President Pete Menjares brought a message of hope in his first President’s Convocation.

“This university has gone through significant changes in the past five to seven years,” Menjares told a full house of students, faculty and staff August 29 in the Special Events Center on the main campus. The name of his presentation, and the theme for the academic year, is “Abounding in Hope in Times of Change.”

 Turbulent times, be they starting college or leading a generation, call for courage. 

Fortunately, the Bible has a verse for that, and the words for the 2011-2012 academic year at Fresno Pacific University come from Joshua 1:9: “Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Students from Fresno Pacific University are part of transforming the world.

That was the message from FPU President D. Merrill Ewert at the university’s opening convocation August 31. Students, faculty and staff gathered for the annual event, which marks the end of the first week of classes.