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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.
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Peer-Mentoring Programs Responding to the Needs of Students
"After participating in the mentor program, I have so many faculty and staff members who believe in me and push me to go the distance,” said ºÚÁÏ³Ô¹Ï junior Tatianna Hughlett at ACI's annual public forum.
COMPASS and Lighthouse shared as models for student success at Associated Colleges of Illinois’s annual public forum
CHICAGO (December 10, 2014) — In recent years, ºÚÁϳԹϒs peer-mentoring programs, and Lighthouse, have served as models for student success among area colleges and universities. In collaboration with the , North Park joined two additional higher education institutions in building a “relationship bridge” between low-income, minority, and first-generation college students, the campus community, and the college’s social, academic, financial, and multicultural support services, with goals of college readiness and completion.
On Tuesday at ACI’s annual public forum at the Union League Club of Chicago, representatives from ºÚÁϳԹÏ, including University President , Director of Student Success Dr. Barrington Price, and two students from the mentor program, junior Tatianna Hughlett and freshman Devin Childress, shared details about the programs and the impact they are making on the lives of students to an audience of community and higher education leaders.
For more than 10 years, North Park’s COMPASS program has brought select students to campus 10 days before orientation to prepare them for the academic and social challenges of college and adjust to life on campus. Students participate in mini-classes in the sciences and English, and form small cohort groups led by upperclassmen mentors that provide support throughout the year. This past summer, students studied toxicity levels in the Chicago River, read a book about the river’s history, met the book’s author, and participated in environmental service projects. In addition, over the course of the year students take a class in foundations for academic success and then a class in career planning, helping to identify a major and career path early in their journey.
“We focus on identifying student needs, helping them understand who they are, what their skills, interests, and abilities are, and find social and academic opportunities that lead toward students feeling a fit at the University,” said Price. “We work with many students who operate under the premise that they can’t do something, so a lot of our work involves restructuring that premise.”
Hughlett, who began her freshman year at ºÚÁÏ³Ô¹Ï as a mentee in the program, now serves as a mentor to incoming freshmen. “Growing up I didn't have the best role models around me,” she told the audience. “I didn't have people telling me that I could be more successful. After participating in the mentor program, I have so many faculty and staff members who believe in me and push me to go the distance.” Hughlett is now considering graduate school after graduation in 2015.
“At the colleges and universities of the Associated Colleges of Illinois, we feel an obligation and a deep responsibility to open the doors to higher education and upward mobility,” said Parkyn. “At ºÚÁϳԹÏ, we are especially proud of our peer-mentoring programs, and the talented and dedicated students who are nurturing one another as they progress toward success.”
North Park is one of 23 institutions that together form ACI, a network of private, nonprofit, residential colleges and universities that works with business and community leaders to design and implement programs tohelp underserved students prepare for and successfully graduate from college.
Nearly 79 percent of mentored freshmen from 2013–2014 returned for their sophomore year this fall, higher than the 74 percent national retention average of all students, and significantly higher than the average retention rate of low-income, minority, and first-generation students. This fall, North Park welcomed its largest-ever COMPASS class of 54 students. In addition, North Park’s newer initiative, Lighthouse, reciprocates COMPASS with a smaller cohort of students over the entire four years of an undergraduate degree with the additional support of scholarship funding. The program will soon be graduating its first seniors with a retention rate above 90 percent, and this year’s freshman Lighthouse cohort also welcomed its largest-ever class of 15 students.
“ºÚÁϳԹϒs mission claims that we prepare students for lives of significance and service, and these mentor programs reflect our commitment to student preparation,” said Dr. Jodi Koslow Martin, vice president for student engagement. “Students who are mentored become acclimated to college life by their peers so that they find both academic and social success during their first year, which will lead to discovering how they will live a life of significance and service after they graduate.” Koslow Martin added that the retention rate of students in North Park’s programs reflect that the programs, under the guidance of Barrington Price, are working. “It shows how students who receive personal attention from mentors can find a fit at ºÚÁϳԹÏ.”
Price and colleague Pasi Musaindapo, career programs manager at ºÚÁϳԹÏ, have been asked to speak further about ºÚÁϳԹϒs mentor programs later this week at the Illinois ACT State Organization conference.
“What ºÚÁÏ³Ô¹Ï is doing represents a real victory,” said Price. “It is an accomplishment that will have lasting impact on the lives of the students we serve, will change the face of the communities in which they live, and, ultimately, will strengthen our economy and our society.”
As ºÚÁÏ³Ô¹Ï freshman Devin Childress told the audience, “I can only go forward. I cannot go back."
ºÚÁÏ³Ô¹Ï to Present Annual Festival of Lessons and Carols
This will be North Park's seventh year celebrating its Festival of Lessons and Carols. Prior to the event, the Chicago Children’s Choir and People’s Music School Youth Orchestras will perform a recital beginning at 3:30 pm.
Collaboration between University and neighborhood youth musicians begins at 4:00 pm, December 7, at Our Lady of Mercy in Albany Park
CHICAGO (December 2, 2014) — This Sunday, December 7, will present a Festival of Lessons and Carols at Our Lady of Mercy Church in the Albany Park neighborhood of Chicago. The annual Advent service, which begins at 4:00 pm, is a collaboration among more than 200 , the , and the .
