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Former names | San Jose Bible College (1939–1989) San Jose Christian College (1989–2004) William Jessup University (2005–present) |
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| Motto | Transforming Tomorrow Today |
| Type | Private university |
| Established | 1939; 86 years ago (1939) |
Religious affiliation | Christian churches and churches of Christ[1] |
| Endowment | $1.1 million[2] |
| Students | 1700+ full time equivalent[3] |
| Location | , U.S. 38°49′13.60″N121°17′32.68″W / 38.8204444°N 121.2924111°W /38.8204444; -121.2924111 |
| Campus | Suburban |
| Colors | Red, white, and blue |
| Nickname | Warriors |
Sporting affiliations | NCAA Division II –PacWest |
| Website | jessup.edu |
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  Location in California | |
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Jessup University (officiallyWilliam Jessup University) is aprivate Christian university inRocklin, California, United States, with additional sites inSan Jose, California, andPortland, Oregon. The university had 1,743 (over 1650full-time equivalent) students during the 2019–20 academic year. Founded in 1939, it had a total undergraduate enrollment of 1,289 in the fall of 2020 on a 126-acre (51 ha) campus.[4]
The university was founded asSan Jose Bible College in 1939, inSan Jose by William Lee Jessup, the college's first president.Eugene Claremont Sanderson had originally started Evangel Bible University in San Jose in 1934 but was unable to make it viable. As a result, he recruited Jessup, one of his former students, to take over. By 1951, with the school expanding and theSan José State University across the street encroaching, San Jose Bible College moved to a parcel bordered byCoyote Creek, 12th Street and nearly 30 years later by I-280. Spanish-style classroom buildings and several dormitory buildings made up the small campus.
William Jessup retired in 1960 and was succeeded by Alvan L. Tiffin. Later, Woodrow Phillips, an alumnus, was president from 1968 to 1979 and Chuck Boatman was president from 1979 to 1984. Bryce Leroy Jessup, aPepperdine University alumnus and a son of the original president, was president from 1984 to 2010, when he retired. John Jackson, a former pastor at local megachurchBayside Church, was selected to be the sixth president in March 2011.
In 1989, the school was renamedSan Jose Christian College and regionally accredited byWASC in 2002. As administration was unable to find a new location in theSanta Clara Valley, they decided to move the institution to theSacramento metropolitan city ofRocklin in April 2003. The college officially moved from its San Jose campus in June 2004. At this time the college was renamedWilliam Jessup University. A branch campus has been retained in San Jose that primarily serves non-traditional and graduate students.
The current location was formerly a Herman Miller Furniture Factory and many of the buildings were designed byFrank Gehry.[5]
Since 2017, William Jessup University has formally partnered with Placer County to address land conservation issues in the county.[6] In 2022, the university and Placer County announced plans for the University to purchase a 487 acre piece of land known as the Clover Valley, with the goal of managing it as an ecological and recreational preserve.[7][8]
In 2019, the university refinanced roughly $75 million in debt as bonds through theCalifornia Municipal Finance Authority.[9] The origin of the debt is unclear, although the financing is earmarked as for the refinancing of "a portion of one or more loans used to acquire, construct, furnish and/or equip educational facilities of the Borrower’s campus." The school made little mention of the action, noting simply in one of its regular publications that "For the first time in our history, we have fixed rate long-term debt financing."[10]
In 2020, the school announced a partnership withBethel Church to createBethel Music College.[11][12][13] The school, which is accredited through Jessup, allows students to study with Bethel Music leaders and other industry experts while gaining credits that can be used toward a bachelor's degree. It is structured similarly to the university's partnership with another Bethel program known as theBethel School of Technology, which operates a "nine-month technology bootcamp."[14] Although the impact of the programs is unclear, Jessup, in a press release, noted that, in the fall of 2020, the "partnership program with Bethel brought in 150 students in the first four months of the program."[15]
However, as of 2024 it appears that Jessup and Bethel no longer maintain any partnership. Bethel Music has a different accreditation with TRACS and a search on Jessup University’s site gives no results for Bethel.[16]
The press release further argued for the university's successful navigation of the disruption caused by theCOVID-19 pandemic, stating that enrollment had grown by 6.5%, with the growth powered by an increase in online students, students in graduate programs, and students involved in the Bethel Music College program.[15] The statistics presented, however, suggest a possible drop in traditional undergraduate students that has been "filled in" by growth in other areas.
The school added a bachelor of science in nursing program in 2023, which saw its first students in classes for the Spring semester.[17]
On November 7, 2023,Multnomah University inPortland, Oregon, announced a merger with Jessup University.[18]
Jessup offers 25 undergraduate majors, 10 graduate programs, 5 degree completion programs, and 9 fully online programs. The university isaccredited by theWASC Senior College and University Commission with some programs accredited by discipline-specific accreditors.
Faculty and programs are divided into six schools:[19]
Source:[20]
The Jessup athletic teams are called the Warriors. The university is a member of theNational Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in thePacific West Conference (PacWest) since the 2024–25 academic year. The Warriors previously competed in theNational Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), first in theCalifornia Pacific Conference (Cal Pac) from 2004–05 to 2013–14 and then the Golden State Athletic Conference (now theGreat Southwest Athletic Conference; GSAC) until 2023–24. In the summer of 2023, the school announced that it had been accepted intoNCAA Division II and will compete in the PacWest starting in the fall of 2024.[22][23] The move echoed decisions by several other Christian universities in California that have left the GSAC and joined the PacWest Conference over the last decade.
Jessup competes in 16 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, tennis and track & field; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, stunt, tennis, track & field and volleyball.[24]
William Jessup has a partial exception toTitle IX which allows it to legally discriminate against LGBT students for religious reasons.[25] The university's handbook states "Students who engage in unmarried heterosexual cohabitation or any homosexual/bisexual activity will be subject to judicial action".[26]
A student and cross-country athlete claims that he was kicked out of the university in 2014 for being gay.[27] In response to the student's claims, university president John Jackson stated that "we do not discriminate against students based on their sexual orientation. However, student participation in WJU is a voluntary association governed by a biblically-based code of conduct for every student enrolled at the University."[28]
A group of students filed a lawsuit in 2021 arguing that the school should not receive federal funding while subjecting LGBT students to denial of housing and health care, expulsion, shame, loneliness, and sexual and physical harassment. The lawsuit was dismissed by federal judgeAnn Aiken.[29]
The university's current president, John Jackson, has made controversial statements online, especially about social issues.[30] In his personal blog, he stated that he has "observed at least five cultural giants of our time: historical revisionism, abortion and euthanasia, religious repression, racism and injustice, identity and family" and is "'against' these five giants".[30] He also "believe[s] that a socialist economic and political system is the greatest natural threat to religious liberty around the world." He also was one of the first religious leaders in the state of California to advocate the return to in-person religious services during theCOVID-19 pandemic, calling for the "restoration of 100% of building capacities" by July 2020.[31]
In response to LGBT policies and other controversial steps, current and previous students have shared their stories and frustrations with the university's policies and practices on the blogLiberated Jessupians.[32]
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