Tuesday, September 18, 1894, is a special date in the history of North Park University. Students gathered for the first day of a new school year on the campus opened just that summer in Chicago.
In his History of North Park College, Leland Carlson writes about this day:
“President Nyvall and Professor Lindblade… welcomed the newcomers and recorded their names…When a goodly number of students had been registered, the entire group assembled in the chapel for the opening exercises. …[President Nyvall] expressed a hearty welcome…and the Rev. C.A. Björk…closed the brief service with an earnest and gripping prayer beseeching God’s aid and blessing upon the work just beginning.”
There have been 125 first days of school throughout North Park’s history, each of these important to the students enrolled that year. And with each subsequent year, the history of North Park has unfolded.
In this issue of the North Parker, starting on page 10, we revisit other important marking points in our school’s history—moments both large and small that have added to the character of the school, advanced its mission, and secured its legacy.
Each school year at North Park is in many ways just like the one recorded from 1894. Certainly each year builds on what has come before, and serves as a foundation for what will follow. Yet each year also is “a work just beginning” with new students, new faculty and staff, and new graduates.
As we reach the summer of 2016, this issue of the magazine is dedicated to our continuing celebration of North Park’s 125 years. Elements from the history of North Park unfold with each page of the magazine, each one evidence of God’s faithfulness, each one a reflection of “God’s aid and blessing upon the work just beginning.”
Please join us on campus on September 23 to celebrate North Park’s 125th anniversary.
