My name is Viola. I am a woman of African descent. I am currently a doctoral student at Northwest Nazarene University, a higher education Wesleyan Christian institution. I am grateful for the opportunity to attend a Christian university. Choosing to go to NNU was a great decision.

There are many facets of Christian higher education, and at NNU, nuances of faith and learning play out in the classroom, in chapel and in the dining and residence halls. NNU’s beauty is in its various shades of experience—worldview shaping; faculty and staff with integrity and kindness; safety to explore thought and belief; a warm place of compassion, community and belonging.

*There are many facets of Christian higher education, and at NNU, nuances of faith and learning play out in the classroom, in chapel and in the dining and residence halls. NNU’s beauty is in its various shades of experience—worldview shaping; faculty and staff with integrity and kindness; safety to...

Nazarene higher education is part of my heritage. My grandparents graduated from Point Loma, and my parents, aunts and uncles graduated from Northwest Nazarene University. Both my parents worked for NNU when I was a kid. I basically grew up on campus.

I’m in my 30th year of getting to teach Christian theology to general education students at NNU or other Christian universities. I love all my classes, but teaching Intro to Theology to a room full of diverse students from multiple majors and backgrounds is still my favorite course to teach.

Ryan and Emily Wirick and brothers Philip and Cris Zimmermann have been nominated for Alumni of the Year Awards.

Northwest Nazarene University (NNU) has named Robin Gilbert, Superintendent of the Payette School District, this year’s L.E. Wesche Outstanding Educator. The award was presented at a private reception on April 21. “Robin is an excellent leader and is well respected by her peers,” Dr. Eric...

John “Rock” Simmons began picking cotton when he was 5 years old. Growing up on the Mississippi Delta in a family of sharecroppers, that was just the way of life.

For 12 years he picked cotton every summer. From sunrise to sunset, six days a week in the relentless heat and humidity of...

By Veronica Craker, Class of 2020

There were many 2020 NNU graduates who were unable to return to the Boise Valley for the rescheduled commencement ceremony held on Labor Day weekend. But for one student, Thomas Ofori Agyei, there was never any plan to travel that far. That’s because Agyei...

By Benjamin R. Cremer, Class of 2008 and 2010

Unite the pair so long disjoined, knowledge and vital piety.” This quote by Charles Wesley holds a prominent place in NNU’s Brandt Center auditorium. It was one of the first impressions made on me as a potential student at the “Explore NNU” event...

By Veronica Craker, Class of 2020

NNU students returning to campus this past fall found a slightly altered experience—at least visually. Although changes were necessary to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, NNU has been able to serve its students in person unlike so many other colleges and...

Doug Reader had expected he would be one of the oldest students in his cohort in the NNU Master’s in Business Administration program. What he didn’t expect, though, was how much he would gain from the experience.

The now-president of dietary giant Slimfast, decided to pursue his MBA in 2007...

Someone once described NNU’s annual Wesley Center Conference as “Where the Church comes to think.” While the phrase originates with Catholic University of America, I believe it’s an apt descriptor for us, too. For more than 20 years, our conferences have stretched and inspired thousands of clergy...

by Tahmina Martelly

My country was changing identities when I was growing up. It went from being part of India to East and West Pakistan to becoming Bangladesh. I can tell you the night it became real. My grandparents and one of my aunts were visiting. I have two elder sisters and a younger...

By Anna (Salisbury) Lee, Class of 2004

NNU aims to build a community that stays connected wherever people go,” said Braedon Gerdes (’17), and he and his wife Annaliese (Fereday, ’17), have embodied that goal. The couple has traveled widely in the three years since leaving NNU, building their...

By Veronica Craker

Life-changing. That’s how Col. Skye Duncan, Joint Base Lewis-McChord garrison commander, describes his time at Northwest Nazarene College.

Duncan attended NNC from 1991 to 1996, studying pre-med biology and aspiring to help others. Today, he commands a joint Army...

By Veronica Craker

Professor Emeritus Dr. Darrell Marks passed away Dec. 5, 2019. Dr. Marks dedicated more than 60 years of his life to NNU. He graduated from Northwest Nazarene College in 1958 before returning a year later to serve as a faculty member for more than 30 years.

Dr...