized.
Eighteen students from the North Park College (now University), Academy, and Seminary classes of 1966 marched in gold caps and gowns and were recognized for celebrating the 50th anniversary of their graduation. When these alumni graduated in 1966, North Park College was celebrating its 75th anniversary.
‘Because you don’t know you can’t’
Four graduates addressed the afternoon commencement ceremony for graduate programs, the School of Adult Learning, and the RN-to-BSN completion program, sharing the ways their North Park education shaped their lives and careers. Heidi Bush, Chicago, a School of Business and Nonprofit Management graduate with a master of nonprofit administration, spoke about taking on difficult tasks, not because you will always know how, but “because you don’t know you can’t,” she said. Bush challenged her peers to take on the impossible with that attitude, just as they had done in their studies at North Park.
Laura Clarizio, Chicago, a School of Nursing and Health Services graduate with a master of science in nursing, shared thoughts on a philosophy of nursing and a life of service. “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel,” she said, quoting Maya Angelou.
Dean of North Park Theological Seminary Rev. David W. Kersten presided at the Seminary commencement, which honored 29 graduates. The Ahnfeldt Medallion was presented to the graduate with the highest grade point average, Michael Hertenstein, Chicago, master of arts in theological studies. In addition, academic awards were presented to several students.
An honorary doctor of divinity was conferred to Rev. Edward Delgado, president of the Hispanic Center for Theological Studies (CHET), a North Park University and Theological Seminary subsidiary. Prior to his current position, Delgado served as the director of evangelism and prayer for the Evangelical Covenant Church. “Thank you for this honor. May God continue to bless and guide you in your ministries ahead,” Delgado told the group of graduates. “That they would include challenges, and they would include adventure.”
Rev. Dr. Catherine Gilliard, senior pastor of New Life Covenant Church, Atlanta, delivered the commencement address, in which she called graduating students to become “disturbers of the city,” as Paul and Silas are described in the book of Acts. “This has been a season of preparation. But tomorrow, the work begins,” said Gilliard. “You are being sent out to lead God’s people in a new way of being. You are ambassadors of hope.”
Gilliard, who received a master of divinity and a doctor of ministry in preaching from the Seminary, emphasized the lessons found in the service’s New Testament reading, Acts 16:16–34. “About midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them,” Gilliard said, quoting the passage. “My resolve today is to encourage each one of you to remember that in the days ahead you will face in your ministries, you will have to write your own midnight words. Midnight gives way to a new day where God’s hope is evident.”
“I pray God’s blessings on each of you as lead,” said Gilliard. “I pray God’s power on each of you as you become disturbers of your city. And I pray God’s anointing as you leave this place to make a difference in the world.”
Marvin Curtis C’72 has been commissioned to craft a piece for North Park’s 125th anniversary celebration
CHICAGO (May 10, 2016) — North Park University alumnus Dr. Marvin V. Curtis is no stranger to writing original songs for major events. The renowned composer has received numerous commissions for musical works from churches and schools, performed at the White House and at presidential cabinet members’ memorial services, and crafted the piece “City on a Hill” for President Bill Clinton’s inauguration. But Curtis, the first African American composer commissioned to write a choral work for a presidential inauguration, is currently working on a piece that’s a little closer to home.
Curtis has been commissioned to compose a work that will be performed by students at North Park’s 125th anniversary celebration on September 23, 2016. “The School of Music is honored that Dr. Curtis has accepted our invitation to compose a musical piece for the event,” said Dr. Craig Johnson, dean of the School of Music. “The piece will be written for choir and a chamber instrumental ensemble, using a text that will be meaningful for the occasion. We very much anticipate the performance of his music, and we are confident that it will be a highlight of a very memorable celebration.”
We spoke with Curtis, dean of the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts at Indiana University South Bend, about his time at North Park, performing for presidents, and what to expect from his 125th anniversary piece.
North Park: How did you first come to North Park?
Marvin Curtis: An admissions counselor at North Park in the ‘60s came to my high school a couple times, Harlem High School, on the South Side. I wanted to go away to school. I came to North Park’s campus, and I remember walking around thinking, Okay, it’s still Chicago; I could live on the campus because they have housing. So I auditioned and was accepted, got a scholarship, and I came that fall.
NP: What are some of your favorite memories from your time as a student?
Curtis: It was a very different experience coming from inner-city Chicago to North Park. But I became part of the student body government, got involved in a bunch of different activities, and was a dorm counselor my third and fourth years. For three or four years, I was in charge of the Homecoming Committee, so we did a parade, we had fireworks—I had a lot of ideas. I was really engaged. At the same time, I was in the choir. I wrote my first compositions then, and the choir sang them on tour up and down the West Coast. One was called “Worship the Lord,” which was one of the first pieces I had published in the ‘70s. It was very different being in the choir and singing the pieces that I wrote. But the music faculty recognized my talent, so they programmed them! It was amazing to be a college junior and have your music sung by the North Park College Choir every night on tour, and then Orchestra Hall, and then later on, get those pieces published.
