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.
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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.
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.
North Park University announces Jerri A. Haynes as the new dean of its School of Education.
North Park University announces Dr. Jerri A. Haynes as the new dean of its School of Education.
Haynes holds a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education and a Master of Education in Elementary Education from Florida A&M University. From Nova Southeastern University, she earned her Doctor of Education in Child and Youth Studies with a minor in curriculum development and systemic change and an Education Specialist degree in teaching English to speakers of other languages with a minor in educational leadership.
A seasoned leader, Haynes most recently served as the dean and a tenured professor at the College of Education and Human Development at Jackson State University. There, she led five departments and directed four academic centers that offered degrees in multiple modalities, from the bachelor to doctoral levels.
Previously, Haynes was the dean and a tenured professor at Tennessee State University’s College of Education, where she led a faculty and staff of 60 and managed an enrollment of 900 students. Her earlier roles included assistant dean, director of assessment and accreditation, and associate professor at Fort Hays State University; she also held various leadership positions at Bethune-Cookman University and the Madison County School District.
Haynes’ extensive experience in academic and administrative roles, combined with her commitment to educational excellence and leadership, positions her to guide the School of Education toward a future of growth and innovation.
Martha Shimkin BA ’84 has been named director of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Chesapeake Bay Program Office (CBPO), where she will work to preserve the local environment.
Martha Shimkin BA ’84 has been named director of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Chesapeake Bay Program Office (CBPO), where she will work to preserve the local environment.
“What we’re really looking forward to is not just restoring and protecting and conserving, but alsohanding up something to the next generation that is even better,” Shimkin told The Baltimore Banner.
Shimkin previously served as the CBPO deputy director from May 2021–December 2023. At North Park, she studied Swedish, German, and business administration. Shimkin joined a service trip that built a school in Haiti, then joined the Peace Corps before working for the EPA, according toThe Banner.
Coach Kimberly Maljak and North Park dance team captains Katelyn Paulus BS ’24 and fourth-year Jayla Sotelo co-authored an academic article for Strategies: A Journal for Physical and Sport Educators.
Coach Kimberly Maljak
Katelyn Paulus
Jayla Sotelo
Coach Kimberly Maljak and North Park dance team captains Katelyn Paulus BS ’24 and fourth-year Jayla Sotelo co-authored an academic article for Strategies: A Journal for Physical and Sport Educators. Paulus and Sotelo were captains during the 2022–23 and 2023–24 academic years. In the summer of 2023, they and Coach Maljak created ways to keep the team conditioned and motivated leading up to their August pre-season camp.
The article, “Preparing for (Dance) Camp: 30-Day Challenge,” results from the success of those ideas and an effort to share them with other dance coaches. Maljak, Paulus, and Sotelo hope to motivate high school and college dance team student-athletes to physically prepare for camp independently. Additionally, their “Motivational Mondays” and weekly skill videos aim to build camaraderie during the offseason.
Coach Maljak said of Paulus and Sotelo, “Working with these two outstanding students outside of dance-related events was a pleasure. Their dance experience and research knowledge allowed them to contribute meaningful insight to this article.”
Paulus studied exercise science with a minor in psychology, and Sotelo is majoring in psychology. The dance team attended nationals for the first time in March, placing sixth in poms and eleventh in jazz.
North Park’s football team made history this month, playing the university’s first-ever international game against an Italian League team in Florence, Italy.
North Park’s football team made history this month, playing the university’s first-ever international game against an Italian League team in Milan, Italy.
Led by Coach Kyle Rooker, the Vikings competed in a friendly matchup against the Legnano Frogs, with North Park winning 62-0. U.S. Consul General Douglas Benning, who is based in Milan, attended the game and participated in the coin toss and pregame festivities.
The game was the highlight of a week filled with culture and food that began in Rome and included tours of the Roman Colosseum, the Trevi Fountain, Vatican City, St. Peter’s Basilica, and the Sistine Chapel.
The group of about 35 Vikings and their family members also toured the northern part of the country, sampling the famous Tuscany cuisine before capping off the tour with stops in Milan, Lake Como, and nearby Lugano, Switzerland.
Associate Professor Kristina King has earned one of 76 nurse educator fellowships the IBHE awarded for the 2024 fiscal year.
Associate Professor Kristina King has earned one of 76 nurse educator fellowships the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE) awarded for the 2024 fiscal year. King has worked in North Park University’s School of Nursing and Health Sciences since 2022.
Each fellowship totals $10,000, and recipients will utilize it for professional development to enhance their practice as nurse educators and their respective institutions’ nursing programs. IBHE intends this investment will help fill a shortage of healthcare workers with qualified registered nurses.
King is working toward her nursing doctorate at Illinois State University. She said, “I am grateful for this award, as it helps pay my tuition and allows me to expand my knowledge of the Direct Entry Master of Science in Nursing student population,” whom she educates at North Park.
North Park University will partner with Triton College in a program that guarantees Triton transfer students admission.
North Park University will partner with Triton College in River Grove in a program that guarantees Triton transfer students admission to North Park.
As part of the program, North Park’s admissions counselors will help assist students in transferring Triton students’ credits to ensure they complete their bachelor’s degrees as quickly as possible.
“This new partnership provides clarity and streamlines the admissions process for students at Triton looking to complete their bachelor’s degree at North Park,” said Anthony Scola, vice president for enrollment management and marketing. “We’re eager to support these students as they look to advance their education and make an impact in the world-class city of Chicago.”
North Park formed a similar partnership with Glen Ellyn-based College of DuPage last fall.
