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The theme will be “The Great Things God is Doing at FPU.” Participants will include Pail Binion, senior pastor of West Side Church of God, Fresno; Andrea Cook, president of Warner Pacific College, Portland, OR; Shirley Hoogstra, president of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU), Washington, D.C.; and Kim Phipps, president of Messiah College, Mechanicsburg, PA, as well as campus leaders and student music ensembles. The FPU Board of Trustees is sponsoring the inauguration.
Jones, who started as president July 1, 2107, comes to FPU from Forman Christian College (FCC) in Lahore, Pakistan, where he was vice rector (provost). In addition to being chief academic officer, his responsibilities included academic administration, marketing communications and enrollment management. Forman offers programs from kindergarten to the Ph.D. and is the third-oldest university in the country’s history, with 6,347 students.
Prior to FCC, Jones spent more than two decades at institutions in the CCCU, of which FPU is a member. An ordained, licensed minister, Jones graduated with a Ph.D. in Criminal Justice with cognates in planned change, restorative justice and administration from the University at Albany, part of the State University of New York system. His M.S. in Psychology is from Oklahoma State University and his B.A. in Psychology is from Colby College. Jones and wife Yvette have two adult daughters.
FPU serves about 4,000 traditional undergraduate, adult degree completion, graduate and seminary students at the main campus in Southeast Fresno and regional campuses in North Fresno, Visalia, Bakersfield and Merced. The university has the region’s highest four-year graduation rate, and is among the nation’s top 10 Hispanic Serving Institutions for highest Hispanic graduation rates, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education. Other honors include a top-tier rating in U.S. News & World Report among Regional Universities—West. Both U.S. News and Washington Monthly include FPU on their “Best Value” and “Best Bang for the Buck” lists.
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Fresno Pacific University is the Valley’s only accredited Christian university, connecting every student’s untapped potential with unlimited opportunity for professional, personal and ethical growth. FPU offers undergraduate, graduate and seminary programs that stress solid academic preparation and a strong ethical foundation to more than 4,000 traditional and adult students on the main campus in southeast Fresno and regional campuses in North Fresno, Visalia, Bakersfield and Merced as well as online. The university also reaches about 6,000 students through professional development studies. FPU has the highest four-year graduation rate of any Central Valley college or university, is a Hispanic Serving Institution, with a Hispanic student population of 44 percent, and is one of the top 10 HSIs nationally in graduating Hispanic students. FPU is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and ranked in the top tier among western universities—master’s category by U.S. News & World Report. Both U.S. News and Washington Monthly include FPU on their “Best Value” and “Best Bang for the Buck” lists. FPU is affiliated with the Mennonite Brethren Church, and all employees express a personal Christian commitment and support the Christian mission of the university. A description of the unique quality of FPU as an academic community can be found in the Fresno Pacific University Idea at fresno.edu/about/fpu_idea.