NP: What was the campus like at that time?
Curtis: It was a very interesting time. It was the late ‘60s, so there was a shift happening in politics. But I got to meet a lot of people, and being an African American student on campus, there were only 35 of us, and I was the only one in music. But it created an interesting dynamic. And I got involved with Covenant camps in the summertime, and Seminary Professor F. Burton Nelson, who I’d met along the way, got me involved. Burton kept me centered. I remember, my first year, we latched onto each other. So whenever things got crazy, I would go see Burton and explain stuff to him and we would agree on certain things. I was really involved with what was going on. But I had a good time meeting people and growing up. The music program really allowed me to grow and shape my thoughts about music education. They taught us to think outside the box.
NP: How did North Park influence the trajectory of your career?
Curtis: I graduated in 1972, and thanks to Burton Nelson, I ended up in the Seminary. I was working at Grace Covenant Church up the street, and Burton enticed me to study Christian education. So I was one of the first students that did the joint program with the Presbyterian School of Christian Education. I did my first year at North Park, then moved to Richmond, Va., and did my second year down there. So thanks to Burton, I got a master’s in Christian education. North Park was a big part of my life. I actually spent summers here working in the Student Union. And after my first year, I said, “I don’t think I want to go back home.”
After getting my master’s, I moved to New York to teach, and also took a couple of church jobs. I ended up at Riverside Church, with my own choir. Then I left New York and moved to California. Eventually, I was invited to come to the University of the Pacific in California for a fellowship, so I came out there in ’86 and graduated four years later with my doctorate. In the meantime, I’m still writing music. I had done commissions for several schools and churches. I ended up getting my doctorate and moving, then, back to Richmond.
NP: And that’s when you were commissioned for the presidential inauguration?
Curtis: Through a friendship I had, I got the opportunity to write for the president. He called me up one day and said, “We want you to write a piece for us. We’ve been asked to sing at the inauguration, if Bill Clinton wins.” He knew Clinton. And he knew me as a composer, and asked if I could write this piece. I thought, You have to be kidding. This was in September 1992. So I called him back and said, “Are you serious?” He said, “Yeah!” So I began working on “City on a Hill.” And I ended up at the inauguration with the president, sitting on top of the Capitol, shaking his hand afterwards, and hearing my piece performed live with the United States Marine Band on top of it.
NP: What was that like?
Curtis: I’ve described it several ways. People asked how I felt, and I would say, “All the people in my life that told me I wasn’t going to do anything are watching me on television.” It was very humbling, too, because I was sitting there listening and watching the ceremony, and it didn’t dawn on me that this was being broadcast around the world. So people around the world heard this piece that I wrote. Totally blew me out of the water.
NP: How do you find inspiration to write a piece for something that big?
Curtis: I thought, I want to leave the president a message with this song. So the message came out of Colossians, and then I had a text. Within two days I had written this whole thing. And I’m writing it and faxing it to my publisher and he’s writing back with some notes and corrections. And then we just waited until the election came. In December, I went to Little Rock, Ark., to hear it for the first time, and they sang it, and I was blown away. So there I was, January 20, 1993. I sat there and watched this take place, and it’s still amazing to me. My music is now in the Clinton Library, it’s in the Smithsonian, and it’s still being performed.
NP: What made you want to come back and do something for North Park?
Curtis: I’m very honored that my alma mater would ask me to do something like this. I know it’s about the celebration of the school, and as an alumnus of North Park, I know something about the school. I know about the capabilities of the school. So I thought, Let’s do something joyful.
NP: Were there things about North Park, based on your experiences here, that you wanted to make sure you included in a piece about it?
Curtis: The text I used for one section of the piece is from Luke 13:29: “The people will come from east and west, from north and south, and will eat in the kingdom of God.” I started with that verse first as a potential text because that was my experience being at North Park: people came from all over. That was something about North Park that I really liked: it was not just people from Chicago. People came to this one school for a common purpose. It was interesting for me, being a kid from Chicago, to begin meeting people from all over the country. I was able to make friends from all over because of North Park. I also traveled across the country with the Concert Choir. For me, it was a way of connecting the dots.
NP: What else will the song convey, textually or musically?
Curtis: I got an idea of the kind of text I want to use from the book of Micah. There are four verses on display at the center of campus, including Micah 6:8: “What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” That’s one of my favorite passages. I’m trying to craft this to reflect the ideals that I learned at North Park. The section that I wrote for the Luke passage is more of an introspective part. But the piece will open triumphantly and will close the same way. Most of my music has a big opening and a big closing, and I think that’s the way this has to be—this is a celebration. But it’s still formulating itself. Getting that soft part written took a while, but I got it the way I wanted it.
NP: How does the process of composing this piece compare to your process for something like a presidential inauguration?