The University presents the Festival of Lessons and Carols at no cost to attendees, although because of capacity it is recommended that . Limited seating is still available for the event that annually draws nearly 1,000 guests.
Festival of Lessons and Carols services originate in the Anglican tradition, with the first one held on Christmas Eve in 1880 in Cornwall, England. An alternating series of Scripture readings and music tell the story of Christ, from the creation of the world to the birth of Jesus. Musical selections include well-known advent and Christmas hymns, and pieces from contemporary composers, sung in multiple languages.
A hallmark of North Park’s service, now in its seventh year, is the collaboration between University musicians and neighborhood youth orchestra and choir groups. It’s part of a year-round relationship, as the Chicago Children’s Choir practices regularly on ºÚÁϳԹϒs campus, and North Park students often serve as instructors at the People’s Music School Youth Orchestras at nearby Hibbard Elementary School.
“This gathering of different communities into worship at this time of year is one of the special traditions at ºÚÁϳԹÏ,” said University President Dr. David L. Parkyn. “By celebrating our Christian heritage and the birth of Christ with the diverse group of performers and guests from our neighborhood, we reflect the unity in the Christmas message."
, associate professor of music and director of choral activities at ºÚÁϳԹÏ, says this year’s theme, Glory!, represents looking up towards the brilliance of Jesus's birth. She added, "Keeping our focus on Christ's glory can help us through this very busy time of year and redirect our thoughts to what is most important.”
Prior to the event, the Chicago Children’s Choir and People’s Music School Youth Orchestras will perform a recital at 3:30 pm. “Part of the Chicago Children's Choir's mission is to bring people from all walks of life together through the power of music,” said Youna Cho, Chicago Children's Choir—Albany Park Division neighborhood conductor. “With this collaboration among ºÚÁϳԹϒs School of Music, the Chicago Children’s Choir, and the young musicians from YOURS Orchestras, we’re truly bringing together the Albany Park community.”
Our Lady of Mercy Church is located at 4432 North Troy Street, Chicago, approximately one mile from the ºÚÁÏ³Ô¹Ï campus. Parking is available in the two church lots and on the street.
Marisol Martinez to be Honored with 2015 Seminary Alumni Award for Distinguished Service
Martinez says North Park Theological Seminary instilled an awareness of "the realities of injustice and how as churches we needed to be involved in transforming our communities and our world.”
2004 alumna and president of the Covenant Church of the Central and South Districts of Mexico to be given award at Covenant Midwinter Conference
CHICAGO (November 25, 2014) — A year ago Marisol Martinez, 2004 alumna of North Park Theological Seminary’s , resigned from her job. In 2010 she had assisted in the founding of , a nonprofit organization combatting human trafficking in Mexico City. “I was sensing God telling me it was time for something new,” she says.
To her surprise, Martinez received a phone call last August asking if she would accept the nomination to become the president of the Covenant Church of the Central and South Districts of Mexico (IEMP). “For several years I knew I had a call to serve the church,” says Martinez, the first woman to hold the position. “God put in me a great love for the church and a great desire see the church involved in the transformation of our communities and our world.”
For her service to the church and the world, including her time as a missionary in Spain and different parts of Mexico, Martinez has been awarded the 2015 North Park Theological Seminary Alumni Award for Distinguished Service. She is the second recipient of the award, with the first . The 2015 award will be presented on January 27 at the Evangelical Covenant Church’s Midwinter conference in Denver, Colorado, at a reception hosted by North Park.
“The North Park Theological Seminary Alumni Award for Distinguished Service honors a graduate of our Seminary, noting their life of ministry and service to their church, their community, and the world,” said Mary Surridge, vice president for development and alumni relations. “We are delighted to bestow this award each year at the Midwinter Conference, allowing colleagues and friends to rejoice with our recipient in this special honor. We look forward to honoring Marisol this year for her significant involvement in battling human trafficking and seeking justice and healing for victims. She is a true servant leader.”
Martinez came to North Park Theological Seminary after serving for several years as a missionary in Spain. “It was an easy decision,” she says. “Since I was a teenager in Mexico I knew I wanted to be a missionary. All the missionaries I knew were from the Covenant in the United States and most studied at ºÚÁϳԹÏ. It was clear to me that if I wanted to grow in my call as a missionary, then I had to go to North Park Theological Seminary.”
She received the Covenant Diversity Scholarship, now known as the , to attend the Seminary because of her active involvement in the Covenant Church in Latin America. “I ended up choosing more Bible classes than I anticipated,” Martinez says. “I realized I needed more knowledge there and a more solid foundation, and that continues to help me today.”
After Seminary, she looked for opportunities with social justice and community development organizations. “One of the things that spoke to me during my time in Seminary was the realities of injustice and how as churches we needed to be involved in transforming our communities and our world.”
Martinez recently visited the headquarters of the Evangelical Covenant Church in Chicago and sat down for an interview on a number of topics, including her new role. This video originally appeared in a .
