Kevin Enns-Rempel has been appointed permanent director of Hiebert Library. The FPU Board of Trustees made the decision at its regular meetings March 2-3.

Enns-Rempel has served as interim director since 2010. Among the initiatives the library has made during that time is implementing the Encore library discovery system, which makes it easier for library users to find both print and online resources.

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).

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.

The North Fresno Regional Center is wrapping up an exciting expansion to the facilities near Woodward Park which will add more classrooms, offices, and conference rooms. This much needed development will ensure that the center will be able to keep up with the growth that we are experiencing.

The courage of two freshman Fresno Pacific University soccer players does not surprise their coach. “They actions they took speak to who they are,” Jaime Ramirez said of Eric Velarde and Edilberto “Eddie” Cabral.

The two freshmen were running on the FPU track March 1 when Velarde saw smoke coming from a senior citizens apartment center on Willow Avenue south of campus. Both jumped the fence between FPU and the center and Velarde went to get help from a utilities employee working nearby while Cabral went to the apartment that was on fire.

Pete Menjares, Ph.D., will be the 11th president of Fresno Pacific University. The FPU Board of Trustees voted to appoint Menjares during regular board meetings March 2-3.