Curtis: I’m a text-painter. The text, for me, is driving the writing of the music. For example, this part about “the people will come from east and west.” I could’ve used it as a bombastic thing, but I decided to use it as a quiet section. When I wrote “City on a Hill,” I started with John Winthrop’s speech, the actual “city upon a hill” part, first, and then worked everything else around it. With “City on a Hill,” it was a quiet text, and I built everything else around it, and I’m doing the same thing with this. That piece was specific in its nature. I always use the phrase, “I was trying to figure out what to say to the president in music.” In this case, I’m trying to say, “How do I celebrate my school in music?” So that’s the approach I’m taking. There are loud moments; there are quiet moments. I’m trying to do that in the sense of making it so that it fits a celebration of an institution and what it’s done over 125 years.
Bast, Wallace, and Joseph to teach in Macedonia, Peru, and Mexico, respectively
CHICAGO (May 4, 2016) — North Park University continued its record of Fulbright success this spring, when the U.S. Fulbright Program awarded overseas teaching opportunities to two University students and one alumna.
Seniors Katie Bast and Elizabeth Wallace and 2015 graduate Bethany Joseph were awarded English Teaching Assistantships (ETA) in Macedonia, Peru, and Mexico, respectively. Combined with previous awards, 19 North Park students and three faculty members in the past eight years have earned Fulbright grants.
A double-major in English literature and secondary education, Bast will serve as an ETA for a nine-month placement in Macedonia this September. Although the specifics of her grant haven’t yet been announced, Bast expects to be teaching English reading, writing, and vocabulary in a secondary school or university setting while also engaging in educational outreach programs.
“North Park has given me opportunities to step into leadership positions, and I have gained the skills to think critically due to my experiences,” Bast says. “Translating this into the classroom has benefitted my teaching greatly. I’ve learned how to teach English in different contexts because of the varying schools I have taught in through my placements with the School of Education.”
A native of Holland, Mich., Bast participated in a wide variety of both academic and non-academic activities during her time at North Park. She served as a writing advisor for three years, took trips with Global Partnerships and the Sankofa Experience, and played Ultimate Frisbee. “These groups have all helped me develop and grow, and I’ve loved all the relationships that have flourished due to all of these different experiences,” Bast says.
“Katie is a dedicated, intellectually curious, and broadly accomplished student who is committed to sharing her love for language and literature,” says Professor of English Dr. Nancy Arnesen. “She is an organizer, a doer, a truly unflappable, unstoppable force for the better.” At last month’s University Honors Convocation, Bast was recognized as the English department’s outstanding senior.
When Bast completes her program, she plans to return to Chicago to teach English in a middle or high school, either in Chicago Public Schools or in the suburbs. “I am excited to see how I grow as a teacher through the Fulbright experience and to be able to apply what I learn in the classroom upon my return,” she says.
‘A wide range of experiences and adventures’
Wallace will graduate this month with a bachelor of arts in Spanish, a K–12 teaching license, and an ESL/bilingual teaching endorsement. In March 2017, she will travel to Peru to serve as an ETA through next December. She will most likely be teaching at a university.
Wallace’s experience studying abroad was an important part of her time at North Park. “Studying in Cuenca, Ecuador, had such a positive impact on me, and helped me develop deep friendships that I may not have otherwise,” she says. “It prepared me through the wide range of multicultural experiences and adventures that we had.”
Wallace, of Oak Lawn, Ill., also feels prepared for her Fulbright position because of her experiences both inside and outside of the classroom. “North Park has prepared me thoroughly through my classes, but also my clinical experiences,” she says. “During student teaching, I worked with students in the classroom and after school, helping direct a play. It is by these real-life experiences—that were challenging and fun—that I feel prepared to teach in Peru.”
Dr. Linda Parkyn, professor of Spanish and Fulbright program associate, agrees. “Elizabeth just finished student teaching with an excellent record of captivating classroom assignments and many kudos from her students,” she says. “After study abroad last year in Ecuador, I am sure Peruvian students will be impressed as well!”
After her time in Peru, Wallace plans to return to the United States and teach Spanish. She looks forward to exploring teaching all grades, and hopes to eventually teach in a bilingual school.
A ‘significantly expanded worldview’
Joseph, who majored in both Spanish and communication studies, will begin her 10-month ETA placement in Mexico this August. Like Wallace, Joseph’s experience studying abroad helped her determine her plans following graduation.
“I participated in the study abroad program during my junior year, spending a semester in Buenos Aires, Argentina,” says Joseph. “It filled me with enthusiasm for Latin America, for its culture, warmth, and color. It reminded me of the beauty of intercultural friendships.” She finds that North Park “significantly expanded my worldview. I am a more open person because of the classes I took as an undergrad.”
While Joseph, of Grand Rapids, Mich., hasn’t yet received the details of the age group she will be teaching, she has a sense of what some of her work will involve. “Each Fulbright applicant is required to describe the unique teaching style that they would apply to the job, and to propose a side project that will be conducted in addition to the teaching,” she says. “Long story short, I will be doing a lot of songwriting and cartooning in Mexico.”
