Northwest Nazarene University Update

Joel Pearsall brings significant professional experience and personal commitment to Northwest Nazarene University as the 13th president. He came to NNU in 1999 after being in private legal practice and church administration. He is a lifelong member of the Church of the Nazarene and has a family legacy of serving Nazarene higher education.  Joel earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Accounting and Business Administration from Northwest Nazarene College in 1980 and his Juris Doctor from Willamette University College of Law in 1983.  Joel is a member of the Idaho and Oregon State Bar Associations, is admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court of Idaho, and has served on multiple civic committees. Immediately before joining NNU, Joel sat on the Northwest Nazarene University Board of Regents from 1992 until 1999.  Joel served as NNU's vice president for financial affairs and in-house legal counsel from 1999 through July 2008. During this time in the Office of Financial Affairs, the NNU campus underwent significant physical growth.  After being named vice president for university advancement in August 2008, Joel saw through the completion of the Thomas Family Health and Science Center from his new role. He also helped to develop the university’s campus master plan and contributed to the receipt of the major gifts from the Peterson family and the Albertsons Foundation to build the Leah Peterson Learning Commons. As vice president for university advancement, Joel has also served as the executive director of Northwest Nazarene University Foundation, Inc.

The Pearsall family has a rich history with Northwest Nazarene University. Joel’s father, Dr. Kenneth Pearsall, served as president of NNU from 1973 to 1983. Joel’s father passed away in 1999. Joel’s mother, Ruby, still resides in Nampa. Joel has been married to Nikki (Moritz), a 1979 graduate of NNU, for 36 years and they have three children: Trenton (T.J.), a 2009 graduate of Southern Nazarene University; Chadwick, a 2011 graduate of NNU, who is married to Chelsea (Pounds) a 2014 NNU graduate; and Graydon, an NNU senior elementary education major.