Seal of Point Loma Nazarene University
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Former names
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Pacific Bible College (1902-1906), Deets Pacific Bible College (1906-1910), Nazarene University (1910-1917), Pasadena University (1917-1949), Pasadena College (1949-1973), Point Loma College: An Institution of the Church of the Nazarene (1973-1983), Point Loma Nazarene College (1983-1998) |
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Type | Private liberal arts college |
Established | 1902 |
Affiliation | Nazarene |
Endowment | US $37,360,494 |
President | Bob Brower |
Students | 3,480 |
Undergraduates | 2,346 |
Postgraduates | 1,134 |
Location |
San Diego, California, United States 32°43′01″N 117°15′02″W / 32.716853°N 117.250686°WCoordinates: 32°43′01″N 117°15′02″W / 32.716853°N 117.250686°W |
Campus | Suburban |
Colors | Green and gold |
Athletics |
NCAA Division II – PacWest NCCAA – West Region (D-I) |
Nickname | Sea Lions |
Affiliations |
CCCU CIC |
Sports | 11 varsity teams |
Mascot | Roary the Sea Lion |
Website | www.pointloma.edu |
Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU) is a Christian liberal arts college. Its main campus is located on the Point Loma oceanfront in San Diego, California, United States. It was founded in 1902 as a Bible college by the Church of the Nazarene.
The college was founded by several female laypersons in the Church of the Nazarene with the assistance of Phineas F. Bresee, co-founder of the Nazarene Church in Los Angeles. The "initiators," in the words of historian Timothy L. Smith, convinced "a reluctant Bresee to support the venture."
The institution envisioned was "a simple Bible college" to train ministerial and lay leadership for the newly established Nazarene denomination; however, a Bible college did not fit Bresee's notion of a real Christian school, and he "promised little or no assistance." The women went ahead with their plan, with money raised from their husbands, and Pacific Bible College opened in 1902 under Principal Mary Hill. In 1906, Bresee's interest in the college was piqued with a large donation from Jackson Deets. Bresee now saw the possibility for a real liberal arts college in the newly renamed Deets Pacific Bible College. Bresee and Deets were soon planning Nazarene University together: academy, liberal arts college, and bible school. It became one of the first three "official" educational institutions affiliated with the Church of the Nazarene in 1908, and was named Deets Pacific Bible College in 1909. In 1910, it was renamed Nazarene University and, against the wishes of Jackson Deets and the advice of Nazarene General Superintendent John W. Goodwin, the college moved to the Hugus Ranch property in Pasadena, California. It was renamed again to Pasadena University following a theological dispute and near bankruptcy in 1917.