We hope you enjoy this series where we meet and get to know employees from across campus. Would you like to be featured? Contact us at campusnews@csufresno.edu.

Name: Scott Fetterhoff
Title: Human Resources Manager for Labor & Employee Relations
Department: Human Resources
Academic Degree(s):

• A.A. Speech Communication, College of the Sequoias
• B.A. Communication Studies, San Jose State
• M.A. Communication, Fresno State

How long have you worked at Fresno State?
I started here in the Human Resources Department in May 2023. As a graduate student, I also worked as a Teaching Associate in the Department of Communication in 2003/2004.

Are you a Valley native?
Yes. I grew up in Lemoore, and have lived and worked all over California and much of the country. But I have kept tabs on opportunities at Fresno State for a very long time, and this role was the perfect opportunity at the perfect time.

Are you part of a Bulldog family with generations of Bulldog graduates or current students?
Yes, I grew up in a house full of alumni (both parents and my sister).

Do you have a campus mentor or someone who has helped you in your career?
Dr. Scott Moore, current dean of Continuing and Global Education, was a professor and graduate coordinator when I came here to pursue my master’s. Over the years, I have also gotten to serve with Dr. Moore on the United Way of Fresno and Madera Counties Board of Directors. I have considered Dr. Moore a colleague, friend and mentor for 20 plus years.

Tell us about your department and what people may not know about it.
I appreciate this question. Human Resources is a line of work that is unique unto itself. And one that, because it is not always an out-in-the-open, front-page-of-the-newspaper business function, and as a colleague shared with me recently, can be perceived by some as mysterious.

Some of the privileges in this work include, being able to work with and support other people across the campus, the vast majority of whom care deeply and are passionate about the services they provide in their work. Another is being able to support others when they are at their best and/or when they may be at their worst, and at any point in between that you can imagine, and many points that none of us can imagine.

A weighty reality in this work is that we witness a lot in those interactions that other departments may not have the opportunity to in the normal daily course of their own work. What that produces, which people may not know, are skilled practitioners who possess an uncommon compassion and empathy for others and for the experiences they are living and trying to work through. And knowing that all of us in HR understand and bear this weight together, helps to keep that weight all the lighter and in proper perspective for us – so that we can better support others in the ways they need us to, all in the interest of ultimately driving student success.

What is your most notable accomplishment in your field, and why was it important?
The first time in my career that I had the opportunity to build and develop a team and see them succeed beyond my expectations, was an unforgettable shared accomplishment.

What are you most passionate about in your field and why?
Doing this work with a service-to and support-for-others orientation. An orientation that enables us to think creatively about ways we can get something done, rather than lament the obstacles to why something cannot or should not be done.

What is a memorable moment you had at your job?
I was lucky to be raised in a home full of dedicated public educators. My sister and I were raised to be patient, tolerant and compassionate. We were also raised to accept people for who they are rather than criticize them for what they are not – and to not see things like race, ethnicity or color as relevant in understanding and accepting others.

While that principle could not have possibly come from a better place, it was also incomplete. Characteristics like race, ethnicity and color are undeniably important contributing factors to our identities and to who and what we all have become in our lives. My time in public sector employment started in 2015 and since then, this truth has been real and consequential in all of my work – professional and volunteer alike.

What is a memorable moment you had in class?
During a college anthropology class I witnessed a heated 15-plus-minute debate in the middle of class, between the instructor and a student about the existence of God. It was the kind of “meta” moment during a college class, that represents the myriad of constantly available learning opportunities in the world of higher education.

What is your favorite quote or saying?
“At the end of the day… remember that there are always people at the end of all your decisions.” – Dr. Manny Nunez, Assistant Superintendent, Human Resources, Monterey Peninsula Unified School District.

What do you like to do for fun in your spare time?
Watching movies, playing video games and cooking with my 12 year old son. Cooking is my only real creative outlet. I can’t draw, can’t sing, can’t write poetry, but I can braise a good chicken.