She moved to Monterrey, Mexico, and began working with the . Martinez designed leadership development programs for teenagers and women from marginalized urban communities. During this time, she also earned a master of social work degree from the National University of Mexico.
In her new role as president of the Covenant Church of the Central and South Districts of Mexico, Martinez will help lead 46 congregations, and says she hopes to speak more about the social ills that plague her country.
“Marisol reflects the very best of North Park Theological Seminary,” says . “Her work with the poor and the marginalized, and her close work with the local church, make her a most deserving recipient of the Alumni Award for Distinguished Service. There is a true humility in the way she moves in the world. She is not self-seeking, but powerfully determined in her work of leadership and advocacy.”
Humanitarian Advisor and '07 Alum Returns to North Park
Johan Eldebo, 2007 alum of the politics and government major, has responded to international conflicts in West Africa, the Central African Republic, Somalia, South Sudan, and the Middle East. He will return to the South Sudan conflict in the coming months.
Johan Eldebo, senior humanitarian policy advisor at World Vision, spent a week speaking with students across campus
CHICAGO (November 20, 2014) — Johan Eldebo, senior humanitarian policy advisor at World Vision and a of ºÚÁϳԹϒs , has seen his fair share of crisis and conflict. There is one story in particular that he says is significant to his work.
While responding to the refugee crisis in Lebanon in 2013, a result of more than a million people fleeing the civil war in Syria, Eldebo was part of a team delivering food and water to the refugee camps. But there wasn’t enough aid to supply everyone in the camp, so Eldebo and his team had to decide which 30 percent of families were not going to receive any supplies. They then had to deliver the news.
“I had to go into these families’ makeshift tents, many of whom were formerly middle class in Syria, and tell them they were no longer going to receive food and water,” Eldebo says. “It was heartbreaking.”
But Eldebo’s story doesn’t end there. “After that trip, my team and I returned home to London and we relayed our stories to powerful officials in government and nonprofit organizations, people who had the power and resources to approve more aid to those in need,” Eldebo says. “Those stories made a real difference in the response effort. I realized I can be a voice for people who have no voice.”
Eldebo visited North Park earlier this month and told stories like these to classes and student groups across campus, providing what says is “an outstanding example to our students of living a life of significance and service.”
He spent the week with students from the and politics and government majors; speaking to religion and politics and introduction to conflict transformation classes; at an event hosted by the ; and with the .
Eldebo, alongside Dean Charles Peterson, took in a Vikings football game during his visit to North Park.
“Students got a sense that it is possible to make a significant contribution to the world with their North Park education and gained a glimpse into international initiatives,” says , professor of communications arts and instructor in the conflict transformation program. “Johan was quite honest in sharing the dilemma of humanitarian relief effort, especially in the examples he gave of being an outsider in a conflict situation.”
Global perspective
A native of Sweden, Eldebo took an unusual journey to North Park. “I worked at a Covenant summer camp in New Hampshire for six years and a lot of people there went to North Park,” Eldebo says. “I figured once I finished high school in Sweden, I’d give living in Chicago for a semester a try. One semester turned into three years.”
Eldebo spent time as an EMT paramedic, led the North Park chapter of the Model UN, and had an internship with the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.
“My only interest in policy is because I think it should help people,” Eldebo says. “If you want to help people you have to figure out how the power structures work and who has influence over what. When you look around the world most problems are man-made. You have to figure out who’s in charge of what, who can actually make a difference, and what it takes to get them to a point where they want to make a difference. That’s the politics bit.”
Eldebo’s career after North Park includes work at the United Nations secretariat and a graduate degree at King's College London, where he did research on conflict prevention. He began working in World Vision’s London office in 2010.
That position has taken him to conflict situations around the world, including West Africa, the Central African Republic, Somalia, South Sudan, and the Middle East. He showed students pictures of flying around in UN airplanes in war zones, and tells stories of being awoken by nearby gunfire. It’s not always that eventful; Eldebo admits some of his important work includes sitting in his London office, “trying to get conference calls with influential people, helping to coordinate aid efforts in various countries, and figuring out how to convince the government to fund projects.” But sometimes adrenaline and fear are real parts of his job.
“I tell myself I will quit this job if I either stop caring about the people, or I stop being slightly scared of situations,” Eldebo says. “That’s one of the signs that you need to take a break. This cowboy mentality that people talk about where you are hurled into a war zone from an airplane without knowing what’s on the ground—we don’t do that. It’s more that there are calculated risks, with plans to mitigate them. Of course, the sequence of events rarely goes according to plan.”
Eldebo’s work will soon take him back to the armed conflict in South Sudan, where nearly a million people have fled their homes. He recently , including the lack of aid and media attention to the growing crisis. He plans to interview and document the real-life situations of local communities, including local children, and report back to London what needs to be done.
Roustabout: The Great Circus Train Wreck! opened November 7 and will run through November 15.
North Park Theatre Company season focuses on the relationship between alumni and current students
CHICAGO (November 12, 2014) — When the Chicago theater company Neo-Futurists premiered Roustabout: The Great Circus Train Wreck! in the fall of 2006, Joseph Schupbach was among the attendees. , who had graduated earlier that year from ºÚÁÏ³Ô¹Ï having studied , was deeply moved by the play. “There’s something kind of idealistic about the show, but also tragic, and also hopeful,” says Schupbach. “So it matches really well with artists who are coming into adulthood.” Eight years later, things came full circle when Schupbach returned to North Park to direct the University’s fall production of Roustabout.
