Northwest Nazarene University

Northwest Nazarene University (NNU) is a private Christian university in Nampa, Idaho.

Northwest Nazarene University
Seal of Northwest Nazarene University
Former names
Northwest Nazarene College (1917–1999)
Northwest Holiness College (1916–1917)
Idaho Holiness School
(1913–1916)
MottoSeek Ye First
the Kingdom of God
TypePrivate
Established1913 (1913)
1937; four-year
AffiliationNazarene
Endowment$40 million
PresidentJoel Pearsall
Students2,058
Undergraduates1,332
Postgraduates726
Location
Nampa
,
Idaho
,
United States

43.562°N 116.565°W / 43.562; -116.565
CampusSuburban
Colors         Red and black
AthleticsNCAA Division II (GNAC)
NicknameNighthawks
AffiliationsCCCU, NWCCU
MascotNighthawks
Websitewww.nnu.edu

History
Presidents
Fred J. Shields1917–1919
1.H. Orton Wiley1919–1926
2.Joseph G. Morrison1926–1927
3.Russell V. DeLong1927–1932
4.R. Eugene Gilmore1932–1935
5.Russell V. DeLong1935–1942
6.L.T. Corlett1942–1952
7.John E. Riley1952–1973
8.Kenneth H. Pearsall1973–1983
9.A. Gordon Wetmore1983–1992
10.Leon Doane1992–1993
11.Richard A. Hagood1993–2008
12.David Alexander2008–2015
13.Joel Pearsall2015–Present

Eugene Emerson organized a combination grade school and Bible school in 1913 as Idaho Holiness School.[1][2] It was renamed twice in 1916, first to Northwest Holiness College and then to Northwest Nazarene College,[3] and then became a liberal arts college in 1917 with degree-granting authority from the Idaho state Board of Education. While the college's first president, elected in 1916, was H. Orton Wiley of Pasadena University, Fred J. Shields filled in as acting president before leaving for the Eastern Nazarene College in 1919, while Wiley finished his graduate work.[4]

Under Russell V. DeLong, Northwest Nazarene College (NNC) received educational accreditation[5] as a two-year school in 1931[6] and as a four-year school in 1937,[6] making it the first accredited college affiliated with the Church of the Nazarene.[7] Under Presidents John E. Riley and Kenneth H. Pearsall in the 1960s and 1970s, master's degree programs were added.[8][9] It was renamed Northwest Nazarene University (NNU) in 1999.

Affiliations
Nampa
Location in the United States
Nampa
Location in Idaho

As one of eight U.S. liberal arts colleges[10] affiliated with the Church of the Nazarene,[11] the college receives financial backing from the Nazarene churches on its region; part of each church budget is paid into a fund for its regional school. Each college is also bound by a gentlemen's agreement not to actively recruit outside its respective educational region.[12]

NNU is the college for the Northwest Region of the United States, which comprises the Alaska, Washington Pacific, Oregon Pacific, Northwest, Intermountain, Rocky Mountain, and Colorado districts, which include Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Alaska, and parts of Nevada and Utah.[13] NNU is also a member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU).[14] NNU has been accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) since 1930, making it the first Nazarene school to achieve an accredited status.[5]

Academics

Northwest Nazarene University has two colleges: the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Adult and Graduate Studies. NNU offers over 60 baccalaureate degree programs, 11 master's degree programs, and a Ph.D. degree program. In addition to its 90-acre (36 ha) campus in Nampa, the university offers extensive online degree programs and has branch campuses in Boise, Twin Falls, and Idaho Falls.

Founded in 1913, the university now serves over 1300 undergraduate and 700 graduate students, more than 6000 online and continuing education students, and 2300 high school concurrent credit students. NNU is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities.

