Point Loma Nazarene University

The information on this page was last updated 3/22/2023. If you see errors or omissions, please email: [email protected]


Summary

PLNU is a Christian liberal arts university located in San Diego, CA, and sits on a 90-acre campus overlooking the Pacific Ocean. In addition to more than 60 undergraduate areas of study, PLNU also offers graduate programs.


Contact information

Mailing address:
Point Loma Nazarene University
3900 Lomaland Dr
San Diego, CA 92106

Website: pointloma.edu

Phone: 619-849-2200

Email: [email protected]


Organization details

EIN: 951644035

CEO/President: Bob Brower, Ph.D.

Chairman: Rev. Doug Pierce

Board size: 29

Founder: Dr. Phineas F. Bresee

Ruling year: 1937

Tax deductible: Yes

Fiscal year end: 06/30

Member of ECFA: Yes

Member of ECFA since: 2014


Purpose

Discovering Vocation, Expanding Horizons, Deepening Faith, Transforming Communities


Mission statement

Point Loma Nazarene University exists to provide higher education in a vital Christian community where minds are engaged and challenged, character is modeled and formed, and service is an expression of faith. Being of Wesleyan heritage, we strive to be a learning community where truth is pursued, grace is foundational, and holiness is a way of life.


Statement of faith

Donor confidence score

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Transparency grade

A

To understand our transparency grade, click here.


Financial efficiency ratings

Sector: Colleges/Universities

CategoryRatingOverall rankSector rank
Overall efficiency rating750 of 107489 of 130
Fund acquisition rating627 of 107578 of 130
Resource allocation rating1038 of 1075124 of 130
Asset utilization rating325 of 107428 of 130

Financial ratios

Funding ratiosSector median20202019201820172016
Return on fundraising efforts Return on fundraising efforts =
Fundraising expense /
Total contributions
11%19%28%33%31%29%
Fundraising cost ratio Fundraising cost ratio =
Fundraising expense /
Total revenue
2%1%1%1%1%1%
Contributions reliance Contributions reliance =
Total contributions /
Total revenue
18%6%4%3%4%4%
Fundraising expense ratio Fundraising expense ratio =
Fundraising expense /
Total expenses
2%1%1%1%1%1%
Other revenue reliance Other revenue reliance =
Total other revenue /
Total revenue
82%94%96%97%96%96%
 
Operating ratiosSector median20202019201820172016
Program expense ratio Program expense ratio =
Program services /
Total expenses
84%64%73%84%86%82%
Spending ratio Spending ratio =
Total expenses /
Total revenue
95%95%93%93%90%92%
Program output ratio Program output ratio =
Program services /
Total revenue
79%61%68%78%77%75%
Savings ratio Savings ratio =
Surplus (deficit) /
Total revenue
5%5%7%7%10%8%
Reserve accumulation rate Reserve accumulation rate =
Surplus (deficit) /
Net assets
4%5%9%9%13%12%
General and admin ratio General and admin ratio =
Management and general expense /
Total expenses
13%35%25%15%13%17%
 
Investing ratiosSector median20202019201820172016
Total asset turnover Total asset turnover =
Total expenses /
Total assets
0.500.720.720.730.710.71
Degree of long-term investment Degree of long-term investment =
Total assets /
Total current assets
2.662.362.532.452.622.87
Current asset turnover Current asset turnover =
Total expenses /
Total current assets
1.541.711.831.771.862.04
 
Liquidity ratiosSector median20202019201820172016
Current ratio Current ratio =
Total current assets /
Total current liabilities
7.305.624.935.294.484.01
Current liabilities ratio Current liabilities ratio =
Total current liabilities /
Total current assets
0.140.180.200.190.220.25
Liquid reserve level Liquid reserve level =
(Total current assets -
Total current liabilities) /
(Total expenses / 12)
6.415.785.245.495.004.42
 
Solvency ratiosSector median20202019201820172016
Liabilities ratio Liabilities ratio =
Total liabilities /
Total assets
25%35%37%38%41%47%
Debt ratio Debt ratio =
Debt /
Total assets
15%22%24%26%29%32%
Reserve coverage ratio Reserve coverage ratio =
Net assets /
Total expenses
143%90%88%85%83%75%

Financials

Balance sheet
 
Assets20202019201820172016
Cash$33,828,205$26,330,983$34,244,850$24,663,100$39,073,358
Receivables, inventories, prepaids$9,254,224$10,786,933$10,942,462$11,363,607$10,100,434
Short-term investments$41,477,175$39,923,509$29,902,029$29,501,712$6,847,269
Other current assets$0$0$0$0$0
Total current assets$84,559,604$77,041,425$75,089,341$65,528,419$56,021,061
Long-term investments$2,521,352$4,171$0$0$0
Fixed assets$111,353,649$114,671,138$104,534,441$101,715,851$100,739,541
Other long-term assets$1,345,271$3,414,972$3,971,490$4,272,295$3,840,190
Total long-term assets$115,220,272$118,090,281$108,505,931$105,988,146$104,579,731
Total assets$199,779,876$195,131,706$183,595,272$171,516,565$160,600,792
 