Earlier this year, North Park increased its merit-based scholarships to transfer students by up to 25%. Transfer students with GPAs of 2.50 and above are eligible for the scholarships.
Located 14 miles from downtown Chicago, Triton is a community college serving the western suburbs of Chicago. It enrolls more than 10,000 students a year and offers more than 110 degree and certificate programs.
North Park’s Chamber Singers have been chosen to participate in the last ever Bach Week Festival in the culminating May 5 concert.
North Park’s Chamber Singers have been chosen to participate in the last ever Bach Week Festival in the culminating May 5 concert, a performance of Bach’s famous Mass in B Minor.
Over the years, North Park musicians have been invited to perform in dozens of Bach Week Festivals, an event organized by a small group of Evanston-based volunteers. They say that after 50 years of performances, with a few COVID-19-related interruptions, it’s time to retire the beloved festival, which features the Baroque-era work of Bach and his contemporaries.
For their part, North Park’s Chamber singers will perform at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Evanston in a concert led by the festival’s Music Director Richard Webster and featuring a variety of performances by renowned local singers. Webster told WFMT, Chicago’s classical music radio station, “that it’s the right time for Bach Week to bid adieu, and on a high note.” Read more at the WFMT site.
North Park University hosted Rev. Eugene Cho for the Catalyst on Campus event “Van Der Meid Lecture in American Politics.”
North Park University hosted Rev. Eugene Cho for the Catalyst on Campus event “Van Der Meid Lecture in American Politics,” which explored civility in politics and the pursuit of the common good. Cho, president and CEO of Bread for the World, shared his family’s journey from North Korea and emphasized the importance of anti-hunger efforts.
Reflecting on recent global crises, Cho underscored the need for faith-based engagement in addressing societal challenges. He urged attendees to transcend political divides and embrace civility, advocating for a balanced approach to political involvement rooted in integrity and compassion. His insights provided a compelling call to action for attendees to embody civility and justice in their personal and political spheres, fostering a renewed sense of purpose and commitment to positive change.
This is the second annual Van Der Meid Lecture in American Politics, named in honor of Theodore “Ted” Van Der Meid BA ’79. For more than 20 years, Ted Van Der Meid served in various senior congressional staff positions. He was also a member of the North Park Board of Trustees before his passing in 2018.
North Park University professors took a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Nepal as part of a $35,000 federal grant.
Two North Park University professors took a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Nepal as part of a $35,000 federal Increase and Diversify Education Abroad for U.S. Students (IDEAS) grant in partnership with The GREEN Program (TGP). The professors have brought their experiences back to North Park to share with students through curriculum and conversations.
IDEAS is a U.S. Department of State venture with the Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs. The goal is to build interest and capacity for study abroad programs at U.S. colleges and universities. North Park used the awarded money to partner with TGP, an experiential learning program focused on sustainability. While the partnership typically attracts those in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), the attending professors brought varied perspectives.
Tessa Zanoni, director of the Office of International Affairs, said the grant enables professors to share their experiences abroad with students.
“Not every student can study abroad for various reasons,” she said. “Equipping faculty with that experience and information helps them bring an international lens into the classroom to benefit students.”
Professor of Athletic Training Kelly Potteiger completed a virtual study abroad course as part of the grant, demonstrating that intercultural learning can occur in one’s home country.
Suzen Moeller, a health sciences professor, hopes to bring Nepal to the classroom through an updated curriculum.
“I teach a course on nutrition science for population health. After this trip, I expanded a unit to include a lesson where students look up dietary guidelines in other countries,” she said. “I also incorporated the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and asked students to consider how each applies to and relies on proper nutrition.”
Moeller said the trip inspired her to apply for other international fellowship programs.
According to Professor of Music Tom Zelle, trips such as this are a necessary step outside one’s comfort zone.
“At first, I wasn’t sure if I was a good fit because I’m not a STEM professor,” he said. “But sustainability challenges are human challenges and therefore present in my classroom.” Zelle has exemplified this thought process through initiatives such as making North Park’s University Orchestra the first net-zero orchestra in the country.
He spent the 13-day trip attending lectures and solar energy classes and volunteering at a health clinic.
“We don’t live in a country that questions why we separate ourselves from other cultures,” he said. “I learned how important it is to look at the same problem from different perspectives. What I do in the city of Chicago impacts what happens in the mountains of Nepal.”
Effective fall 2024, North Park University’s Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling will be entirely online.
Effective fall 2024, North Park University’s Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling (MACMHC) will be entirely online. This shift from a hybrid program will provide its students maximum flexibility and accessibility and outstanding instruction and mentorship.
Dr. Lori Scrementi, dean of the School of Professional Studies, said the decision to go completely online was made after speaking to students.
“Our students are working adults with busy life schedules,” Scrementi said. “For this reason, moving from an on-campus to an online MACMHC program, where most of the courses are asynchronous, will allow the flexibility that our students have been asking for and still allow them to complete their degree in as little as two years.”
The MACMHC program provides comprehensive academic and clinical training in professional counseling. It equips students to be ethically skilled counselors serving culturally and spiritually diverse communities.
Students in the program receive a strong foundation in counseling theory, understand the profession’s legal and ethical responsibilities, and master the skills necessary for effective client assessment, diagnosis, and treatment. Upon program completion, students can apply to take the National Counselor Examination to become licensed professional counselors in Illinois and numerous other states.
Students who earn their MACMHC go on to have fulfilling careers as individual, group, family, and addictions counselors at community mental health centers and private practices, among other specializations.
Author Megan VoypickPosted on Categories Stories
