The University of the Nations (U of N) is an unaccredited

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

university. The University of the Nations operates under the umbrella organization of the Youth With A Mission (YWAM) network.

History

The institution was founded in 1978 as Pacific & Asia Christian University (PACU) by

Howard Malmstadt Howard Vincent Malmstadt, Ph.D, (February 17, 1922 in Marinette, Wisconsin – July 7, 2003 in Hawaii), emeritus professor of Chemistry at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and co-founder of the University of the Nations, widely cons ...

and

Loren Cunningham Loren Duane Cunningham (born June 30, 1935) is founder of the international Christian missionary movement Youth with a Mission (YWAM) and the University of the Nations. Cunningham founded YWAM in Lausanne, Switzerland in 1960 with his wife, Darle ...

, the founder of Youth with a Mission, in

Kailua-Kona, Hawaii Kailua-Kona is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Hawaii County, Hawaii, Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States. It is also known as Kailua (a name it shares with Kailua, Honolulu County, Hawaii, a community located o ...

. As other locations were established around the world, PACU was renamed the University of the Nations in 1989.

Accreditation

University of the Nations is not accredited by any recognized accreditation body. As such, its degrees and credits may not be acceptable to employers or other institutions, and use of degrees from schools without accreditation from a nationally recognized accrediting agency may be illegal in some states unless the school is approved by the state licensing agency. University of the Nations asserts that other institutions have accepted and continue to accept transfer credits,University of the Nations-Accreditation
accessed December 11, 2010 including Houghton College, and the

South African Theological Seminary The South African Theological Seminary (SATS) is a broadly evangelical distance education institution based in Bryanston (Johannesburg Region E), South Africa, founded in 1996. As of May 2018, Dr. Kevin Smith (DLitt Stellenbosch, PhD SATS) is th ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

's higher education and training system lists University of the Nations' affiliated Institute for the Nations and Youth With A Mission programs in five locations as

registered training organisation A registered training organisation (RTO), in Australia, is an organisation providing Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses to students, resulting in qualifications or statements of attainment that are recognised and accepted by indust ...

s authorized to provide certificates and diplomas in several specified fields. University of the Nations, Kona, from Roadside

Notable people

Alumni

Kenneth Bae Kenneth Bae (born Pae Jun Ho; born August 1, 1968) is a Korean-American Evangelical Christian Missionary convicted by North Korea on charges of planning to overthrow the North Korean government, including setting up bases in China for the pur ...

, author, missionary, and activist. * Mina Chang, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of the United States Department of State's Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization. *

David L. Cunningham David L. Cunningham, born in Switzerland (February 24, 1971) and raised in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, is an international filmmaker. Besides his documentary credits in more than 40 countries, Cunningham has also directed several feature films including ...

, son of university founder and filmmaker.

Visiting faculty

* Forrest Mims, Electronics author and amateur atmospheric scientist * Darrow Miller co-founder of the Disciple Nations Alliance, author and past Vice President of Food For the Hungry International * David Newberry, Senior Public Health Advisor,

CARE Care may refer to: Organizations and projects * CARE (New Zealand), Citizens Association for Racial Equality, a former New Zealand organisation * CARE (relief agency), "Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere", an international aid and ...

- Primary Health Care Unit, member of the

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency, under the Department of Health and Human Services, and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgi ...

's Global Smallpox Eradication Team – Ghana & Nigeria, Faculty at

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

, research associate in the Department of International Health Private Voluntary Organization Child Survival Support Program

Controversies

In January 2018, Pablo Rivera, the chief financial officer for University of the Nations in Kona, pled guilty to wire fraud. Rivera embezzled nearly 3.1 million dollars, amounting to $50,000 per month. Before the fraud was exposed, the school's financial situation was critical, increased charges were applied to volunteers and students. In October 2020, University of the Nations in Kona was associated with the largest single day increase of COVID-19 outbreak on the Island of Hawaiʻi up to that date.

References

External links

University of the Nations International web siteUniversity of the Nations, Kona web siteUniversity of the Nations, Louisville web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:University Of The Nations Evangelical universities and colleges Private universities and colleges in Hawaii Unaccredited Christian universities and colleges in the United States Educational institutions established in 1978 Education in Hawaii County, Hawaii 1978 establishments in Hawaii