CHICAGO, IL (May 2, 2017) – The North Park University Board of Trustees today announced the formation of a broadly constituted search committee for the school’s next president. Current president David L. Parkyn will retire June 30.
The Trustee Board’s recommendation will be presented to the ECC Executive Board, and the nominee is called by the denomination’s Annual Meeting. The search committee hopes to present its recommendation in time for a vote at the 2018 Annual Meeting of the ECC.
“Possibly the most important job in which the North Park University Board of Trustees engages is recommending a president,” said Kristine Strand, board chair. “We invite all who value North Park and its role in Christian higher education to join us in prayer for this process.”
The 15-person committee includes nine members of the Board of Trustees, two of whom serve ex officio, and six members of the campus community—two students, three faculty members, and a representative of staff and administrative employees.
Board members include:
- Owen R. Youngman (chair), professor and chair in digital media strategy at Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois
- Kristine Strand (serving ex officio), retired associate professor in the department of speech, language, and hearing sciences at Boston University as well as senior speech-language pathologist and literacy specialist in the Learning Disabilities Program at Boston Children’s Hospital
- Gary Walter (serving ex officio), president of the Evangelical Covenant Church
- Peggy Bley, certified public accountant in San Franciso, California
- Rebekah Eklund, assistant professor of theology at Loyola University in Baltimore, Maryland
- Darrell Griffin, pastor of Oakdale Covenant Church in Chicago
- David Helwig, retired president and West Region CEO of WellPoint, Inc., living in Plymouth California
- Karen Meyer, vice president of sales and partnerships for Welltok, Inc., in Denver, Colorado
- David Otfinoski, president, Catamount Medical Education, LLC, in Chester, Connecticut
Members of the campus community include:
- Jonathan Peterson, assistant professor of politics and government and chair of the North Park Faculty Senate
- Alyssa Anderson, assistant professor of athletic training
- Elizabeth Pierre, assistant professor at North Park Theological Seminary and the NPU School of Professional Studies
- Angela Nevoso, president of the undergraduate Student Government Association
- Mackenzie Mahon, incoming president of the Seminary Student Association
- Roby Geevarghese, major gift officer in the Department of Development and Alumni Relations
“I am honored to lead this committee in its important task,” Owen Youngman said. “This is a key moment both in North Park’s history and for its future. We are seeking a leader who will share our aspiration to see North Park become the nation’s leading city-centered Christian university, and who can lead its faculty, students, staff, and alumni to achieve that goal together.”
Youngman has chaired search committees for the Evangelical Covenant Church’s executive director of communications, Medill faculty, and the senior pastor at Libertyville (Illinois) Covenant Church.
The search committee will publish updates online and in print during the process. Committee members will also hold “town hall” meetings on campus over the balance of this calendar year.
“We look forward to receiving broad input at all stages of the process as we move forward with God’s grace and guidance,” Youngman said.
Interested constituents can share recommendations and ideas, as well as other thoughts about the university by emailing PresidentialSearch@NorthPark.edu.