Parkyn attests to Joseph’s creativity. “Bethany is an inventive student who will excel in the Mexican classroom,” she says. “Her Spanish skills and her tutoring experience at North Park will help her to teach English with a fluency that is hard to match. She will thrive.”
Eventually, Joseph expects to work in a nonprofit environment, whether in Latin America or in the United States. “I am interested in community engagement and in working with people,” she says. “I anticipate being part of an organization that provides services to lower-income families.”
The Fulbright program was established by the U.S. Congress in 1946, and is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. It is the largest U.S. international exchange program offering opportunities for students, scholars, and professionals to undertake international graduate study, advanced research, university teaching, and teaching in elementary and secondary schools worldwide.
Carmen Velazquez-Alvarez and Blake Thomas honored for embodying University mission of significance and service
CHICAGO (April 28, 2016) — On Monday, the North Park University community gathered in Anderson Chapel for the annual Honors Convocation, a celebration recognizing students who demonstrated excellence in the classroom and community.
Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations Mary Surridge presented the 2016 Distinguished Senior Awards to Carmen Velazquez-Alvarez, Kerman, Calif., and Blake Thomas, Olathe, Kan. This honor is bestowed each year to one woman and one man from the graduating class, recognizing extraordinary leadership, dedicated service, superior academic performance, and embodiment of the University’s mission of preparing students for lives of significance and service.
Velazquez-Alvarez, a conflict transformation studies major and nonprofit management certificate recipient, fled the violence of her native Veracruz, Mexico, at age 11. She and her family were homeless for several months, managing with little food and without access to medical care. She worked in the fields of California’s Central Valley with her mother from a very young age, and dreamed of one day attending North Park, which she had heard about through her church.
“Carmen’s story is the story of the impossible becoming possible,” says Dr. Liza Ann Acosta, professor of English. “She is leading the way for other undocumented students to dream big and work towards fulfilling their goals. Carmen has made her North Park experience one to remember.”
Velazquez-Alvarez served as the president of North Park’s Latin American Student Organization and cofounder of the Latinas Unidas Mentorship Program, established to prepare her fellow Latina students for success. She was also active as a Faith and Justice Team student leader, and completed an internship this semester with the YMCA’s diversity and inclusion department.
“Carmen is a dynamo, an organizer, and at the forefront of Latino and immigrant justice issues,” says Dr. Linda Craft, professor of Spanish. In addition to her service work, Velazquez-Alvarez was honored this year as one of the top academic students in the state, receiving the Student Laureate Award and an educational grant from the Lincoln Academy of Illinois. She earned a 3.98 grade point average at North Park.
“There are kids who came from Central America or Mexico, and they don’t get to go to school,” Velazquez-Alvarez says. “So I’m not going to school just for me. This isn’t even for me. It’s, one, for God, and two, for my family and the people that I work with and are around me. I know there are serious circumstances that keep them from going to school, but how can my education help them in the future? How can I go back to the Valley and help my people?”
‘An outstanding student and a stellar human being’
During his time at North Park, Thomas majored in both youth ministry and biblical and theological studies, completed an internship that led to a job offer, and participated in multiple music ensembles, all while maintaining a 3.69 grade point average.
“Being a part of the Chamber Singers and the University Choir has been the most rewarding experience for me at North Park,” says Thomas. “From singing Handel’s Messiah with 400 people to going on choir tours around the country, I’ve loved my time being under the direction of Dr. Julia Davids and singing with my peers.”
Thomas came to North Park out of a desire to merge his gifts in ministry and music, and a commitment to serving the city of Chicago. Music Recruiter Dr. Rebecca Ryan has seen Thomas’s success firsthand. “I know Blake well—he served as my admissions assistant for three years and has been active in the School of Music,” she says. “He is an outstanding student and a stellar human being.”
Dr. Daniel White Hodge, director of the Center for Youth Ministry Studies, agrees. “I’m not surprised that he won the award,” he says. “Blake has been an outstanding student with exemplary leadership skills. I’m very proud of him and his accomplishments, including serving as youth intern at North Park Covenant Church, where he was able to do some really good work.”
Following his internship, Thomas has been hired as a youth pastor at North Park Covenant Church, and will begin his position this summer. “North Park University provides a very well-rounded perspective on theology and provides the space for students to discern what is biblical and gospel-centered,” he says. “North Park shaped the way I view God and approach theology.”
In addition to the Distinguished Senior Awards, the Honors Convocation ceremony also noted the top graduating students from each department and school, and service and leadership awards were given to seniors embodying excellence in co- and extracurricular activities. View a complete list of students recognized in this year’s Honors Convocation program.
The University’s graduation ceremonies, including the presentation of the Ahnfeldt Medallion given to the senior with the highest grade point average, will officially close the year on Saturday, May 14, at 10:00 am, 3:00 pm, and 7:00 pm.
