A Word About This Issue

The idea for this theme developed a few months ago as a small group of current and recent North Parkers sat around talking about the school's culture, public relations, and ethical commitments.  Some of us at the seminary and on staff have spent all of our higher-education years and even most of our adult lives in close quarters with NPU.  Undergraduate student volunteers writing for Hands On are currently on the front lines in experience of NPU academics, campus life, and UMin/Urban Outreach work with our neighbors.  We are loyal citizens of this place and have gained much from our experiences here, but when one knows something well one cannot help being acquainted with its shortcomings also.  Any institution is more than the sum of its parts and has its own character which acts on its members while being influenced by them.  We understand good community membership to include public dialogue that promotes institutional accountability.

Just what is North Park University?  Or, perhaps more importantly, who are we?  In this issue of Hands On, we set out both to critically explore how well the character of the University fits its publicity image and to help generate awareness of and participation in some of the current positive initiatives on campus.  We hope that questions asked and stories told here will spark constructive conversation and subsequent action from all quarters so that North Park can continue becoming a place of integrity, hospitality, and excellence in whole-person education.