Liabilities20202019201820172016
Payables and accrued expenses$7,209,466$8,613,432$7,240,840$7,649,837$9,539,245
Other current liabilities$7,836,616$7,013,755$6,941,773$6,974,345$4,421,518
Total current liabilities$15,046,082$15,627,187$14,182,613$14,624,182$13,960,763
Debt$43,337,013$46,772,124$48,169,054$49,520,812$51,037,261
Due to (from) affiliates$0$0$0$0$0
Other long-term liabilities$11,911,793$9,456,752$8,297,144$5,915,311$9,835,453
Total long-term liabilities$55,248,806$56,228,876$56,466,198$55,436,123$60,872,714
Total liabilities$70,294,888$71,856,063$70,648,811$70,060,305$74,833,477
 
Net assets20202019201820172016
Without donor restrictions$123,512,606$117,936,568$108,286,700$95,487,711$80,664,308
With donor restrictions$5,972,382$5,339,075$4,659,761$5,968,549$5,103,007
Net assets$129,484,988$123,275,643$112,946,461$101,456,260$85,767,315
 
Revenues and expenses
 
Revenue20202019201820172016
Total contributions$8,797,534$5,953,545$4,871,806$5,748,838$5,330,038
Program service revenue$140,568,278$144,154,491$137,953,607$129,225,758$118,775,014
Membership dues$0$0$0$0$0
Investment income$1,857,064$1,697,271$1,408,032$793,203$694,617
Other revenue($8,707)($45,077)($559,032)$0($566,883)
Total other revenue$142,416,635$145,806,685$138,802,607$130,018,961$118,902,748
Total revenue$151,214,169$151,760,230$143,674,413$135,767,799$124,232,786
 
Expenses20202019201820172016
Program services$92,857,838$103,326,792$111,830,920$105,061,125$93,657,810
Management and general$49,792,461$35,792,081$19,716,650$15,289,663$18,964,972
Fundraising$1,675,254$1,657,196$1,611,794$1,771,628$1,539,820
Total expenses$144,325,553$140,776,069$133,159,364$122,122,416$114,162,602
 
Change in net assets20202019201820172016
Surplus (deficit)$6,888,616$10,984,161$10,515,049$13,645,383$10,070,184
Other changes in net assets$0$0$0$0$0
Total change in net assets$6,888,616$10,984,161$10,515,049$13,645,383$10,070,184

Compensation

NameTitleCompensation
Robert BrowerPresident$416,148
Alison ReaserChief Economist$288,689
Kerry FulcherProvost$267,622
Kelly SmithVP of University Advancement$232,024
George R Latter JrVP of Finance (Part Year)$228,222
Corey FlingChief Information Officer$193,433
Catherine SmithVP of Student Dev.$192,941
Dan BotheSchool Dean$184,659
Joseph D LaLuzerneVP of Finance$160,000

Compensation data as of: 6/30/2020


Response from ministry

No response has been provided by this ministry.


The information below was provided to MinistryWatch by the ministry itself. It was last updated 3/22/2023. To update the information below, please email: [email protected]


History

When Dr. Phineas F. Bresee responded to the growing need for a Christian college in the Los Angeles area, God used him to answer the heartfelt prayers of a group of six women who called themselves the Bible College Prayer Circle. The group had come together in 1897, and on July 28, 1902, their prayers were answered. Bresee founded and became the first president of Pacific Bible College, which would become Pasadena College and later Point Loma Nazarene University. The women had envisioned a Bible college, but Bresee's vision was for a liberal arts institution. He believed spiritual and academic learning went hand-in-hand. That legacy is still with us today, as PLNU remains committed to the liberal arts and to whole-person education.

Pacific Bible College began with 41 students. In 1910, Bresee purchased the Hugus Ranch land in Pasadena and fulfilled his dream of creating not just a Bible college but a holiness university. Nazarene University opened in 1910 and from its beginning included male and female students.

By 1919, the name of the school had changed again to Pasadena College.

In 1964, W. Shelburne Brown became president of Pasadena College. He was instrumental in moving the college from its original location in Pasadena to its new Point Loma, San Diego, home in 1973.

Dr. Bob Brower, PLNU's current president, was inaugurated in 1998. In 1999, PLNU began graduate programs in education in Bakersfield and Mission Valley. A graduate program in education had remained in Pasadena since the move and in 2001, it moved to Arcadia. Also in 2001, an MBA program was added in Mission Valley. PLNU now has three locations: the undergraduate campus in Point Loma and graduate programs at regional centers in Bakersfield and Mission Valley in San Diego. PLNU currently offers graduate degrees in biology, business, education, nursing, clinical counseling, kinesiology, and theology.

Bresee's commitments to the message of holiness and to helping the poor set the stage for the future work of the Church of the Nazarene and PLNU. Nazarene churches are known for their outreach, their service to those in need, and addressing issues of social justice. Though the university began with only $4,000 in pledges, God has been faithful. Today, PLNU is home to more than 3,500 undergraduate and graduate students.

There is a Bible on campus, encased in protective glass, that belonged to Phineas Bresee. It's opened to Isaiah 62, the chapter Bresee claimed for the school. Permanently marked with his fingerprints, it displays a double message: God's words in Isaiah 62 and Bresee's love for those words. It's a message of being grounded in Scripture, of pursuing a well-rounded education and serving the poor out of a primary and intense love for God and His Word. Bresee died in 1915, but his message still resonates. In fact, it defines PLNU.


Program accomplishments

15:1 Student to Faculty Ratio
$49.1 million in grant and scholarship aid awarded to PLNU students in 2020-21
Top 5 ranked most selective Christian college in the U.S.
90% medical school acceptance rate


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