The play, about the real-life Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus train accident of 1918 that killed dozens of performers and circus workers, explores war and art, the actor and the play, and the power of entertainment. It opened last weekend at ºÚÁÏ³Ô¹Ï and . Also in the audience for Roustabout’s 2006 premiere was Professor of Communication Arts , who responded to the show’s “ensemble-driven story and physical theater aesthetic”—two attributes that he was eager to bring to the University this fall. “We thought Roustabout would have the perfect energy for the ,” he says.
Heading into the 2014–2015 season, Bergman knew that he wanted to collaborate with the , a Chicago theater company of which University production manager and adjunct communication arts instructor Maggie Fullilove-Nugent is a member, along with Roustabout playwright Jay Torrence. Once Roustabout was decided on as the fall play, Fullilove-Nugent suggested Schupbach as the director. In 2013, Schupbach had worked with Fullilove-Nugent as assistant director on Burning Bluebeard, also written by Torrence, for the Ruffians.
“I had a fluency with the show and a close relationship with it,” says Schupbach, who had also seen two other productions of Roustabout. “They knew I was familiar with the kind of work that it is, I had assistant-directed with the , and I knew North Park,” he says. Schupbach especially appreciates directing students who are roughly the same age he was when he attended the premiere. “I saw it when I was 22, just after I had graduated, and I think it’s a really cool show for young people to do.”
Undoubtedly, Schupbach provides students with an exemplary trajectory for a career path after graduation. While at the University, he was placed in an internship with , an ensemble of actor-educators who lead creative writing workshops with Chicago public school students, then turn their stories into professionally performed shows. A longtime ensemble member, Schupbach became the company’s education coordinator in 2011. Earlier this month, he was promoted to artistic director.
“Most people don’t necessarily intern somewhere and then get a job where they’re in charge about seven years later,” Schupbach says about his experience at Barrel of Monkeys. “But until then, I didn’t quite know that there are jobs in the arts that are different from the ones you maybe heard about when you were younger.” In his new position, Schupbach spends half of his time in the office and half of his time in the rehearsal room. “For an artistic director at another organization, it probably looks different, but I’ll direct approximately eight shows a year, and I’m also working with a group of 60 company members,” he says. “It’s a dream situation as far as utilizing my degree.”
Before serving on staff at Barrel of Monkeys, Schupbach spent five years working with two different theater companies and an elementary school. “I didn’t know that was a job until I was learning how to do it,” he says. He challenges current ºÚÁÏ³Ô¹Ï students to ask themselves now what kind of places they want to work for. “These students are leaving the program with incredible skill sets,” he says. Schupbach points out that cast member Annamarie Giordano is “a singer and a classic actor, but she’s also the assistant technical director, and she’s building things and getting to tell other people what to do. And I say, ‘Yup, you’re going to get a job. And you’re only a junior.’”
Alumnus Joseph Schupbach, who was recently named artistic director of Barrel of Monkeys, returned to North Park to direct Roustabout.
Bringing the season to life
Staging Roustabout at ºÚÁÏ³Ô¹Ï presented the Theatre Company with some compelling challenges. Rather than seeking to replicate the Neo-Futurists’ space, the crew and cast strove to translate the theater’s energy to the University. One of the decisions made was to place the audience on stage with the cast. “That’s something we did duplicate: the intimacy with the actors, and in some ways, the simplicity of what is physically on stage.”
To give North Park students a vocabulary in the Neo-Futurists’ and Ruffians’ narrative style and sensibility, members from both companies were brought in to lead workshops on, among other areas, physical theater and clowning. “I was excited coming back here and about having students experiment with what was in some ways a different kind of storytelling for them,” says Schupbach.
The theme of theatre alumni returning to create productions is one that runs throughout this season. Krista Mickelson, who graduated last May and already works as a production manager throughout the Chicago theater scene, earlier this fall helmed Project 24, in which students write, stage, and present a series of original short plays over the course of 24 hours. In addition, the University will bring back alumni Chaz Evans and Joe Giovannetti in the spring to mount a sequel to North Park Theatre Company’s most successful production to date, Kung Fu Suburbia.
As they did for the original production, Evans, a 2006 graduate, and Giovannetti, a 2007 graduate, will co-write Kung Fu Suburbia 2: Cul-de-Sacrifice with Bergman. “In the writing of the original Kung Fu Suburbia, we looked carefully at how Shakespeare structured a play and used music, language, fights, and story to keep everyone engaged,” says Bergman. After working on The Duchess of Malfi with the Theatre Company two seasons ago, Bergman was inspired to think about working on a sequel.
Evans and Giovannetti were more than willing to accept the challenge. “I texted Chaz and Joe, and within seven seconds, both wrote me back saying, ‘I’m in!’” Bergman hears from alumni like Evans, an assistant professor of art and history at DePauw University, Giovannetti, who works as a professional freelance theater artist, and Schupbach, that their theatre and performance studies training has equipped them for a wide array of work in the arts.