Student life

NNU is a co-educational college. According to InsideHigherEd and the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, black student enrollment at NNU is one percent or less of the entire student population.[15]

Athletics
Main article: Northwest Nazarene Nighthawks

Since 2001, NNU has competed at the NCAA Division II level in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference and fields teams in eight sports: basketball, baseball, cross country running, golf, softball, soccer, track and field, and volleyball.[16] Tennis was added as a club team in the fall of 2013. Along with the Eastern Nazarene College, it is one of only two Nazarene colleges to compete in the NCAA; the other six compete in the NAIA. NNU's athletic moniker is the "Nighthawks" (as of October 16, 2017; the nickname was previously the Crusaders) and colors are red and black. The school's longtime rival is the College of Idaho (NAIA) in nearby Caldwell.

Notable people

Notable graduates include Lori Otter First Lady of the State of Idaho. Kent R. Hill, the former administrator for USAID's Bureau for Global Health and former president of the Eastern Nazarene College (1992-2001), Richard Hieb, NASA astronaut, author Donna Fletcher Crow, and Michael Lodahl and Thomas Jay Oord, noted Nazarene theologians. Oord is current faculty at his alma mater. A notable non-graduate alumna is Mildred Bangs Wynkoop, another noted Nazarene theologian. Notable former faculty members include Fred J. Shields, H. Orton Wiley, and Olive Winchester.

Notes and references
  1. Riley, John E. From Sagebrush to Ivy: The story of Northwest Nazarene College. Pacific Press, Nampa, Idaho, 1988.
  2. Ingersol, Stan. "Why These Schools? Historical Perspectives on Nazarene Higher Education" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-06-24. Retrieved 2008-07-10. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  3. Raser, Harold E. (1996). "Church of the Nazarene Universities, Colleges, and Religious Seminaries". In Thomas C. Hunt; James C. Carper (eds.). Religious Higher Education in the United States. Taylor & Francis. p. 549. ISBN 0-8153-1636-4.
  4. Cameron, James R. (1968). Eastern Nazarene College—The First Fifty Years, 1900-1950. Kansas City: Nazarene Publishing House. pp. 127, 142–143.
  5. "NWCCU: Idaho schools". Archived from the original on 2008-07-03. Retrieved 2008-04-28.
  6. NNU Administrative Policy Manual
  7. The next Nazarene college to be accredited was Eastern Nazarene, accredited by NEASC in 1943. Northwest had the authority to grant degrees from the State of Idaho before 1930, but ENC did not have the authority to grant degrees in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts until 1930. Before 1930, ENC students actually received degrees from NNU. See James R. Cameron, Eastern Nazarene College—The First Fifty Years, 1900-1950, Nazarene Publishing House (1968), 163.
  8. "NNU History". Archived from the original on 2007-06-08. Retrieved 2007-06-20.
  9. Fall 2008 President's Dinner at NNU Archived 2009-08-09 at the Wayback Machine
  10. J. Matthew, Price. "Liberal Arts and the Priorities of Nazarene Higher Education" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-06-27. Retrieved 2008-07-10. Cite journal requires |journal= (help) Nazarene higher education is based on the liberal arts model. Eastern Nazarene is the only Nazarene institution to retain the "college" moniker, although no Nazarene school fits the standard national definition Archived 2008-05-16 at the Wayback Machine of a "research university".
  11. "Nazarene Educational Regions" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-06-24. Retrieved 2008-07-10. See Church of the Nazarene: Organization for more information on regions.
  12. Guidelines and Handbook for Educational Institutions of the Church of the Nazarene (PDF). Church of the Nazarene International Board of Education. 1997. p. 14. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-10-10.
  13. "Northwest Educational Region" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-09-11. Retrieved 2008-07-10. ENC and NNU are the only Nazarene schools to remain true to their regional names.
  14. "CCCU Members". Archived from the original on 2008-07-05. Retrieved 2008-07-10.
  15. InsideHigherEd.com: "Christian Colleges Grow More Diverse". August 15, 2008.
  16. NNU Sports
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