Covenant News

North Park University Celebrates 109th Commencement

CHICAGO, IL (May 15, 2002) - North Park University (NPU) celebrated its 109th Commencement last Saturday as President David G. Horner and Provost Margaret J. Haefner presented 246 undergraduate and 101 graduate degrees.

Countries other than the United States represented by this year's graduates included China, Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Haiti, Hungary, Iran, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Laos, Mexico, Nigeria, Palestine, the Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, Ukraine, and Vietnam.

Stacy Lee Beukhof of Excelsior, Minnesota, who graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in marketing, received the Ahnfeldt Medallion, awarded to the student with the best academic record.

Also during the ceremony, Lieutenant Governor hopeful Carl Hawkinson, political philosopher Jean Bethke Elshtain and renowned preacher Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright were awarded honorary doctorates. Hawkinson of The Covenant Church of Galesburg, Illinois, received a doctorate of law from NPU.

Hawkinson is a 1970 graduate of North Park and has served the 47th District in the Illinois Senate since 1987. He has chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee since 1993.

Forty-four members of the North Park Junior College Reunion Class of 1952 took part in the processional to celebrate their 50-year reunion.

In a recent Honors Convocation ceremony at NPU, Lawrence W. Martin, Ph.D., was awarded both the 2002 Zenos Hawkinson Award for Teaching Excellence and Campus Leadership and the Student Association Service Award. Martin has taught physics at the school since 1991.

The Zenos Hawkinson Award is named for longtime professor Zenos Hawkinson. Senior students and all faculty members are asked to nominate a professor who has made significant contributions to teaching and campus leadership in a variety of ways. The Student Association Service Award nominees are chosen by the Senate, Executive Committee and Judiciary of the North Park University Student Association.

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