Rain damped the grass but not the spirit at the MCC Sale April 13 and 14 on the main FPU campus. Early estimates put the amount raised ahead of last year.

Among the behind-the-scenes highlights was outgoing President Merrill Ewert's introduction of zwiebach to President-elect Pete Menjares. The traditional treat is a symbol of the underlying philosophy of the sale: Doing good can be delicious! Pictured are Ewert (center, selecting a zwiebach from one of the volunteer bakers) and to the right Pete Menjares, Pete's wife, Virginia, and Priscilla Ewert.

For the past few years, news has not been good for those entering the education profession: schools were cutting back, classes were getting bigger and teaching was becoming tougher.

Don’t always trust the street.

For the past few years, news has not been good for those entering the education profession: schools were cutting back, classes were getting bigger and teaching was becoming tougher.

Community leaders welcomed the FPU Merced Regional Center during grand opening ceremonies March 29.

Merced Mayor Stan Thurston, Merced College President Ben Duran and District 2 County Supervisor Hubert Walsh were among the speakers to about 70 visitors at the center, 3379 G Street, Building P, El Portal Plaza. All expressed appreciation to the university for bringing bachelor’s degree completion and graduate programs to Merced.

Head men’s and women’s swimming & diving coach Peter Richardson will return to his alma mater, having accepted an offer to become the head coach at the University of the Pacific in Stockton.

Richardson, who started the FPU program from scratch in 2007, turned Fresno Pacific into a perennial national power at the NAIA level. In five years as the head coach he led the men’s and women’s programs to three NAIA national championships and three national runner-up finishes as the program heads into NCAA Division II next season.

Students, faculty and staff have all come together for Godspell: A Musical Based on the Gospel According to Matthew. The show will be March 22-April 1 in Ashley Auditorium on the main campus.

Peace and justice as seen by God and humanity will be the topic of the 2012 Believers Church Lecture Series March 21-22 at FPU.

Fernando Enns is the guest speaker. A native of Brazil, Enns is director of the Center for Theology of Peace Churches at the University of Hamburg and professor of theology and ethics at the Free University of Amsterdam. Among his books are The Peace Church and the Ecumenical Community: Ecclesiology and the Ethics of Nonviolence (2008) and Seeking Cultures of Peace: A Peace Church Conversation (co-editor, 2004).

The American legal system is based on equality before the law—but does legal equality mean identical treatment? Duane Ruth-Heffelbower, J.D., M.Div., associate professor of peacemaking and conflict studies at Fresno Pacific University and director of the Center for Peacemaking and Conflict Studies, has an alternate view that is being successful in the Valley and beyond.

As he prepares to retire after 10 years as FPU President, D. Merrill Ewert can look back on many honors. But the Harold Haak Award from the Fresno Compact is particularly meaningful.

“It’s a great honor to receive this award, having known Dr. Haak and then being the person who replaced him at Fresno Pacific. He’s a man I have enormous respect for. I’m literally sitting in the chair in which he sat,” said Ewert, who often tells how Haak recruited him and called FPU a “gift to the Valley.”

New dean of the School of Business John Kilroy (right) and new professor of biblical and religious studies Ryan Shellenberg (left) joined Fresno Pacific University in January.

Kilroy, Ph.D., takes over from interim dean Richard Kriegbaum. “To be a part of the leadership team involved in advancing the academic excellence of FPU is both exciting and humbling. I am looking forward to the opportunities and challenges we at the School of Business will encounter as we continue to build a bridge between the university and the communities we serve,” Kilroy said.

Two FPU students won awards in a research poster competition at the California Weed Science Society.

Dee Ann Kroeker won first place for her poster, Development of a Method to Evaluate Mortality of Black Mustard (Brassica nigra) Seeds Exposed to Volatile Compounds from Composted Greenwaste. Kate Hernandez took third place for A Field Trial to Evaluate Deleterious Effects of Composted Municipal Greenwaste and Soil Solarization on Black Mustard Seeds.