April 30 event at St. James Cathedral celebrates Scandinavian life in early Chicago
CHICAGO (April 22, 2016) — Artifacts and records from Chicago’s first Swedish congregation, St. Ansgarius Episcopal Church, are now freely available online and are on display at St. James Commons in Chicago.
The church, established in 1849 in what is now the River North neighborhood, is significant to both the city of Chicago and Scandinavian American history for the role it played in the fledgling immigrant community. “The church records, which survived the great Chicago fire of 1871 and had lately been restricted from use due to their fragility, are valued by researchers for both the light they shed on the early Swedish population in Chicago and for the missing links they can fill for genealogists seeking their roots,” said North Park University Director of Archives Anna-Kajsa Anderson. “We’re excited that not only are they no longer restricted, but that they can be accessed by anyone with an internet connection.”
In celebration, the F. M. Johnson Archives and Special Collections, Center for Scandinavian Studies, Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation, and Swedish-American Historical Society are cosponsoring the exhibit St. Ansgarius Artifacts: Under One Roof Again. The gallery features remaining artifacts from the early years of St. Ansgarius, now cared for by several different organizations around the city. It can be viewed free of charge through April 30 in Kyle’s Place Gallery at St. James Commons, 65 E. Huron St., Chicago, Ill. 60611.
The gallery will culminate in the event A Celebration of Scandinavian Episcopal Life in Early Chicago, Saturday, April 30, at St. James Cathedral. The day will include an opportunity to peruse the exhibit, worship in a choral Eucharist, and attend a symposium on the St. Ansgarius Episcopal Church. Register online for the lunch and afternoon symposium. There is no charge to view the exhibit or worship at the Eucharist.
North Park University was founded in 1891 by the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC), a denomination formed by Swedish immigrants. North Park maintains a connection to its Swedish and Scandinavian roots through academic programs and other cultural exchanges.
New partnership makes it easier for more students to connect with North Park
CHICAGO (April 18, 2016) — Students applying to North Park University for Spring 2017 or later will now have the ability to do so through the Common Application, an online system used by nearly 700 colleges and universities in the United States and around the world to manage the college admission process.
According to Genaro Balcazar, vice president of enrollment management and marketing, “For North Park University, becoming a member of the Common Application is about making the college application process a little more manageable for students. North Park and the Common Application share a joint goal of promoting college access by reducing barriers in the college application process.”
The Common Application is a nonprofit member organization that seeks to advance “access, equity, and integrity in the college admission process.” Over 900,000 students use the Common Application online system annually to submit more than four million applications.
“Our partnership will help alleviate some of the complexity of having to complete multiple admission applications, and puts us alongside many of our peers in the industry,” added Balcazar.
“Each of our new members comes to the Common Application with a unique mission and distinctive qualities that attract a broad range of bright and talented students,” said Common Application senior director Scott Anderson. “We are excited to welcome innovative institutions that all share our commitment to advancing college access.”
Interested students can create a Common Application account now. Common Applications for the 2017–2018 academic year will roll over to 2018–2019 and beyond. The answers for any of the questions that appear in the six sections of the “Common App” tab (Profile, Family, Education, Testing, Activities, and Writing) will be preserved. High school counselors can use Common App Ready, a flexible advising tool, to introduce students and families to the college preparation and application processes whenever is best for individual needs.
Students can still choose to submit their application directly through the North Park University website. For more information about how to apply to North Park University, please contact admissions@northpark.edu.
President Parkyn addresses MAP Grant funding and North Park’s commitment to affordability
The Monetary Award Program (MAP) has provided grant funds for Illinois residents to attend college in the state since 1967. The State of Illinois budget, which includes authorization for this program, ran out on July 1, 2015, leaving many students and universities (including North Park University) vulnerable to funding shortages. Significant coverage has been given by news outlets to the impact of the budget impasse on higher education.
Last month, Professor Jon Peterson offered some background on how the state arrived at this point, as well thoughts on what must happen at the state level to restore these funds. Director of Financial Aid Carolyn Lach also addressed the issue in the Spectrum, North Park’s student magazine.
Here, in an open letter to future North Park students and their families, President Parkyn addresses concerns related to MAP Grant funding and other financial aid issues.
By Dr. David L. Parkyn, President of North Park University
Many of us here at North Park University and around the state of Illinois have been carefully monitoring the budget impasse in Springfield. The standoff involving the governor and both sides of the legislative aisle represents a real threat to the way all colleges and universities across the state are able to provide students with a high quality of affordable education. This confrontation has left the Monetary Award Program (MAP) awaiting funding for the current (2015–2016) budget year as well as for the next (2016–2017) budget year. No one in the state knows when funds for MAP may become available. However, as the legislature reconvenes this spring for its next session, we are hopeful for some good news.