Chicago theater professionals regularly report that ºÚÁÏ³Ô¹Ï graduates “can do everything,” Bergman says. “As a result of modeling our program with the best of storefront theater, our students are cross-trained in many of the departments that put together a show. When you are blessed with a program that makes magic with limited resources, you think creatively to solve problems in real ways.”
Schupbach also found that there is another important attribute the program endows its students with: “North Park teaches you how to be nice,” he says. “The thing that nobody really tells you but you just figure out yourself is that people remember kind people who do their job well. If you can get those two things, you will do very well.”
Honoring tragedy through humor
Performances of Roustabout: The Great Circus Train Wreck! will be held November 13–15 at 7:30 pm in Lecture Hall Auditorium. .
When Roustabout premiered in 2006, the wars in the Middle East were front and center for many Americans, and partially helped to inform the play’s content. In 2014, he finds that the show may serve a different purpose. “It’s very playful, but it’s also about war. We’re in a climate now where many people can forget that there’s foreign fighting.” Today, the play partly serves as a reminder not to forget about war, says Schupbach.
“The show is political without being sectarian or party-based,” Schupbach says. “But it is intense.” In the middle of the play, the characters discuss the merit of making fun of tragic circumstances. Schupbach finds that this section makes the weightier aspects of the play more digestible. “It comes at a really good place in the show.”
Sitting through the technical rehearsal, Schupbach still found himself moved by the play. “I think it’s really interesting for the students,” Schupbach says. “They’re discovering how you remember tragedy and honor it, how you can joke about something that’s not funny at all, and how that actually takes power away from horrific things.”
This year's Common Read, Short Girls by Bich Minh Nguyen, received the American Book Award and was named one of the Library Journal’s best books of the year in 2009.
Bich Minh Nguyen, author of Short Girls, visited North Park as part of this year’s Campus Theme
CHICAGO (November 11, 2014) — In early August, ºÚÁϳԹϒs incoming freshmen received a package in the mail. It was a book, Short Girls by Bich Minh Nguyen. The book included a letter that described North Park’s Common Read initiative, and its connection to this year’s Campus Theme, ""
“The first question a lot of students asked after they received the book in the mail is if they were going to be tested on it,” said , professor of and coordinator of the Common Read. “The answer is no. This is about the pleasure of reading, and realizing you are going to be part of a larger conversation and a larger pursuit of learning.”
The Common Read, similar to initiatives like , is in its second year as part of the . The idea is that incoming freshmen have a shared experience of reading the same book, which is selected based on the Campus Theme, and then gather throughout the year to discuss its meanings and implications.
Short Girls was chosen as this year’s book for a number of reasons, including the exploration of second-generation immigrants, gender issues, and often-overlooked difficulties in modern society—in this case, being short. In addition, food plays a prominent role in the book, from its place within the traditional Vietnamese home, to the workplace of one of the main characters, Linny. Similar to last year’s book, The Book of My Lives by Aleksandar Hemon, Short Girls also offers a cultural commentary of Chicago, the city where Linny lives.
“There are a number of tensions and dynamics at work in the book that tie into what students experience in their lives in and outside of North Park,” said Craft. “Reading is in some ways an individual thing, but when you come together and process your thoughts on a book—ask the 'why' questions—then it can be a way to create community.”
Last Thursday, students had an opportunity to explore the book even further as its author visited campus for a lecture in Anderson Hall. Besides the award-winning novel Short Girls, Nguyen is also the author of the memoir Stealing Buddha's Dinner, a PEN/Jerard Award-winner and a Chicago Tribune Best Book of the Year.
“It’s fascinating to meet the author of what you just read,” said Craft. “These students came to North Park with a number of comments and questions on the book and we facilitated discussions. But it’s a whole different experience to ask the author directly.”
Campus Theme events will continue throughout the year. The schedule includes a film week in January; a February address from Kim Stein, a scientist at the ; and a March lecture from Dr. Norman Wirzba, professor at Duke University and author of .
“Traditionally, the Campus Theme has been about a value or idea, for example, ‘What Is Community?’ ‘What Is Justice?’ ‘What Is Peace?’" said , associate professor of and the director of the Campus Theme program. “This year we wanted to address something more tangible. Eating is a daily human experience that all of us share. It is the most provocative of questions because first, it is so fundamental to human life, and second, because it bears directly on other values that we care about here at ºÚÁϳԹϗjustice, compassion, community, theology, and cultural diversity.”
John Swinton Discusses Caring for People With Mental Illness Ahead of Symposium
Dr. John Swinton, professor in practical theology and pastoral care at the School of Divinity, Religious Studies, and Philosophy at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, spent years as a nurse and chaplain before transitioning to the academic community.
Keynote, plenary address, and two workshops to be live-streamed this Saturday, November 8.
CHICAGO (November 6, 2014) — This Saturday, ºÚÁÏ³Ô¹Ï will welcome ministers, lay leaders, and healthcare professionals to campus for a symposium on faith and mental health titled “.” The sold-out conference is a collaboration between , the , and the . Attendees will explore the question of how healthcare professionals and congregations can respond faithfully to the challenge of mental illness, considering what can be done together that neither can do alone.
