Fresno Pacific University mourns the passing of Edmund Janzen, its fifth president who led the institution from 1975 to 1985. Janzen died peacefully at his home in Fresno on April 14, 2026. He was 88.
“Edmund’s life was one of legacy,” said Fresno Pacific University President André Stephens, Ph.D. “His 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.”
Janzen 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 today.
After seven years at Fresno Pacific, he was appointed the fifth president of the college. During his tenure, Janzen sought to reestablish the credibility and confidence in the institution’s mission within the Mennonite Brethren constituency out of which the school was founded. He also sought to make FPU a welcoming place for all. Janzen wrote a statement called “Broadening the Base,” in which he sought to move the college beyond its Mennonite roots. In Janzen’s own words, he wanted FPU to be a place that “invited people from all streams of life and faith to attend.”
Richard Kriegbaum, Ph.D., who served immediately after Janzen as the university’s sixth president, noted that this was an instrumental decision for Fresno Pacific. “If that hadn’t happened, I don’t think there’d be a Fresno Pacific today, honestly,” Kriegbaum said. “That’s legacy.”
After his presidency, Janzen returned to teaching. In his book The Window Pane, he wrote, “I 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.” To make room for the incoming president, he moved to Kansas to teach at Tabor College before being invited back to Fresno Pacific by President Kriegbaum.
Janzen not only impacted Fresno Pacific but also left a mark on the global Anabaptist movement. He served as a pastor, administrator and conference speaker within the Mennonite Brethren church. He is remembered as a man who helped bridge the worlds of academia and ministry, always pointing others toward Christ.
Janzen’s impact on the university continues in many ways, one of which being a yearly lectureship series that bears his name. The Edmund Janzen Lectureship in Biblical Studies is held every spring. It began in 2005 to honor the 35 years that Edmund Janzen served at Fresno Pacific. According to the website, “These lectures reflect the value of biblical study for the mission of the church Edmund Janzen taught his students.”
“Edmund’s love for students was evident in every aspect of his work,” Stephens said. “As a professor, he invested not only in their intellectual development but also in their spiritual formation.”
Janzen earned a bachelor’s 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.
A memorial service celebrating Janzen’s life will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, April 20 at Butler Church in Fresno.