As the chair of the 2017-2018 presidential search committee and the incoming chair of the Board of Trustees, I am delighted to introduce North Park University’s 10th president, Mary Karsten Surridge.
Most of you know Mary as our vice president for advancement and integral to University leadership. She is the outstanding choice to lead North Park—and our comprehensive search process confirmed this.
Our 15-person presidential search committee, comprising nine trustees and six members of the campus community— faculty, staff, and students— met 13 times in a year’s time. Of the field of 133 people who were nominated or suggested to us, 52 highly qualified individuals submitted formal applications. Included among them were current and former college presidents; seminary and university vice presidents, deans, and department heads; and business executives with distinguished careers in the for-profit and nonprofit sectors.
The committee winnowed this list of Christian leaders through a multi-stage interview process that brought the leading candidates to Chicago on multiple occasions during the winter. This thorough, prayerful work led us to present Mary K. Surridge to the Board of Trustees, who unanimously agreed that she was the best candidate to lead North Park as we seek to be recognized as the nation’s leading city-centered Christian university. We are gratified that both the Executive Board and the delegation at the Annual Meeting of the Evangelical Covenant Church concurred.
Mary’s accomplishments as vice president for advancement include leading the $63 million Campaign North Park that funded our spectacular Nancy and G. Timothy Johnson Center for Science and Community Life. She also established our innovative Promise Scholarships that help the University recruit outstanding undergraduate scholars, particularly from among Covenant high school students and those interested in the STEM disciplines.
Additionally, over the past year, Mary has successfully led an overall redesign of our strategy for undergraduate recruitment and admissions, with an emphasis on accountability and measurable results.
I know that you join me in thanking Carl E. Balsam for his leadership during the interim period, and in praising God for providing Mary to continue to lead us forward. Carl says he has heard far too often over the last 30 years that North Park is one of the bestkept secrets in Christian higher education; he shares our belief that Mary Surridge can help us put an end to the secrecy.
Owen R. Youngman C’75
Chair, Board of Trustees