Northwest Nazarene University (NNU) in Nampa welcomes its thirteenth president Thursday. The university is holding an inauguration of Joel Pearsall, who follows in his father’s footsteps. Pearsall's father was president of the Christian college from 1973 to 1983.
According to a press release, the new leader received his undergraduate degree from the school in 1980, and then went on to law school in Oregon.
Pearsall’s appointment comes after a scandal led to the resignation of his predecessor, David Alexander, in May 2015 after revelations of what officials referred to as an “inappropriate relationship” with a student at NNU when he was a professor 25 years ago. Since then, the university appointed two staff members to receive reports of other misconduct at the university.
Pearsall had been serving as the interim president before his appointment in March, 2016.
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