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.
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) brought its People’s Academy, a condensed version of its Training Academy, to North Park’s campus last month.
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) brought its People’s Academy, a condensed version of its Training Academy, to North Park’s campus last month.
COPA is an independent agency that investigates allegations of police misconduct. The academy’s goal is to engage Chicago residents in weekly meetings throughout the city to educate them about the agency’s work in public safety and accountability.
“In many instances, residents only learn about COPA based on media reports or hearsay,” said Ephraim Eaddy, COPA’s first deputy chief administrator. “Because our investigations and outcomes are related to police and community interactions—in the form of complaints to the agency, for example—it is imperative we provide clarity of process and core functions.”
Eaddy emphasized the interactive nature of the meetings, as community input is vital to their operations.
“If we expect people to trust an agency like COPA with their experiences, then we must be willing as leaders of the agency to make ourselves available to hear from residents, and we must be incredibly transparent about our investigations,” he said.
COPA is led by Chief Administrator Andrea Kersten BA ’01, daughter of former North Park Theological Seminary Dean David Kersten. Read more about Andrea and her work with COPA here.
Congratulations to all the students who made the spring 2024 dean’s list.
Congratulations to all the students who made the spring 2024 dean’s list. Degree-seeking students with at least 12 semester credit hours at North Park University and a GPA of 3.5 or higher are eligible for this honor.
The MMP will feature four tracks: vocal arts solo, vocal arts ensemble, keyboard arts vocal coaching, and keyboard arts conducting.
“We are excited at the possibility to broaden the potential graduate student pool by creating a more attractive, versatile, and practical degree with direct application to numerous jobs in music,” said Chad Eric Bergman, interim co-dean of SMAT. “We are also partnering with Chicago arts organizations to provide an optional internship program for our graduate students to bridge the gap between study and professional practice.”
Musical professionals will lead the program, guiding students through a curriculum of theory and practice in music performance, pedagogy, and leadership skills, all against the backdrop of Chicago’s rich cultural arts scene.
Students will benefit from a personalized program with small cohorts of five to eight and flexible class schedules for working professionals. An undergraduate degree in music is not required to enroll.
The two vocal tracks will include intense vocal training. Soloists will focus on stage and concert repertoire, while ensemble students will study choral singing and conducting. Keyboard arts vocal coaching students will concentrate on solo and chamber performance; keyboard arts conducting students will study directing diverse genres.
North Park has designed this degree to prepare students for the rigorous and multifaceted career demands of professional musicians. Dr. You-Seong Kim, a SMAT professor of applied voice and vocal pedagogy, hopes the MMP will produce “not only music makers, but music lovers.” SMAT also aims to equip underrepresented musicians with the opportunity to take on leadership roles in their chosen fields.
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.
Author Megan VoypickPosted on Categories Stories
