Northwest Nazarene University

"NNU" redirects here. For the educational institute in China, see Nanjing Normal University.

Northwest Nazarene University
Seal of Northwest Nazarene University
Motto	Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God
Established	1913
Type	Private
Religious affiliation	Nazarene
Endowment	US $21,727,123[1]
President	David Alexander
Students	1,836
Undergraduates	1,247
Postgraduates	589
Location	Nampa, Idaho, United States 43°33′44″N 116°33′55″W / 43.562330°N 116.565220°W / 43.562330; -116.565220Coordinates: 43°33′44″N 116°33′55″W / 43.562330°N 116.565220°W / 43.562330; -116.565220
Campus	Suburban
Former names	Idaho Holiness School (1913-1916), Northwest Holiness College (1916-1917), Northwest Nazarene College (1917-1999)
Colors	Red and black
Athletics	NCAA (GNAC)
Sports	Baseball, Basketball, Cross-Country, Golf, Soccer, Softball, Tennis, Track & Field, Volleyball
Nickname	Crusaders
Affiliations	CCCU, NWCCU
Website	www.nnu.edu

Northwest Nazarene University (NNU) is a private Christian liberal arts college located in Nampa, Idaho.

History

Presidents

	Fred J. Shields	1917-1919
1.	H. Orton Wiley	1919-1926
2.	Joseph G. Morrison	1926-1927
3.	Russell V. DeLong	1927-1932
4.	R. Eugene Gilmore	1932-1935
5.	Russell V. DeLong	1935-1942
6.	L.T. Corlett	1942-1952
7.	John E. Riley	1952-1973
8.	Kenneth H. Pearsall	1973-1983
9.	A. Gordon Wetmore	1983-1992
10.	Leon Doane	1992-1993
11.	Richard A. Hagood	1993-2008
12.	David Alexander	2008-Present

Eugene Emerson organized a combination grade school and Bible school in 1913 as Idaho Holiness School.^[2][3] It was renamed twice in 1916, first to Northwest Holiness College and then to Northwest Nazarene College,^[4] and then became a liberal arts college in 1917 with degree-granting authority from the Idaho state Board of Education. While the first president elected for the college in 1916 was H. Orton Wiley of Pasadena University, Fred J. Shields would fill in as acting president before leaving for the Eastern Nazarene College in 1919, while Wiley finished his graduate work.^[5] Under Russell V. DeLong, Northwest Nazarene College (NNC) received educational accreditation,^[6] as a two-year school in 1931^[7] and then received accreditation as a four-year school in 1937,^[7] making it the first accredited college affiliated with the Church of the Nazarene.^[8] Under Presidents John E. Riley and Kenneth H. Pearsall in the 1960s and 1970s, master's degree programs were added.^[9][10] It was renamed as Northwest Nazarene University (NNU) in 1999.

Affiliations

As one of eight U.S. liberal arts colleges^[11] affiliated with the Church of the Nazarene,^[12] 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.^[13] 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, and parts of Nevada and Utah.^[14] NNU is also a member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU).^[15] 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.^[6]

Academics

Northwest Nazarene University has six schools: Academic Resources (Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences), Business & Economics, Education & Social Work, Health & Science, and Theology & Christian Ministries. The university offers baccalaureate programs in 29 areas and graduate programs in seven disciplines.^[9] It is the home of the Wesley Center for Applied Theology.^[16] There were 1,836 students at the college in 2007, 1,247 of whom were undergraduates.^[17] The 2007 acceptance rate for students who applied to the college was 69.7 percent.^[18]

Student life

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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.^[19]

Athletics

NNU participates in the NCAA's Great Northwest Athletic Conference at the NCAA Division II level in 8 sports: basketball, baseball, cross country running, golf, softball, soccer, track and field, and volleyball.^[20] 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 "Crusaders" and colors are red and black.

Notable persons

Notable graduates include Kent R. Hill, the current administrator for USAID's Bureau for Global Health and former president of the Eastern Nazarene College (1992-2001), and Michael Lodahl and Thomas Jay Oord, noted Nazarene theologians. Oord is current on 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. ^ USNews & World Report Guide to Best Colleges: Northwest Nazarene University
2. ^ Riley, John E. From Sagebrush to Ivy: The story of Northwest Nazarene College. Pacific Press, Nampa, Idaho, 1988.
3. ^ Ingersol, Stan (PDF). Why These Schools? Historical Perspectives on Nazarene Higher Education. http://media.premierstudios.com/nazarene/docs/Why%20These%20Schools%20%20Historical%20Perspectives%20on%20Nazarene%20Higher%20Education.pdf. Retrieved 2008-07-10. 
4. ^ Raser, Harold E.; Thomas C. Hunt, James C. Carper, eds. (1996). Religious Higher Education in the United States. Taylor & Francis. p. 549. ISBN 0815316364. http://books.google.com/?id=lxr_PID7o2IC&printsec=frontcover&q. 
5. ^ Cameron, James R. (1968). Eastern Nazarene College—The First Fifty Years, 1900-1950. Kansas City: Nazarene Publishing House. p. 127, 142–143. 
6. ^ ^{a b} NWCCU: Idaho schools
7. ^ ^{a b} NNU Administrative Policy Manual
8. ^ The next Nazarene college to be accredited wasn't until 6 years later, when Eastern Nazarene was accredited by NEASC in 1943. Northwest had the authority to grant degrees from the State of Idaho before 1930, but ENC didn't 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.
9. ^ ^{a b} NNU History
10. ^ Fall 2008 President's Dinner at NNU
11. ^ J. Matthew, Price (PDF). "Liberal Arts and the Priorities of Nazarene Higher Education". http://media.premierstudios.com/nazarene/docs/didache_2_1_Price.pdf. Retrieved 2008-07-10.  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 of a "research university".
12. ^ "Nazarene Educational Regions" (PDF). http://media.premierstudios.com/nazarene/docs/educregions.pdf. Retrieved 2008-07-10.  See Church of the Nazarene: Organization for more information on regions.
13. ^ Guidelines and Handbook for Educational Institutions of the Church of the Nazarene. Church of the Nazarene International Board of Education. 1997. p. 14. http://www.nazarene.org/files/docs/guide.pdf. 
14. ^ "Northwest Educational Region" (PDF). http://media.premierstudios.com/nazarene/docs/NorthwestUSAregiondistricts.pdf. Retrieved 2008-07-10.  ENC and NNU are the only Nazarene schools to remain true to their regional names.
15. ^ "CCCU Members". Archived from the original on 2008-07-05. http://web.archive.org/web/20080705064221/http://www.cccu.org/about/members.asp. Retrieved 2008-07-10. 
16. ^ Wesley Center at Northwest Nazarene
17. ^ "Search for Schools, Colleges, and Libraries". U.S. Department of Education National Center for Education Statistics. http://nces.ed.gov/globallocator/. Retrieved 2009-04-14. 
18. ^ "Northwest Nazarene University". Guide to Best Colleges. U.S. News and World Report. http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/college/items/7085. Retrieved 2009-05-19. 
19. ^ InsideHigherEd.com: "Christian Colleges Grow More Diverse". August 15, 2008.
20. ^ NNU Sports

External links

• Official website
• Sports website