A season of gratitude: Peggi Kriegbaum reflects on 33 years at FPU

Peggi Kriegbaum was raised in a Mennonite Brethren home on a farm in Dinuba, shaped by faith, family and hard work. After graduating from Immanuel High School, she attended (then) Pacific College, Reedley College and Tabor College before earning a B.S. in Business Administration from Fresno State.

While in college, Kriegbaum began working at Guarantee Savings, becoming assistant vice president of ATM operations. “I had the privilege of installing the first ATMs in Central California,” she said.

After travel to Southern California became part of Kriegbaum’s role, Guarantee Savings conflicted with her responsibilities as a newly single mother. In early 1992, a church bulletin job posting from Fresno Pacific caught Kriegbaum’s attention, and she began as director of operations in the Professional Development Division that July. She spent 33 years in the department, now the Office of Continuing Education (CE), the last decade as executive director. 

“Truly, I can say I’ve never had a boring day at work,” she said.

CE has served up to 14,000 students annually with university credit and Continuing Education Units in various professions. Its portfolio has included courses for everyone from incarcerated youth to graduate-level work for educators.

Serving non-degree students within a degree-focused university can feel like swimming upstream, Kriegbaum admits, but her team has embraced the opportunity. “From the early days of correspondence courses and phone-in registrations to today’s fully automated, 24/7 online systems, we’ve adapted continuously,” she said.

Looking forward, Kriegbaum’s plans are delightfully simple: unhurried time with loved ones. Eight years old when mom joined FPU, today, Kriegbaum’s daughter and her husband—both FPU alumni—are raising three children. “I am a joyful ‘uber-grandma,’” Kriegbaum said. Marrying former FPU President Rich Kriegbaum, Ph.D., in 2001 created a blended family that includes his son, a daughter in heaven, four grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

Coming to FPU was God-ordained. 

“What began as a job became a ministry, a calling and one of my greatest blessings. 

I treasure the friendships formed, the opportunity to serve alongside Rich during his second presidency and the joy of working with dedicated, mission-driven colleagues. We are forever Sunbird supporters and fervent prayer warriors!”