The Biola community is cordially invited to attend the installation ceremony of Dr. David Nystrom as provost of Biola University on Friday, Nov. 5, at 9:30 a.m. in Chase Gymnasium. The ceremony will mark the formal welcome of Nystrom, who assumed the role of provost and senior vice president in August, following an extensive nationwide search.

Before coming to Biola, Nystrom served as vice president for academic affairs at William Jessup University in Rocklin, Calif., where he served since 2005.

Nystrom completed his undergraduate and doctoral work at the University of California Davis, and received his M.Div. from Fuller Theological Seminary, where he also taught.  After that, he spent 12 years in Chicago at North Park University and North Park Theological Seminary, teaching and serving as chair of biblical and theological studies, as well as director of the Institute for Christian Studies. 

During his time in Chicago, Nystrom and his family­—his wife of 27 years, Kristina, and 11-year-old daughter, Annika—lived in one of the most diverse ZIP codes in the nation; the elementary schools alone have more than 60 native first languages. This experience, coupled with the six months he spent living and teaching in Sweden and the years he served as an adjunct at a Hispanic seminary in Los Angeles, has given Nystrom a deep understanding of diversity and an understanding of global contexts that will be invaluable to his service at Biola.

Nystrom’s academic background includes expertise in Roman history and the history of Christianity. Recently, he was interviewed on “The Life of Grace” radio program on WLQV AM 1500 to discuss the book of James, about which he is a noted expert; he authored The NIV Application Commentary: James in 1997.

The installation ceremony will be available for viewing via live simulcast from the Biola website.