Fresno Pacific University (FPU) is a
private
Private or privates may refer to:
Music
* " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation''
* Private (band), a Denmark-based band
* "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...
Christian university in
Fresno, California
Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...
.
[ It was founded as the Pacific Bible Institute in 1944 by the Pacific District Conference of ]Mennonite Brethren Church
The Mennonite Brethren Church is an evangelical Mennonite Anabaptist movement with congregations.
History
The conference was established among Plautdietsch-speaking Russian Mennonites in 1860. During the 1850s, some Mennonites were influenc ...
es. The university awarded its first Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...
degree in 1965. The first master's degree program was introduced in 1975.
History
At the time of its founding, Pacific Bible Institute was located in a large home at 1095 N. Van Ness Ave. There were five staff members and twenty-eight students. By the time the first school year was finished, a former YWCA
The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries.
The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...
building at the corner of Tuolumne and L streets (originally designed by Julia Morgan
Julia Morgan (January 20, 1872 – February 2, 1957) was an American architect and engineer. She designed more than 700 buildings in California during a long and prolific career.Erica Reder"Julia Morgan was a local in ''The New Fillmore'', 1 Febr ...
) had been purchased, and the next school year began in this building.
By 1958, land was purchased for the construction of the current campus near the corner of Butler and Chestnut, along with the Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary and the new Butler Avenue Mennonite Brethren Church. Construction began on a new classroom building that year, and two dormitory buildings one year later. The classroom building was ready for use in the fall of 1959, but the dorm buildings were not completed until 1961 because of financial difficulties.
The Bible Institute became an accredited junior college in 1961, and decided to develop a four-year program two years later, in 1963. In 1964, Pacific Bible Institute changed its name to Pacific College, and became accredited with the WASC the next year. By 1967, the decision was made to add graduate courses, and the accreditation for the first master of arts program was received from WASC in 1975. The college changed its name to Fresno Pacific College in 1976 and to Fresno Pacific University in 1997.
In 2010 the Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary became a part of the university, and changed its name to Fresno Pacific University Biblical Seminary
Fresno Pacific University Biblical Seminary, formerly the Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary, is the denominational seminary of the United States Mennonite Brethren Churches. It was founded in 1955 in Fresno, California. The campus is located on ...
.
The university was granted an exception to Title IX
Title IX is the most commonly used name for the federal civil rights law in the United States that was enacted as part (Title IX) of the Education Amendments of 1972. It prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or any other educat ...
in 2015 which allows it to legally discriminate against LGBT
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term ...
students. Same-sex sexual activity by students is considered grounds for removal from campus. The school considers gay marriage
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...
to be anti-Christian.
Chief executives
*1944–1946 Sam W. Goossen – Acting President/Dean
*1946–1947 George B. Huebert – Administrator
*1947–1953 George W. Peters – President/Dean
*1953–1954 Rueben M. Baerg – Acting President
*1954–1955 Rueben M. Baerg – Acting President, one-half year; Administrative Committee last half of year, Dr. George W. Peters, Chmn.
*1955–1960 B.J. Braun – President
*1960–1961 Arthur J. Wiebe – Director of Pacific Bible Institute; Mr. Joel A. Wiebe – Interim Director
*1961–1975 Arthur J. Wiebe – President
*1975–1976 Edmund Janzen, Chairman, Presidential Council
*1976–1982 Edmund Janzen – President
*1982–1983 Silas Bartsch – Interim President; Edmund Janzen on leave
*1983–1985 Edmund Janzen – President
*1985–1997 Richard Kriegbaum – President
*1997–2000 Allen Carden – President
*2000–2002 Harold Haak – President
*2002–2012 D. Merrill Ewert – President
*2012–2014 Pete Menjares – President
*2014–2017 Richard Kriegbaum — President
*2017–2022 Joseph Jones — President
*2022−present André Stephens – President
Academics
Fresno Pacific offers bachelor's degrees in more than 40 fields with over 100 areas of study. It also offers advanced degrees or credentials in four areas: Education
Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...
, Individualized Master of Arts
A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...
, MBA, Leadership & Organizational Studies and Peacemaking & Conflict Studies. The university is organized into five schools: The School of Business; the School of Education; the School of Humanities, Religion and Social Sciences; the School of Natural Sciences; and the School of Biblical Seminary. In the most recent U.S. News & World Report college rankings, Fresno Pacific's peer assessment score tied it for 18th in the Western United States in the Universities-Master's category. Fresno Pacific is accredited through the WASC Senior College and University Commission
The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) was an organization providing accreditation of public and private universities, colleges, secondary and elementary schools in California and Hawaii, the territories of Guam, American Sam ...
.
Graduation guarantee
In February 2009 Fresno Pacific University began offering a "Four Year Graduation Guarantee." FPU already has the highest four-year graduation rate in the Central Valley, with 60 percent of traditional undergraduate students already graduating in four years, compared to 12–15 percent in the CSU system.
The university will guarantee graduation within four years to qualified students entering the traditional undergraduate program. The guarantee is limited to basic graduation requirements for a single major with no minor. Transfer, degree completion and graduate students are not part of the guarantee.