I wanted let you know that all of us at North Park University are keenly aware of the sacrifices that students and families make, and the careful considerations that you will be making about where to attend college in the fall. I want to assure you that, despite threats from the state, North Park University is strongly committed to making every effort to support our incoming students and their families to make attending North Park a reality.
Here at North Park, we often think about who we are. Our core values of being Christian, urban, and intercultural are clear to anyone who steps onto our campus. Along with these values, we like to reference something our founders mentioned 125 years ago. They said North Park would be an institution where “hospitality is especially insisted upon.” Hospitality offers the sense that everyone is welcomed. In higher education, it means that students feel valued in their learning environment. At North Park, it means that each student is a treasured member of our tight-knit community.
North Park decided over a decade ago to offer a private, high-quality education at a price point well below our competitors. Since that time, we have kept our tuition at a competitive level, and with substantial financial aid from the University, our students graduate with close to the lowest amount of debt for Chicagoland colleges and universities (as reported last month by Crain’s Chicago Business). We’ve remained committed to offering an affordable education to align with the integrity of our Christian identity.
As such, we encourage our incoming students to contact us about the affordability of a North Park education. Please continue the conversation with our admission staff to determine the best way to finance your education with us, including a review of institutional aid opportunities, user-friendly payment plans and ways to ensure appropriate student loan indebtedness upon graduation. Take us up on the offer to learn about the welcoming family that is North Park University.
In doing so, I am confident that, as I have come to experience, you will feel the promise of our hospitality and love of our community.
A dispatch from North Park’s annual writing retreat
By Andie Roeder Moody
Note: As web content manager and writer for University Marketing and Communications, I spend the majority of my days holed away in my office on Spaulding Avenue, writing about what’s happening across campus. A few weeks ago, I had the rare privilege to join some of our students and faculty for a writing and hiking retreat. I was there to observe, write about the trip, and teach. Below is my account of the weekend.
CHICAGO (March 29, 2016) — It’s the Friday before midterms, and we’re loading up vans in the lot behind Burgh Hall. The students are discussing all the homework they’ll be trying to disremember for the next few days. They don’t get credit for attending this, and it’s not mandatory. Students of all majors are welcome, but there’s a strong showing of English and philosophy majors. “They’re about to take on the final push before spring break,” Karl Clifton-Soderstrom, associate professor of philosophy, tells me. “It’s a breaking point in the semester where most of them could really use a rest. The trip is good for that.”
On the six-hour drive to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, students sing, reminisce, and discuss philosophy. A few know each other already; most of them are breaking the ice. When we arrive at Covenant Point Bible Camp, just past the Wisconsin border, it’s been snowing all evening. The grounds are coated in a thick layer of powdery snow, and our van struggles to make it up the hill to the cabins. I didn’t anticipate having no cell phone service. The faculty make no apologies for that—or for the length of the drive. Though there are closer places we could hold the retreat, Covenant Point is special to them. It’s remote and wooded; it feels connected to a tradition of nature writers, whom they harken this weekend: Thoreau, Emerson, Dillard. To get to our sessions, we walk several minutes from where we’re staying to the isolated Nature Center, which is surrounded by trails and forest. Once there, we put our chairs into a circle around the fireplace, where one devoted student builds and tends the fire all weekend. For a few days, we get a slower pace of life than Chicago—or even other camps—offer. Before long, no one misses their cell phones much. A student tells me she’s really enjoying not knowing what her friends are up to on Facebook.
Saturday and Sunday, our full days at the camp, are structured around meals and learning sessions, with time in between to write and two readings to share your work. Professor of Philosophy Greg Clark opens the retreat with a lesson on tracking animals. We walk around a snowy field and follow the tracks of rabbits and deer. Greg—whom the students refer to by first name—sends them off to track animals. He asks them to come back with a story: what the narrative of the animals’ movements might be. One group of students tracks the path of a rabbit they imagine to be a Rambo-style secret forest police officer. Another group finds tracks so big that the only imaginable solution is a Yeti. I suggest snowshoes; they are unconvinced—and share a poem they wrote about the Yeti.
The lessons build off each other. A quote from Greg’s tracking session becomes a writing prompt for the day: “The tracks tell you the story of what happened.” Students read us their stories about tracks of all sorts—scars, train lines, tattoos, a friend’s suicide, a carpenter father’s hands. Liza Ann Acosta, professor of English, leads an experiential session on walking. (Listen to the students read their responses to her prompt here.) After we eat dinner together, Karl teaches on his two passions—philosophy and photography. We close the day by having students read a piece of published writing they enjoyed. On Sunday, I lead a session about how writing has allowed me to learn to pay attention to the world around me. Kristy Odelius, professor of English, follows me that afternoon with a talk about, essentially, finitude, which she called “the dilemma of the day.” Kristy and the authors she referenced offer one answer—play.
