John E. Riley Library - Nampa, ID
Posted by: 
silverquill
N 43° 33.778 W 116° 33.895
11T E 535137 N 4823426
The John E. Riley Library serves at the main library on the campus of Northwest Nazarene University, and was named in honor of Dr. John E. Riley, the longest serving president of the school.
Waymark Code: WMDZNE
Location: Idaho, United States
Date Posted: 03/14/2012
Views: 4
THE PLACE
This two-story brick building was constructed in 1966 on the site of the old gymnasium where Ivy Street ends at Holly St. on the north edge of the campus. It replaced the older library building which is now the Williams Religion Hall. It is the main campus library for
Northwest Nazarene University which was established in 1913 in Nampa, Idaho, as one of eight liberal arts universities in the United States sponsored by the Church of the Nazarene.
THE PERSON
Dr. John E. Riley was born on January 23, 1909, in Haverhill, Massachusetts. He received his education from Eastern Nazarene College, Quincy, Massachusetts and Boston University. He pastored several churches in New England before moving to Nampa, Idaho, where he was pastor of the College Church of the Nazarene from 1944-1952. Riley was then elected to the presidency of Northwest Nazarene College, the position in which he served for the next 21 years, longer than anyone has served as president. His years as president saw solid growth and expansion of the school as a premier private liberal arts college in the Pacific Northwest. The first half of his tenure was marked by rapid growth and the building of a financial base. The last half of his tenure was tested by the turbulence of the '60s with its campus upheavals and social unrest. His guiding spirit held the college on a steady course.
After his retirement from the presidency, he was a traveling missionary, preacher and teacher in many countries. He also authored a history of the college entitled, From Sagebrush to Ivy.John Eckel Riley passed away on April 17, 2001, in Nampa, at the age of 92.