Student responsibilities include:
*Sign up for the guarantee during the freshman year, choose a major by the second semester of the freshman year and keep that major until graduation.
*Make course plans with their adviser, follow those plans and meet all advising, registration and financial aid deadlines.
*Complete at least 32 units per year with passing grades in each course and remain in good standing behaviorally.
Campuses
Fresno Pacific University's main 50-acre campus is located in the south east area of Fresno, hub of the Central Valley region of California and the fifth largest city in the state.
The university also maintains four regional campuses in Central California:
* Merced Regional Campus
* North Fresno Regional Campus
* Visalia Regional Campus
* Bakersfield Regional Campus
Buildings
Athletics
The Fresno Pacific athletic teams are called the Sunbirds. The university is a member of the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...
(NCAA), primarily competing in the Pacific West Conference
The Pacific West Conference (also known as the PacWest) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Member institutions are located in California and Hawaii.
T ...
(PacWest) for most of its sports since the 2012–13 academic year. while its men's and women's water polo teams compete in the Western Water Polo Association
The Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) is a single sport intercollegiate college athletic conference sponsoring men's and women's water polo. The WWPA is affiliated with the NCAA, and includes 15 member institutions, mostly in California, w ...
(WWPA). The Sunbirds previously competed in the Golden State Athletic Conference
The Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The conference commissioner is Mike Daniels. Conference leadership is shared among the membe ...
(GSAC) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to its st ...
(NAIA) from 1986–87 to 2011–12.
Fresno Pacific competes in 17 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, soccer, swimming, tennis, track & field and water polo; while women's sports include basketball, cheerleading, cross country, soccer, swimming, tennis, track & field, volleyball and water polo.
Mascot
The athletics mascot is Sunny the Sunbird. Sunny is a much loved figure in the campus community.
Traditions
* The ''Wittenberg Door'', a board located in the atrium of Steinert Campus Center, near the entrance to the dining room, is a place for the exchange of ideas. People are free to post expressions of their views, but are asked to write pieces in a charitable spirit and to include the writer's name. It was built in approximately 1983 and the original version was located in Alumni Hall when it still served as the campus cafeteria. A new board was built in 2004 and the old one was dismantled. The Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary has a board with the same name and purpose outside the B.C. Lounge.
* The Mennonite Central Committee
Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) is a relief service, and peace agency representing fifteen Mennonite, Brethren in Christ and Amish bodies in North America. The U.S. headquarters are in Akron, Pennsylvania, the Canadian in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
...
holds its annual West Coast Relief Sale and Auction on the campus during the first weekend in April, at approximately 4:00 p.m.9:00 p.m. Friday and 7:00 a.m.3:00 p.m. Saturday. Ethnic foods, used books, antiques, plants, world crafts and quilts are all sold on campus in various booths and auction events.
* University Family Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden ...
Meal
* Winter Formal
Notable alumni
* Ron Adams Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald.
Ron or RON may also refer to:
Arts and media
* Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character
* Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character
*Ron Douglas, the protagonist in ''Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe ...
, 3-time NBA champion assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors
* Pablo Campos
Pablo is a Spanish form of the name Paul.
People
* Pablo Alborán, Spanish singer
*Pablo Aimar, Argentine footballer
*Pablo Armero, Colombian footballer
* Pablo Bartholomew, Indian photojournalist
*Pablo Brandán, Argentine footballer
* Pablo Bren ...
, professional soccer player and MLS
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...
champion with Real Salt Lake
Real Salt Lake, often shortened to RSL, is an American professional soccer franchise based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes as a member club of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Western Conference. RSL began play in 2 ...
* Malcolm Griffin, professional basketball player
* Dan Quisenberry
Daniel Raymond "Quiz" Quisenberry (; February 7, 1953 – September 30, 1998) was an American right-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played primarily for the Kansas City Royals. Notable for his submarine-style pitching delivery ...
, former Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
all-star pitcher for the Kansas City Royals
* Chris Schwinden, former Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
pitcher for the New York Mets
The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...
* Joshua Urbiztondo professional basketball player ( PBA)
* Joey Wells, head women's basketball coach at Indiana State University
Indiana State University (ISU) is a public university in Terre Haute, Indiana. It was founded in 1865 and offers over 100 undergraduate majors and more than 75 graduate and professional programs. Indiana State is classified among "D/PU: Doctor ...
References
Further reading
* Toews, Paul, ed. ''Mennonite Idealism and Higher Education: The Story of the Fresno Pacific College Idea''. Fresno, Calif.: The Center for Mennonite Brethren Studies, 1995. .
* Wiebe, Joel. ''Remembering...Reaching: A Vision of Service, a Fifty Year History of Fresno Pacific College''. Fresno, Calif.: Fresno Pacific College, 1994. .
External links
Official website
Official athletics website
{{authority control
Education in Fresno, California
Private universities and colleges in California
Universities and colleges in Fresno County, California
Universities and colleges affiliated with the Mennonite Church
Schools accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges
Educational institutions established in 1944
1944 establishments in California
Council for Christian Colleges and Universities
Mennonite schools in the United States