Our Core Values

The School of Music, Art, and Theatre is guided by the following core values:

DISCOVER.    We believe the arts require curiosity and exploration.
ENGAGE.       We believe learning is in the doing.
GROW.           We believe the arts serve humanity and the well-being of all.

Our Vision

Devoted to the discovery and sharing of wisdom and knowledge, education serves humanity and the well-being of all. As the School of Music, Art, and Theatre, we imagine and create our programs in the richness of community. Committing to the highest standards of excellence in the fields of music, art, theatre, and education, we the community of students, faculty, and staff contribute to the integration of the arts and life within self, the North Park campus, the city of Chicago, and the world. We explore and hone personal aesthetic within the dialogue between culture and human values. We guide and encourage students in the journey toward a sustainable creative practice; one that can move beyond North Park University to benefit humanity.

Our diversities enhance and strengthen the artistic, spiritual, and intellectual work of learning, teaching, and sharing. Diversity itself is essential for excellence and achievement and we intentionally commit to exposing ourselves to other perspectives and cultures to ensure that our opinions, viewpoints, and judgments are continuously challenged and enable understandings across differences. We celebrate our vocations in and through a multiplicity of cultures and communities locally and globally. We know that embracing, advancing, and valuing diversity everywhere will make us all the more successful. As a Christian institution, we strive to celebrate the rich diversity of cultures, races and ethnicities, genders, political and religious beliefs, physical and learning differences, sexual orientations, and identities that make up our campus community. All members of our school belong to our community and are equally supported regardless of background, identity, or affiliation.

Our Mission

The programs of the School of Music, Art, and Theatre offer challenging curricula enriched by the diversity of voices throughout history and cultures. We prepare students for creative practice now and into the future: artists who are global citizens equipped for the changing professions of the 21st century. As an artistic community of students, faculty, and staff, we seek to increase awareness of civic responsibility and promote a culture of compassion through the intersection of faith and learning.