玛丽·K总裁. Surridge传记
Mary Karsten Surridge is the 10th president of North Park University and has served since the beginning of the 2018–2019 academic year. The first woman to serve as president at North Park, she has brought to life a new era of leadership, 订婚, 和视觉, with her strong conviction that in the sum of the University’s three distinctives—Christian, 由, and intercultural—North Park finds its unique value, 竞争优势, and its opportunity to emerge as the model for Christian higher education in 21st 世纪的美国.
Surridge brings to the presidency a wealth of leadership experiences in higher education. 在成为总统之前, in a career at North Park that spanned more than 20 years, she served as vice president for advancement, oversaw undergraduate 招生, 执教女子篮球. 作为晋升副总裁, Surridge led Campaign North Park, the most ambitious fund-raising campaign in the school’s history. It raised $63 million in financial commitments, including $41 million for construction of the Nancy and G. Timothy Johnson Center for Science and 社区生活. The cutting-edge edifice opened in 2014.
在到达北公园之前, Surridge was associate director of planned and major gifts at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois; director of residence life and student activities at Concordia University in Mequon, 威斯康辛州; and dean of students at Marian College (now Marian University) in Fond du Lac, 威斯康辛州. At Concordia, she earned a master’s degree in student personnel administration. As an undergraduate at Northwestern, Surridge played Division I basketball and earned a bachelor’s degree in speech communication. Also at Northwestern, she became involved with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. “My faith became personal and real,” she said, “and my daily walk with Jesus truly began.”
Her sports and communications background led to internship experiences in professional sports. 芝加哥白袜队, 她帮助满足粉丝的要求, 市场推广, 游戏节目, 以及其他职责. She also worked in the front office of the Milwaukee Bucks, working for the head coach and in promotions.
“I draw on every single one of those experiences,” she said. “体育, 招生, 和招聘, 加上进步, 学生事务, and student development work are all very important pieces for the future of higher education.”
Mary Karsten grew up in Horicon, 威斯康辛州, the middle of five siblings. A three-sport athlete in high school, Mary played in the band and was sports editor of the school paper. 1998年至2008年, she was also a full-time parent to her daughter, 杰西, leading her homeschool education through the fourth grade. 杰西 currently attends Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana. President Surridge and her husband, 杰克, who served as North Park’s longtime athletic director and professor of genetics, are members of North Park Covenant Church.