Selected sessions from the event will be streamed live, free of charge, at , including the keynote and plenary addresses from :
8:50 am — "" (John Swinton)
10:45 am — "" (Pablo Anabalon)
1:30 pm — "" (David Hawkinson)
3:15 pm — "" (John Swinton)
Dr. John Swinton is a professor in practical theology and pastoral care at the School of Divinity, Religious Studies, and Philosophy at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. He has a background in mental health nursing and healthcare chaplaincy and also serves as an honorary professor and researcher at Aberdeen’s Centre for Advanced Studies in Nursing. Dr. Swinton has researched and published extensively within the areas of practical theology, mental health, spirituality, and human well-being, and the theology of disability.
Before traveling to North Park for the symposium, Dr. Swinton answered a series of questions about caring for people with mental illness and the potential for the church to respond to the challenge.
North Park: In your work, you talk about the importance of person-centered care. What is person-centered care and how is it different from other methods?
John Swinton: Person-centered care isn't really a method. It's just a way of being with people. Within healthcare systems we can become quite task-oriented and instrumental in our practices. The idea of person-centered care is simply a way of drawing our attention back to the centrality of the person and the role that they have in the process of care. Any tasks that we engage in are for the benefit of the person and not for the efficiency of the system. So to be person-centered is simply to focus on the person before you at all times and not to allow your presuppositions or the pressures of your immediate tasks to determine priorities. Of course there is a deeper dimension to person-centeredness. Within mental health for example, people very easily become their diagnoses. There is a huge difference between “a person living with schizophrenia” and "a schizophrenic." One assumes that the person is central and the illness is something that the person encounters as a person, while the other assumes that the person is the illness. When people become illnesses all sorts of unpleasant things can happen. You don't listen to or respect illnesses, but you do persons.
North Park: You mentioned drawing attention back to the centrality of the person. Is this something an individual can do, or is it possible for an organization (or even society) to move in that direction?
John Swinton: I think it is both. Most healthcare systems—and actually most forms of organizational management—have a tendency to focus on economics and efficiency. There is of course nothing in and of itself wrong with that. However, the problem is that if structural things take priority over the personal things, persons can quickly become commodities. When that happens, care can easily be conceived of as a set of tasks designed for purposes that may include, but are certainly not defined by, the needs of individual persons. People can easily get left behind in our striving for efficiency and economic goals. So I think it has to do with individuals keeping persons as central to their focus, but also looking at ways in which systems can be reoriented from an emphasis on forms of efficiency, but forget about persons.
North Park: You spent a number of years in the field as a nurse and chaplain. How did those experiences shape your academic work?
John Swinton: The way I frame my life is that my nursing and chaplaincy were my place of formation and my theological work is my place of vocation. I was formed in a quite particular way by spending most of my working life with people who experience mental or physical disabilities. Spending one's life with those who are clearly marginalized and rejected forms one's life, one's body, and one's view of the world in quite particular ways. My theological work is the place where I have been able to take that formation and work out what it means within my calling as a Christian.
North Park: It seems like a basic question, but what is the connection between spirituality and mental health?
John Swinton: Well, that depends on what you mean by the question. There is some research that seems to indicate a correlation between spirituality and mental health. For example, involvement in religious communities has been noted as protective for some forms of depression. But much depends on what you mean by "mental health." The bible doesn't have a word for health in the biomedical sense that we use it today, which is the absence of illness. The closest we find is the word shalom, which means to be in right relationship with God, or righteousness or holiness. That being so, mental health defined biblically has not to do with the absence of illness, but rather the presence of God. So you can be deeply psychotic and very healthy, and you can be physically and psychologically well and deeply unhealthy! So the key is in the meaning of the questions.
North Park: As an ordained minister, you describe a strong commitment to supporting the work of the church. Why do you think the church is specifically positioned to respond to issues of mental illness?
John Swinton: At one level the church is well positioned to contribute to mental healthcare. However, in reality, the church forms part of a culture that is highly stigmatizing towards mental health issues. As such it often contains exclusionary attitudes. This is not always deliberate, but it is an aspect of church life. So while I see the church as a valuable asset, its practice often falls short of its ideals. However, I think a primary task of the church is to create spaces of belonging within which all people can discover God and encounter Christlike friendships. If the church cannot do that, in what sense can it really be the church? In a culture that is highly stigmatizing and often rejects people who are different, there is a tremendous need for exemplar communities that can show a different way of being in the world. I think the gospel has the potential to facilitate precisely such communities. So I remain hopeful and indeed excited at the prospects.
North Park: One of the workshops you are leading at the symposium, “Giving People Back Their Names,” focuses on dementia. What made you interested in that particular disability?
John Swinton: As a nurse and chaplain, I was always struck by the ways in which the experience of dementia seemed to frighten even hardened health professionals. It seems that people think that somehow we are our memories. But of course that is not the case. Most of our memories are actually held by our communities and ultimately by God. When we forget things, others remember for us. So I guess that my interest came from wrestling with the question of identity and memory in a theory and in practice.
For more information about John Swinton, additional speakers, and the full symposium schedule, please visit the .
