Patten University is an online college in

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

. Its parent organization, Patten Educational Foundation, was founded in 1944 by Bebe Patten as a

bible college A Bible college, sometimes referred to as a Bible institute or theological institute or theological seminary, is an evangelical Christian or Restoration Movement Christianity, Christian institution of higher education which prepares students for C ...

, and went through several stages in its history, variously under the names Oakland Bible Institute, Patten Bible Institute, Patten College, then Patten University. It is accredited by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission.

History

Founded in 1944 as the Oakland Bible Institute by Bebe Patten, Patten University emphasized faith-based teaching and created programs for students with broad academic and career interests. The name Oakland Bible Institute was often applied to all of the Patten religious enterprises, including the Patten College and Seminary. In December 2012, Patten began the transition from a non-profit, sectarian institution to a for-profit, secular institution under the umbrella of the parent company UniversityNow. In 2018 the online learning platform used by Patten University was acquired by the secular nonprofit National University System. Patten University has a partnership with the

Defense Acquisition University The Defense Acquisition University (DAU) is a corporate university of the United States Department of Defense offering "acquisition, technology, and logistics" (AT&L) training to military and Federal civilian staff and Federal contractors. DAU ...

(DAU).

Athletics

The Patten athletic teams were called the Lions. The university was a member of the

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for higher education, colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic schola ...

(NAIA), primarily competing as an NAIA Independent within the Association of Independent Institutions (AII) from 2005–06 to 2011–12; and formerly in the California Pacific Conference (Cal Pac) from 1996–97 to 2004–05. Patten competed in two intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports included baseball; while women's sports included softball. The school discontinued its athletic program after the 2011–12 academic year.

Notable alumni

* Wade Harper, first African-American mayor of

Antioch, California Antioch is the third-most populous city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city is located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area along the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta. The city's population was 115,29 ...

References

External links

Official website

Official athletics website
{{authority control Education in Oakland, California Universities and colleges in Alameda County, California Universities and colleges established in 1944 Pentecostalism in California 1944 establishments in California Private universities and colleges in California