Edge habitats are places where ecosystems transition, such as from ponds to meadows. “This is a place where many communities meet,” Parkyn said. “This is a place where borders touch. Because so many borders meet at North Park, this is a place that teems with life, color and complexity.”
The university has the Christian call to speak with a vibrant voice that reflects and infuses the life, color and complexity of the world around the school, Parkyn said. “The voice of North Park University must not be characterized as decaffeinated with skim,” he said to laughter. “That puts us in the world of ‘who cares anyway.’ ”
To be a place that matters, the university must continue its long tradition of nurturing faith while pursuing academic freedom, Parkyn said. “Is wisdom found as we take what we believe and circle the wagons, keeping in all that we think is good and keeping out all that we think is evil?” he asked. “Is wisdom found in exclusion?
“Or is wisdom found as divine light and likeness are encountered with all that surrounds us – the good and the bad, the beautiful and the ugly, the certain and the uncertain,” he continued. “Is wisdom found through inclusion? The Covenanters who gathered in Moses Hill in 1891 (when the school was founded) preferred inclusion.”
Making companions of faith and academic freedom is necessary for the growth of students, even if the process is uncomfortable, Parkyn said. He quoted former North Park President Karl A. Olsson, saying, “No student ever matures who hasn’t felt the earth shaking beneath his feet.”
Students are given a special opportunity to mature at North Park as they encounter the world in the diversity of the city, and as they learn to recognize the image of God in every person, regardless of race, gender, culture or creed, Parkyn said.
The city colors the voice of North Park, Parkyn said, explaining, “The city is both text and context for learning.” He spoke of telling students that “The city is among the most important books you will read while you are at the university.”
The complexity of the city also impacts the voice and mission of the school. Students are privileged to live in the country’s most diverse zip code because it exposes them to so much of the world. “By living here and through learning here, our students discover our life is not simply about us.”
Parkyn noted that half the people in the neighborhood around the university are immigrants. “All the world has come to our neighborhood,” he exclaimed. “Our neighborhood is the world.
“This complexity of language and culture in our very neighborhood nourishes a voice of justice, mercy and compassion,” Parkyn said. “Our voice must be a voice which seeks justice for all people.”
Strengthening that voice in students is the purpose of teaching, Parkyn said. “We must proclaim the voice of justice not only with our lips, but also with our lives,” he exhorted. “Walking side by side with our students, we must change the world and we must be changed by the world.”
Parkyn drew upon the words of Chicago architect Daniel Burnham, who sought to develop the city as a place that would have opportunity for all: “Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men’s blood.”
“He dared to dream big dreams because the cause demanded only big dreams,” Parkyn said. “We too must make no little plans. We must be bold. We must embrace risk. Our faith demands it. Our city needs it. Our people deserve it.”
In introducing her husband, Linda Parkyn, professor of Spanish, referred to the president as someone who has an uncommon eye. “He will not bring you the conventional view,” she said. “He will color outside the lines. He will take what many of us see – the obstacles to whatever it is we want to accomplish – and he will expand our view, flip the expression of our hearts, and give us another way to get there, another venue to try.
“He is immune to those who say it can’t be done,” she quickly added. “He’ll find another way.”
Other speakers at the inauguration included Glenn Palmberg, president of the Evangelical Covenant Church, and David Horner, past president of North Park. The ceremony also featured students from 32 countries carrying their nations’ flags as reflective of the school’s diversity.
The inauguration ceremony in the university gymnasium was the final event in a weekend of activities that included an academic symposium, the University Orchestra performing Peter and the Wolf with narration provided by Parkyn, and a celebration with the students.