This was perhaps the lesson that we were all learning most acutely that weekend. Though the sessions and the writing time were powerful and thought-provoking, what felt most remarkable was the shared experience. Afternoons spent—faculty and student alike—tubing carelessly down hills and pegging each other with snowballs. An evening when we took on the “polar bear plunge,” which consisted of sitting in a sauna to get warm before jumping in the frozen lake. The students, in their invincibility, were so delighted with the feeling of the plunge that they did it two or three more times each. Kristy’s seven-year-old son, Caleb, reminding us all of how the world looked from a few feet lower, chiming in with a childlike perspective during heady conversations, and keeping us laughing. On our last day, a pack of us cross-country skiing and snowshoeing across the mile-wide lake to explore its islands, where we discovered yurts and giant swings. “I think when you play together, it’s the best way to get to know each other,” Markus Tenfält, a Swedish exchange student, told me. “People relax when they have fun—it breaks down the barriers.”
Several international students were on the trip, in part to improve their English. Some were self-conscious about sharing writing in their second language, but Kristy commended their work’s clarity, beauty, and strength. I agreed. “International students don’t have a home to go home to during the breaks, like the Americans have,” Axel Rejler, a Swedish exchange student, told me. “So this is our chance to get off campus, calm down, and think.” Looking around the snowy terrain, he said, “Really, it looks like home. This could be Sweden.”
But the weekend was more than recreation. There were chunks of time devoted to writing on your own, and the students took it seriously, preparing earnestly to share new pieces of writing on Sunday night. What they exhibited throughout the weekend in playfulness, they matched with vulnerability. One shared a poem about the shame he once harbored over his mother’s vocation as a home cleaner. Another, a ballad about surviving depression. Another, Bob Dylan-inspired lyrics about Swedish politics. The prompts given in all of our lessons were represented—poetry from a creative writing assignment Kristy gave, essays about walking. I cried as a student read her reflections about the power of paying attention. I’m not sure what I was expecting from the students’ writing, but what they shared throughout the weekend far exceeded it. I’ve collected some of it here, because I think what they wrote is beautiful and worth reading.
Students protested as we packed up our vans to head back to Chicago Monday morning. I wanted to protest too. Kristy calls this trip a “high-impact learning experience.” Classroom time, writing, and exams are present at all universities, but this is the kind of thing that sets North Park apart. In exit interviews with seniors, she often hears the writing retreat brought up as a highlight and formative experience.
At the outset of the trip, a student told me he was thinking about transferring; he hasn’t been able to make good friends in his first year at North Park. Over the next four days, I see a change in him as he learns and writes with his peers—he’s more open, happy, understood. I don’t know where he is in his decision now, but he did tell me the retreat was the most meaningful experience he’s had at North Park so far.
When asked to describe the weekend in one word, students said “restful,” “peace,” “emotional,” and “rejuvenate.” My word would be “connected.” This, to me, is the heart of the weekend: connection. A college education is more than the sum of one’s syllabi or credit hours. It’s the connections of those things with other, memorable, cherished components—conversations, experiences, relationships, intellectual revelations. It’s the connections between disciplines: What does it look like to be a writer when you’re majoring in government? What does an adult life of balance and connection look like? What we began on the retreat with the students is a start towards what we hope they’ll do throughout their time at North Park and beyond: live connected, think deeply, play, pay attention.
Dr. Jon Peterson offers background of how Illinois arrived at the current budget impasse, as well as thoughts on what must happen at the state level to restore MAP grant funds.
Editor’s Note: The Monetary Award Program (MAP) has provided grant funds for Illinois residents to attend college in the state since 1967. The State of Illinois budget, which includes authorization for this program, ran out on July 1, 2015, leaving many students and universities (including North Park University) vulnerable to funding shortages. Significant coverage has been given by news outlets to the impact of the budget impasse on higher education. Here, Professor Jon Peterson offers some background of how the state arrived at this point, as well as thoughts on what must happen at the state level to restore these funds.
The current issue of the Spectrum, North Park’s student magazine, addresses this issue in a letter from Carolyn Lach, director of financial aid.
By Dr. Jon Peterson, assistant professor of politics and government
We currently have no MAP grant funds because Governor Bruce Rauner and the Illinois General Assembly (that is, the state house and the state senate) have failed to pass a state budget. We do not have a state budget because our Republican governor and our Democratic legislative majorities have very different opinions about how to fix the serious problems in our state’s finances.
Last spring when Governor Rauner and Democratic legislative leaders (like House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton) began negotiating the budget, the state estimated it would collect about $32 billion in taxes in 2016. The problem is, just to keep state services at last year’s levels, the state needed $38 billion. So, to fix a $6 billion gap in state finances, our state leaders had three choices: 1. cut services by reducing spending; 2. collect more money by raising taxes; or 3. some combination of both.
Governor Rauner chose the first option. He proposed a budget with no tax increases and steep spending cuts. Democrats in the General Assembly rejected the governor’s proposal and chose the third option. They passed a series of budget bills that increased taxes and cut spending. But according to the governor, those bills did not cut spending enough, since they would have spent $4 billion more than the state would have collected in taxes. As a result, Rauner vetoed every budget bill except the one that paid for public elementary and secondary schools.