Hall of Fame Ceremony Marks Homecoming Week for North Park Athletics
William Anderson C'68 led North Park's football team from 1978–1985, part of a 42-year coaching career.
Women and men's soccer, volleyball, and football all compete at home this week
CHICAGO (October 22, 2014) — On Friday night in the Johnson Center, Vikings fans will have an opportunity to cheer for six of the University’s legends, this time off the field, at the induction ceremony of the 2014 Viking Hall of Fame class. A tradition that began in 1988, former student-athletes and coaches are voted into the Viking Hall of Fame each year based on playing ability, character, and the contributions made to the team and ºÚÁϳԹÏ. This year's inductees include William Anderson, Shari Hayden, Dr. John Hjelm, Brady Josephson, Annika Safstrom, and Adam Sinovic.
Bill Anderson C’69 played football for four years at ºÚÁÏ³Ô¹Ï in the mid-'60s. He later served as the head football coach from 1978–1985, and also chaired the physical education department. Anderson’s coaching tenure at ºÚÁÏ³Ô¹Ï was part of a 42-year coaching career that spanned over two high schools and three colleges.
As one of the most outstanding track and field athletes North Park has ever produced, Shari Hayden C’00 was named the 2000 Female Athlete of the Year. She is the school record-holder in multiple events, including the outdoor 100-meter hurdles, and the 400- and 1600-meter relays.
Dr. John Hjelm C’75 has served North Park for 34 years as a teacher, mentor, and coach, including as the head swimming coach, tennis coach, and the interim athletic director. He has been the cross-country skiing sponsor of the school for the past 17 years. As an undergraduate, Hjelm was an All-CCIW swimmer.
Recognized as Sportsperson of the Year his senior year, Brady Josephson C’07 G'08 served as a three-year captain for the baseball team, in addition to being a four-year Academic All-CCIW selection. A native of Canada, Josephson is the school record-holder in 10 different categories and was active as a student ambassador and a member of the Chapel Team. He went on to earn a MNA from the University, and is an adjunct faculty member for the .
Annika Safstrom C’07 is regarded as one of the pioneers of the North Park women's rowing program, laying the . A three-time Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association Scholar Athlete and three-time All-Mid-Atlantic Athlete, Safstrom was also a Female Athlete of the Year finalist and a three-time Dad Vail Regatta medalist.
Adam Sinovic C’06, a three-time All-CCIW selection for soccer, is heralded as one of North Park's best all-around student-athletes. A two-time team captain and later an assistant coach for the program, he was a three-time CCIW champion, and earned National Soccer Coaches Association of America All-Central Region honors in 2006.
Four Chances to Cheer the Vikings
The Hall of Fame induction ceremony is just one of the exciting athletic events on the Homecoming schedule. , Head Coach John Born and the conference-leading men's soccer team, currently 11-3 overall and 3-0 in conference play, will face Carthage College Wednesday night at 7:30 pm at the Holmgren Athletic Complex.
"It's the student-athletes who decide the games, and I've been fortunate that I've had talented and just all-around good kids," said Born. "This is a testament to what they've been able to do over the years."
The 6-8 women’s soccer team will open play against Carthage at 5:30 pm on Wednesday as they look to break their three-game losing streak. Earlier this fall, the team celebrated its 20th anniversary with a . Both the men's and women’s teams have four conference games remaining before the CCIW tournament begins November 5.
There will be two opportunities to watch the on Friday as they take on Augustana College and St. Mary’s of Indiana at 3:00 pm and 7:00 pm in Helwig Recreation Center. The team hopes to build positive momentum and improve on its 8-18 record as they head towards the conference tournament on November 7.
On Saturday, North Park’s football team looks to kick-start its season and as they take on Millikin at 1:00 pm at the Holmgren Athletic Complex. North Park is winless so far this season, but did .
“We’ve got to put some things together and hit on all cylinders,” said Head Coach Mike Conway. “We’re building character in these young people’s lives, and that’s what it is all about. We just got to keep working and fighting and believing in each other.”
Visit to view the full schedule of events this week, including details on class reunions, the River Run 5k, and worship opportunities.
WBEZ's Monica Eng to Help North Park Explore 'What Is Food?'
Food reporter Monica Eng, whose parents and oldest brother are North Park alumni, has been writing on food since the late 1980s. She currently hosts the Chewing the Fat podcast on WBEZ, after spending time at the Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune.
Additional lectures and events will continue Campus Theme discussion throughout the year
CHICAGO (October 28, 2014) — Each year, the ºÚÁÏ³Ô¹Ï community comes together for a series of events, lectures, and discussions around a central question of the human experience. A tradition for more than a decade, this question is known as the . This year’s question, “What Is Food?” marks a different approach from year’s past.
“Traditionally, the Campus Theme has been about a value or idea, for example, ‘What Is Community?’ ‘What Is Justice?’ ‘What Is Peace?’" said , associate professor of and the director of the Campus Theme program. “This year we wanted to address something more tangible. Eating is a daily human experience that all of us share. It is the most provocative of questions because first, it is so fundamental to human life, and second, because it bears directly on other values that we care about here at ºÚÁϳԹϗjustice, compassion, community, theology, and cultural diversity.”
