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91ÉçÇø¸£Àû Confers Degrees at 2012 Winter Commencement Convocation

91ÉçÇø¸£Àû Confers Degrees at 2012 Winter Commencement Convocation

Degrees were presented December 14 to 91ÉçÇø¸£Àû graduates at Winter Commencement.

245 students expected to earn graduate and undergraduate degrees

CHICAGO (December 17, 2012) — Before a full house in the and a significant audience watching a , 91ÉçÇø¸£Àû presented degrees December 14 at its 2012 convocation. The University expected to confer undergraduate and graduate degrees to 245 students.

Bachelor’s degrees were presented to an anticipated 168 students representing a wide range of and the . Master’s degrees were presented to an expected 77 students from the School of Business and Nonprofit Management, , , and .

In his charge to the graduates, the president of 91ÉçÇø¸£Àû, , cited the biblical stories of creation in Genesis and Jesus’ birth in the Gospel of Luke. God stopped on the seventh day, according to the creation story, and Mary paused to ponder after the shepherds left the manger, he noted. In both cases, each stopped to claim as holy the creation and the infant Jesus, Parkyn suggested. The same can be said of significant life events, such as graduation, he observed.

“On this night we stop, ever so briefly, to mark learning, to mark your life as a student, as holy. We stop to ponder, we stop to remember, we stop to claim the act of learning as holy, and to claim as holy all you have learned,” the University president told the graduates. Graduation is “a sacred moment in your life, even as each day of the past years of learning at North Park has been a holy time,” Parkyn added.

The convocation included Scripture and prayers, choral performances by the , a graduation litany, and presentation of degrees by University deans. Students led the procession with the flags of countries and territories in which graduates were born, are citizens, or have been residents. The flags included those of the United States, Brazil, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Finland, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Nigeria, Palestine, the Philippines, Romania, Serbia, and Sweden. The commencement program included a benediction from , read by graduates in nine languages, including Arabic, Hebrew, Mongolian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, and Swedish.

The University began its commencement with a recognition of the tragic school shooting earlier in the day at , Newtown, Conn. “As an educator, I have always thought the adventure of learning is meant to give life, yet today for 26 people, school became a place where life ended,” Parkyn said. “I’m also reminded as an educator of the … individuals who died having dedicated their lives, like many in the room tonight, to helping students fulfill their dreams.” The president’s comments were followed by a moment of silence and prayer.

Use @npunews to . For further information or resources, contact John Brooks, Director of Media Relations and News, or at (773) 244-5522. Learn more .

Author tomgabrysiak

Zipcar Comes to 91ÉçÇø¸£Àû

Zipcar Comes to 91ÉçÇø¸£Àû

Zipcar's location on the University campus is at the corner of Kedzie and West Foster Avenues, Chicago.

Cars available for University students, personnel, area residents

CHICAGO (March 21, 2012) – , a national company that makes it possible for qualified drivers to rent cars for short-term use, now has a car located on the 91ÉçÇø¸£Àû campus available to Zipcar .

Zipcar representatives will be on the University's Chicago campus beginning this week to answer questions and assist people to become Zipcar members. The company will also send information to University students and personnel to help introduce the program.

"We want to be good stewards of the urban environment," said , 91ÉçÇø¸£Àû executive vice president and chief financial officer. "There are two reasons why we wanted this — stewardship and sustainability. If we can provide cars this way to people who need them, we can reduce our carbon footprint in this part of the city. We can also provide students with a tool to access the city."

Zipcar operates nationally on some 250 colleges and university campuses, including 91ÉçÇø¸£Àû and other college campuses in the Chicago area.

Zipcar service expansion on the campus could ultimately help relieve crowded campus parking lots, provided students, faculty, and staff choose to access the available cars, Balsam said.

Presently, a Zipcar is available on the University campus at 5141 N. Kedzie. Zipcars are also located at a nearby location at Kimball and Lawrence Avenues, Chicago.

Zipcar was founded as a new category in urban transportation, designed "to offer a convenient, flexible, affordable, and sustainable solution" for occasional urban drivers seeking alternatives to high costs and challenges of owning a car in a city, said Jessica Margolis-Pineo, Zipcar public relations associate. Zipcar operates on some 250 colleges and university campuses, some of which are in the Chicago area. Members can also use Zipcars in other areas of country where Zipcar operates, she said.

Drivers must be at least 21 years of age, and have a Zipcar membership to use its cars. Members can drive cars starting at $7.75 per hour or $72 a day. Each trip includes gasoline, insurance, and up to 180 free miles. Thanks to Zipcar's with Ford Motor Co., a portion of the membership fee will be waived for the first 100,000 new University members nationally who sign up, plus the company will offer $1 off the hourly rate for the first 1 million hours of use on any of the new Ford vehicles at participating colleges and universities.

Use @npunews to . For further information or resources, contact John Brooks, Director of Media Relations and News, or at (773) 244-5522. Learn more .

Author tomgabrysiak