{"id":278776,"date":"2026-04-21T17:04:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T17:04:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/278776\/"},"modified":"2026-04-21T17:04:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T17:04:08","slug":"fpu-president-opened-doors-wider","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/278776\/","title":{"rendered":"FPU president opened doors wider"},"content":{"rendered":"

Edmund Janzen, 88, president of Fresno Pacific University from 1975 to 1985 during a teaching career that included a stint at Tabor College and other church leadership roles, died April 14 at his home in Fresno, Calif.\n<\/p>\n

Janzen sought to reestablish the credibility and confidence in the institution\u2019s mission within the Mennonite Brethren constituency out of which the school was founded. He also sought to make FPU a welcoming place for all.\n<\/p>\n

He wrote a statement called \u201cBroadening the Base,\u201d in which he sought to move the college beyond its Mennonite roots. In Janzen\u2019s words, he wanted FPU to be a place that \u201cinvited people from all streams of life and faith to attend.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Richard Kriegbaum, who served as president immediately after Janzen, noted that this was an instrumental decision for Fresno Pacific. \u201cIf that hadn\u2019t happened, I don\u2019t think there\u2019d be a Fresno Pacific today, honestly,\u201d Kriegbaum said. \u201cThat\u2019s legacy.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Janzen earned a bachelor\u2019s degree in English from McMaster University, a bachelor of theology at Mennonite Brethren Bible College, a bachelor of divinity at Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary and a master of theology in missions and urbanology at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary. In 2025, Janzen was awarded an honorary doctorate by Fresno Pacific University.\n<\/p>\n

He was initially hired at then-Fresno Pacific College in 1968, serving as a faculty member in the biblical and religious studies division and as campus pastor. During this time, he was instrumental in creating a core FPU class called Jesus and the Christian Community. The course is still a cornerstone of the undergraduate experience.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

After seven years at Fresno Pacific, he was appointed president.\n<\/p>\n

Janzen returned to teaching after his presidency. He wrote in his book The Window Pane: \u201cI was free to return to the delights of the classroom at last. . . . Over my more than 35 years at Fresno Pacific, what I enjoyed most was the teaching.\u201d
\n\"EdmundEdmund Janzen congratulates Harriet Huggins at Fresno Pacific College\u2019s 1985 commencement ceremony. \u2014 Fresno Pacific University\n<\/p>\n

To make room for the incoming president, Janzen moved to Hillsboro, Kan., to teach at Tabor College before being invited back to Fresno Pacific by Kriegbaum.\n<\/p>\n

Janzen not only impacted Fresno \u00adPacific but also left a mark on the \u00adglobal Anabaptist movement. He served as a pastor, administrator and conference speaker within the MB church. He is remembered as a man who helped bridge the worlds of academia and ministry, always pointing others toward Christ.\n<\/p>\n

Janzen\u2019s impact on FPU continues in the annual Edmund Janzen Lectureship in Biblical Studies, which began in 2005 to honor the 35 years he served at Fresno Pacific.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cEdmund\u2019s life was one of legacy,\u201d said FPU President Andr\u00e9 Stephens. \u201cHis life was marked by a deep and abiding faith in Christ and a genuine kindness that he extended so generously to me and to so many others.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

A memorial service was held April 20 at Butler Church in Fresno.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Edmund Janzen, 88, president of Fresno Pacific University from 1975 to 1985 during a teaching career that included…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":278777,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[112,114,113],"class_list":["post-278776","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fresno","tag-fresno","tag-fresno-headlines","tag-fresno-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278776","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=278776"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278776\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/278777"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=278776"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=278776"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=278776"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}