Food is intimately linked with politics, health, ethics, economics, and the environment. It is present during many faith practices, including communion in the Christian tradition. Many questions students engage in at ºÚÁϳԹϗincluding those of identity, race, and gender—can all be approached through the lens of food. “Add to these the contemporary questions of genetically modified foods, environmental sustainability, and animal rights, among others, and you have all the makings for a great conversation,” added Clifton-Soderstrom.
One of the first Campus Theme events for the year will take place this Friday at 10:30 am in Anderson Chapel. Monica Eng, a reporter and producer at , and former food reporter at the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times, will share her insight into some of the thorniest food issues, and discuss what she's learned through reporting on food since the late 1980s.
“My family was always a food family,” said Eng, whose stepfather was a chef and grandfather and great grandfather owned restaurants in Chicago. She began her career writing about the more enjoyable elements of food, including restaurants, recipes, and trends. She continues to address that side of food, but also investigates the ignored elements, including the role of food in public health.
“Obviously it’s much more enjoyable to write and read about food as delicious,” Eng added. “It gives you something fun to do at lunch or after work. But food as dangerous, or food as exploitative of people around the world, is also important. It’s something you need to balance.”
What's more, Eng’s visit to North Park is in some ways a homecoming. She grew up in the North Park neighborhood, was born at nearby Swedish Covenant Hospital, and both of her parents and her brother are alumni. She attended local Peterson Elementary (with Dr. Clifton-Soderstrom) and participated in a number of activities at ºÚÁÏ³Ô¹Ï Covenant Church as a child.
“It’s an honor to speak at ºÚÁϳԹÏ,” said Eng. “It will always be the university down on Foster Avenue where all the big kids went to school and where my friends’ parents taught. It will be strange speaking there as a grown-up.”
Many voices
The next major event on the Campus Theme schedule will be a lecture on Thursday, November 6, from , author of the award-winning Short Girls and Stealing Buddha’s Dinner. Nguyen will discuss the topic of cultural identity and cuisine in America.
Other highlights include an event in February featuring Kim Stein, a scientist at the , and a March address from Dr. Norman Wirzba, professor at Duke University and author of .
“The Campus Theme program was begun years ago to offer a set of shared experiences and campus wide classrooms where we might learn from local, national, and global experts on such questions,” Clifton-Soderstrom said. “The diverse set of voices not only benefits the University, but also invites the surrounding community to think with us.”
Campus Theme events are free and open to the public. For more information, please visit .
North Park Alum Shares His Path to Success with the Chicago Bears
McCaskey began working for the Bears as a ball boy in 1974, and graduated from North Park with a degree in athletic training in 1982.
Brian McCaskey, senior director of business development for the Bears, encouraged students to pursue their dream careers in a lecture on Monday.
CHICAGO (October 16, 2014) — On the wall at Halas Hall, the training facility in Lake Forest, Ill., there is a quote from American lawyer and author Albert Pike that reads: “What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world remains and is immortal.”
That message, installed by Bears head coach Marc Trestman, was central to North Park alum Brian McCaskey’s lecture on Monday in the Johnson Center. McCaskey, senior director of business development for the Chicago Bears Football Club, spoke to a packed hall of undergraduate students, faculty, and staff about his nearly forty years with the Bears, particularly his experiences connecting with different groups of people. He discussed the importance of having a vision for your career, and the steps everyone must take to pursue their dreams. “It’s only work if you’d rather be somewhere else,” McCaskey urged the audience.
McCaskey also recalled the impact it had on his career when someone once asked him, “What can I do for you?” rather than just what McCaskey could do for them. For McCaskey, the mindset of helping others is not just a good thing to do—it is also an essential component of success.
“Brian has worked in the NFL at many different levels,” said , assistant professor of and head men’s soccer coach. “His insight and willingness to share his experiences within the world of professional sports is extremely valuable to our students.”
McCaskey began his career as a ball boy with the Bears in 1974, later transitioning into athletic training with the team. He credits North Park, and one of , with helping guide him on the path toward athletic training. McCaskey later served in other roles for the Bears, including director of player and staff development, where he focused on financial education, degree completion, and family assistance for players. He has held his current role as senior director of business development since 2001 and is a member of the Bears Board of Directors.
“Brian McCaskey is without a doubt passionate about his work,” said North Park junior Jessie Mortillaro. “After hearing him speak, the message I took away was that when you put the time and effort into what you want, the results will speak for themselves.”
McCaskey has been involved from the beginning in the development of the sports management concentration within the at ºÚÁϳԹÏ, which launched in Fall 2013. “I love sharing my experience, especially if it can help other students on their journey, whether it’s in sports management, athletic training, or anything else,” said McCaskey. “I enjoy my relationship with North Park and this is a way to be involved and to give back.”
Author tomgabrysiakPosted on Categories Stories
“This gathering of different communities into worship at this time of year is one of the special traditions at ºÚÁϳԹÏ,” said University President Dr. David L. Parkyn. “By celebrating our Christian heritage and the birth of Christ with the diverse group of performers and guests from our neighborhood, we reflect the unity in the Christmas message."
