As each school year begins we welcome new undergraduates to our campus at a celebration we call Threshold—a symbolic crossing from one place or time or period of life to another. At our commencement ceremonies in December and May we usher graduates across another threshold, this time leading from their years at North Park toward another season in life, one we expect will be marked by significance and service.
Earlier this school year I informed the University community that Linda and I have decided to cross a special threshold with our choice to retire as University president and professor. We crossed this threshold as the school year came to a close.In my inauguration
In my inauguration address I spoke about the unique voice each individual brings to life. Then I reflected on whether an institution also has a voice. “Might North Park University have a voice?” I asked. “Might North Park have a syntax and diction, punctuation and grammar that are uniquely its own?”
Over the past 11 years it has been a privilege to add our voices to the community of North Park, and in turn to influence the pitch and tone of this voice, doing so in concert with many others. The feature pages of this issue of our magazine highlight aspects of our institutional voice as it has advanced over the past decade (see pages 10–15). There is much to celebrate, and
I invite you to add your joy to ours as you read and view these pages. These years have been personally and professionally fulfilling for us. We have come to deeply love this school, its students, and each of you. Together with many others we have made good (and perhaps, on occasion, even great!) strides toward important objectives in strengthening our institutional voice.
The campus has been a special community for Linda and me. Consider this: over these past 11 years students and colleagues have mourned with us the passing of our four parents and celebrated with us the birth of our six grandchildren! We are grateful to those who welcomed us when we came to North Park in 2006, and our joy has been increased by each new person who joined this community during our years here.
Linda reminds me often that in Spanish the verb “to retire” is “jubilarse,” literally translated as “to make oneself jubilant!” Our plans for personal life after transitioning from North Park will take us to Philadelphia, close to both children and grandchildren.
With fondness for each of you,
David L. Parkyn
President, North Park University