A desire to educate their own children led the founders of Northwest Nazarene University (NNU), under the leadership of Eugene Emerson, to organize an elementary school in 1913. In the ensuing two years both high school and college courses were added to the curriculum. Thus began Northwest Nazarene University, a fully-accredited, co-educational, Christian comprehensive university of the arts, humanities, sciences, and professions.

In 1915, the first student was graduated from high school, and a year later Dr. H. Orton Wiley was elected President. The first degrees were conferred upon a class of four graduates in 1917.

Academic progress has been notable, including accreditation as a junior college in 1931 and as a four-year college in 1937. Master's programs were added in the mid-sixties. The name of the institution was changed from Northwest Nazarene College to Northwest Nazarene University in 1999.

The university presently offers undergraduate majors in 32 areas and master's programs in eleven disciplines. In addition to programs on its home campus, NNU students may study in cooperative programs in 10 countries around the world. Northwest Nazarene University serves approximately 1,240 undergraduate students, 590 graduate students, and 9,000 continuing education students each year.