About Warner Pacific

Dr. Marshall K. Christensen

President from 1981 to 1996

Dr. Marshall K. Christensen became the fifth president of Warner Pacific College in 1981. Dr. Christensen was a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Heidelberg in Germany. Just a few months in to Dr. Christensen’s presidency, the Pearl Lewis Building was re-dedicated as the A.F. Gray Hall administration building. During his first fall semester as president, Dr. Christensen instituted the student welcome tradition of planting an “Oak of Righteousness” tree on campus. Warner Pacific College was accepted as a member of the Christian College Consortium in 1981. The men’s residence hall was remodeled and renamed Warman Hall (1986). Also in 1986, students initiated “Bethlehem Inn” which operated as a completely student-managed, temporary shelter for Portland’s homeless families. The Bethlehem Inn program earned WPC an “Institutional Award” from the Church of God’s Commission on Social Concerns in 1989. In 1988, WPC entered an agreement with Amvic, a Japanese educational enterprise (later known as GEOS), to develop an Asian Cultural Center. In 1992, H.A. Schlatter Memorial Prayer Chapel was completed near the location of the original “Old Main” building. In 1993, Warner Pacific University ended its intercollegiate athletics program. After serving three, five year terms as president, Dr. Christensen announced that he would retire from Warner Pacific College.

After retiring from Warner Pacific College, Dr. Christensen accepted the position of Provost of East Kazakhstan State University in Oskemen, Kazakhstan. He has also served as president of Co-Serve International (a non-profit organization dedicated to forming cultures of servant leadership at places of learning around the world), and as a professor of history at Kazakh-American Free University (KAFU) in Oskemen, Kazakhstan.

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