Chicago Tribune: “Inside North Central College’s bet on health sciences”
Jul 23, 2026
The Chicago Tribune featured North Central College’s decade-long effort to strategically invest in and expand its health science offerings in a way that embraces the 165-year-old institution’s liberal arts foundation.
The initiative took root around that time that President Abiódún Gòkè-Paríolá began his tenure at North Central College as provost, or chief academic officer, in 2015. The goal, Gòkè-Paríolá stated, was to expand North Central’s offerings in high-demand healthcare fields while “while preserving its core spirit as a liberal arts college.”
“We weren’t building the programs because we needed the money to balance our budget, which is what many schools do because they think of them as cash cows,” Gòkè-Paríolá stated in the article. “For us, it was a long vision that you can do well by doing the right thing that fits.”
Over the past decade, North Central has added nine master’s-level advanced clinical practice programs and two doctoral programs to its offerings, including programs in occupational therapy, physical therapy, physician assistant studies, and nursing.
The College’s expansion has stemmed, in part, from its partnership with nearby Endeavor Health Edward Hospital.
Dr. Robert Payton, Edward Hospital’s chief medical officer, has worked with North Central on placing students in clinical rotations at Edward – a partnership that is convenient for students studying just a few minutes down the road, and addresses the hospital’s need to meet demand in certain healthcare fields.
“We’ve had nursing programs come here to rotate their students through but really not in this realm,” said Payton. “We really hadn’t affiliated with a program like we did with North Central College.”
According to Dr. Mary Groll, dean of North Central’s School of Education and Health Sciences, more than 80 percent of clinical placements for the College’s physician assistant program are at Edward Hospital in Naperville or Elmhurst.
While growth is being driven by demand, Gòkè-Paríolá, Groll, and other College leaders remain focused on maintaining North Central’s identity and educational foundation rooted in the liberal arts.
“We are opportunistic, but I always ensure it aligns with who we are and where we should be going – and I think it makes a difference,” said Gòkè-Paríolá.