40多年前, North Park chose to stay in the city, a decision that helped define its identity and mission.
艾伦·阿尔默1994年文学学士
尽管几十年前的选择——保留北公园在芝加哥的校园，而不是搬到遥远的郊区——在今天看来似乎是一个明智的选择, the actual decision-making process, 记得的人说, was fraught with tension and drama.
这个决定是在1980年做出的, 在北公园的体育馆, at the Evangelical Covenant Church’s (ECC) annual meeting, 当时的总统米尔顿·恩杰布雷森(Milton enggebretson)在紧闭的幕布后面烦躁不安的地方.
G. 蒂莫西·约翰逊，1956年AA级, MDiv 63, 谁领导了负责建议是否改变学校地点的六人特别小组, remembered how nervous Engebretson was. 他来回踱步.”
他本不必担心. Following Johnson’s presentation, 选举投诉委员会的代表以压倒性多数投票接受了委员会的建议，继续留在芝加哥.
“I don’t remember any debate or controversy,约翰逊说, adding that members of 专责小组 were mainly relieved because the decision, 至少对他们来说是这样, had never been a foregone conclusion.
考虑改变
就在一年前, 院长罗伯特·桑丁(Robert Sandin)建议亚游集团官方网站停止对其芝加哥校区的所有基建改造，并考虑搬到郊区.
“We happen to be located in the city of 芝加哥, and this location has some influence on our constituency, 我们的节目和生活方式,他当时写道. “Yet our location does not define our reason for being. 正相反, for the last 20 years (if not longer), 在有效地使我们的项目适应城市环境的需要方面，我们做得很少.”
He argued the school’s mission was at odds with the location, 到2025年所需的建筑将无法容纳北公园目前20英亩的校园.
亚瑟一个.R. 纳尔逊A ' 52, MDiv ’60 interim president of North Park at the time, 承认学校正在努力应对入学率下降和设备老化的问题.
“我们开始在招生方面做得更好，但我们的处境很糟糕，”尼尔森回忆说. “Some constituents were worried about investing in a college where crime was bad,尼尔森补充道, a fear he believed was overblown.
事实上, 新一波的东欧和亚洲移民给该地区带来了经济稳定，北公园周边地区开始得到支撑, 特别是在与校园南端接壤的奥尔巴尼公园附近.
但是当A. 哈罗德·安德森(以安德森教堂的名字命名的捐赠者)慷慨地在格雷斯莱克提供了100英亩的新校区, North Park officials were intrigued.
“我们真的考虑过我们在芝加哥的位置……我们不得不问自己，我们这样做是否出于某种原因，而不是我们的使命。.——阿瑟·A. R. 纳尔逊
STEEP COSTS, STUDENT OPPOSITION
官员们警告说，新校区必须从零开始建造，配备全新的设施. 价格定在37美元.500万年. 相反, 要留在芝加哥，就需要添置一些新设施，还需要花11美元对老美因进行急需的翻新.500万年. Although the cost difference was stark, the Johnson-led task force persevered.
约翰逊说:“许多芝加哥地区的人对它很感兴趣，原因很明显. “The idea of a brand-new campus out in the suburbs. So, we felt the need to take the idea seriously.”
作为过程的一部分, 专责小组, which included North Park stalwarts Zenos Hawkinson A ’41, AS ’43 and Bill Fredrickson A ’34, AA ’36, 接受调查的学生, 教师, 工作人员, 和学生. The reactions were swift and strong. Hundreds of students signed a petition against relocating, 他说:“我们想不出离开芝加哥对任何学科都有好处.”
“Put the college anywhere else, 也不会是北公园,” said the editorial board of the College 新闻.
“We really thought about our place in 芝加哥,” 纳尔逊 said. “如果我们相信我们的使命是扩大人们的智力生活，使其像宗教生活一样广泛，那么离开这座城市是我们所能犯的最大错误. 我们必须问自己，我们这样做是否有别的原因，而不是为了这个任务.”
唐·恩杰布雷森，1969年毕业, BA ’73, MDiv 78, Milton’s son and a current resident of the North Park neighborhood, 他指出，北公园是少数几所小型基督教学校之一，在大范围搬迁期间仍留在大城市.
“回到70年代和80年代, 搬到郊区的基督教学院认为他们是有先见之明的,恩杰布雷森说. “今天, with the enormous resources of 芝加哥, 毫无疑问，北公园和它的母教派是真正有远见和对使命的广泛理解的教派.”
Michelle Dodson BA ’02, the sem- inary’s Milton B. Engebretson Chair in Evangelism and Justice, 同意, lauding North Park’s leaders for not succumbing to the “white flight” trend.
“I don’t care how big your commit- ment is to diversity; an institution is marked by its physical space,多德森说. “If you’re going to move far from a big city, you know you’ll lose the benefits of a diverse student body.”
她说，留在这座城市是对北公园的跨文化特色的一种实际承诺.
“The world is becoming more urban, and even if you’re not going to live in a city, 有这样的观点，在一个社区里，人们看起来和你不一样, 上一辆繁忙的城市公共汽车, 它极大地塑造了你.”
纳尔逊同意.
“最后，工作组意识到你不能在玉米地里重建这所学校.”
“回到70年代和80年代, 搬到郊区的基督教学院认为他们是有先见之明的. 今天, with the enormous resources of 芝加哥, 毫无疑问，北公园和它的母教派是真正有远见和对使命的广泛理解的教派.——唐·英格布雷森
确保亚游集团官方网站的未来
许多, 包括约翰逊和纳尔逊, believe North Park would not exist today if the campus had moved to the suburbs.
“We decided we can stay here without trading our values,” 纳尔逊 said. 如果我们没有留下来? 纳尔逊 isn’t alone in his assessment: “We would’ve closed years ago.”
芝加哥市和北公园附近的居民当然很感激这所学校的保留.
When North Park announced its decision, 纳尔逊 received a supportive letter from then-Mayor Jane Byrne, 当地报纸对此大加赞扬.
《亚游集团官方网站》(芝加哥 Tribune)的一则标题写道:“北公园学院(North Park College)与向郊区发展的趋势背道而驰。.
6月19日的社论, 1980, 《亚游集团官方网站》说:“北公园学院和神学院留在芝加哥的决定对这座城市来说是个好消息, and not only because of its academic excellence and crack basketball team.”
还有一个问题，如果学校离开了，北公园社区会变成什么样子.
Johnson surmises the campus acreage would’ve been sold to a housing developer, while others questioned whether businesses such as Tre Kronor restaurant, 瑞典商店, and even Starbucks would be anchors of Foster Avenue.
“As a business owner in the area and a neighbor of the university, 我个人很高兴看到这所大学重申了它对社区的承诺，以及城市教育的好处,” said Carmen Rodriguez of the North Park Chamber of Commerce Planning Commission.
Donn Engebretson credited an expansive understanding of mission by the ECC, which is inclusive of people from every race and ethnicity, for the decision to maintain a 芝加哥 base.
他说:“这个愿景继续激励着北公园，在它最好的时候，也激励着今天的圣约教会。.
“Put the college anywhere else, 也不会是北公园.“大学-新闻