Since the governor and state legislators failed to pass a budget, every state agency and program (other than public schools) technically ran out of money on July 1, 2015. But a series of court orders has forced the state to continue paying state workers and funding state programs at about 90 percent of their 2015 levels. The budget gap remains, however, and Illinois is now spending money faster than it is collecting it. By the end of June, we will overspend by more than $4 billion.
This budget standoff forms the backdrop of the MAP grant debate. The bill funding MAP grants was one of the budget bills that Governor Rauner vetoed last spring, so the program is currently unfunded. At the end of January, the General Assembly approved Senate Bill 2043, which included full funding ($373 million) for MAP grants. Governor Rauner vetoed the bill on February 19, arguing that the state does not have the money to pay for the program. He also wants the General Assembly to give him new authority to make spending cuts during financial crises. Republicans in the legislature have introduced a bill that would give the governor this authority and fully fund MAP grants. But they do not have enough votes to pass the bill, and Democratic legislators are unwilling to give up budget power to the governor.
The Illinois Constitution gives the General Assembly the ability to override a governor’s veto, but they need 3/5 of their members to agree to do it. As long as Republican legislators side with the governor, the Democrats did not have enough votes to override the governor’s veto. On March 1, a motion to override the governor’s veto was filed in the Senate, and it arrived to the House on March 2. However, the 3/5 majority vote to override was not successful, and the veto of SB2043 stands.
Looking forward, any successful MAP grant bill is going to need the support of both a majority in the Illinois General Assembly and Governor Rauner. And until that happens, 130,000 college students across Illinois will be left without their much-needed MAP grants.
Dr. Jon Peterson is assistant professor of politics and government at North Park University. His expertise is in the areas of American government and politics, public opinion and voting behavior, and religion and politics.
CHICAGO (June 2, 2016) — North Park University has announced the appointment of two new deans, effective August 15. Dr. Liza Ann Acosta will serve in the newly created position of University dean, and Dr. Gregor Thuswaldner has been named as the new dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.
Thuswaldner will serve as both dean and professor of humanities. A native of Austria, he has served as professor of German and linguistics at Gordon College since 2003. In his six years as department chair, he greatly diversified the department faculty, created highly successful major and minor programs, and substantially grew the number of linguistics majors.
Author tomgabrysiakPosted on Categories Stories
CHICAGO (May 16, 2016) — North Park University culminated the 2015–2016 academic year last weekend by awarding degrees to 467 students, including 318 bachelor’s degrees.
presided at the Seminary commencement, which honored 29 graduates. The Ahnfeldt Medallion was presented to the graduate with the highest grade point average, Michael Hertenstein, Chicago, 
CHICAGO (May 4, 2016) — North Park University continued its record of Fulbright success this spring, when the 
CHICAGO (April 28, 2016) — On Monday, the North Park University community gathered in Anderson Chapel for the annual Honors Convocation, a celebration recognizing students who demonstrated excellence in the classroom and community.
CHICAGO (April 18, 2016) — Students applying to North Park University for Spring 2017 or later will now have the ability to do so through the 
CHICAGO (March 29, 2016) — It’s the Friday before midterms, and we’re loading up vans in the lot behind Burgh Hall. The students are discussing all the homework they’ll be trying to disremember for the next few days. They don’t get credit for attending this, and it’s not mandatory. Students of all majors are welcome, but there’s a strong showing of English and philosophy majors. “They’re about to take on the final push before spring break,” 
Saturday and Sunday, our full days at the camp, are structured around meals and learning sessions, with time in between to write and two readings to share your work. Professor of Philosophy 
This was perhaps the lesson that we were all learning most acutely that weekend. Though the sessions and the writing time were powerful and thought-provoking, what felt most remarkable was the shared experience. Afternoons spent—faculty and student alike—tubing carelessly down hills and pegging each other with snowballs. An evening when we took on the “polar bear plunge,” which consisted of sitting in a sauna to get warm before jumping in the frozen lake. The students, in their invincibility, were so delighted with the feeling of the plunge that they did it two or three more times each. Kristy’s seven-year-old son, Caleb, reminding us all of how the world looked from a few feet lower, chiming in with a childlike perspective during heady conversations, and keeping us laughing. On our last day, a pack of us cross-country skiing and snowshoeing across the mile-wide lake to explore its islands, where we discovered yurts and giant swings. “I think when you play together, it’s the best way to get to know each other,” Markus Tenfält, a 
We currently have no MAP grant funds because Governor Bruce Rauner and the Illinois General Assembly (that is, the state house and the state senate) have failed to pass a state budget. We do not have a state budget because our Republican governor and our Democratic legislative majorities have very different opinions about how to fix the serious problems in our state’s finances.
Dr. Jon Peterson