Dear Campus Community,

As December is here, I’d like to briefly recap the main initiatives I’ve undertaken recently, in order to further our Fresno State mission.

I’ve met with several community groups, and have many meetings scheduled for the upcoming year. This semester, I’ve focused primarily on visiting farmers. It has been an eye-opening experience. The farm of today is certainly not the farm of 1980! Nonetheless, some things remain the same: Hard work, dedication, and a love for the land produces bountiful harvests.

I’m also very proud of Fresno State’s Seal of Excelencia. This is a recognition that is shared by all — faculty and staff who put their best efforts into making our university a place where our students can thrive.

Due to our fundamental collaboration with the DRIVE initiative, we are now in partnership with the Central Valley Community Foundation and UC Merced in the Fresno-Merced Future of Food initiative (F3). With $30 million appropriated in the State budget (through SB 170), Fresno State is poised to implement its first phase in this visionary program that will forge the future of farming in the region.

Lastly, as we conclude this year, I want to thank everyone for your collective efforts — to keep us safe, focused and advancing in furthering the success of our students.

Happy Holidays and/or Merry Christmas to all!

Saúl

Division updates for December

Academic Affairs
An end-of-semester tradition in recent years is the High Impact Practice [HIP] Symposium on Dec. 9 and 10, where students share their experiences with hands-on, active learning projects. Many of these involve the application of academic content to real-world community issues. Led by Dr. Beth Weinman, Dr. Annabella Espana-Najera and Marie Tongson-Fernandez, and supported by units from across Academic Affairs, this year’s event will include both in person and online components.

Student Affairs and Enrollment Management
The Amendola Family Student Cupboard offers free food, hygiene items and diapers to currently enrolled students. It is located in the Grosse Industrial Technology Building Room 144. This holiday season the Student Cupboard provides extra items such as holiday meal boxes and hams. If you know any student in need, please refer them to the Amendola Family Student Cupboard.

Learning Center’s Supplemental Instruction [SI] program has created an innovative and impactful solution to increase student access and utilization of its services by providing students with the option of enrolling in a zero-unit SI session during the time of registration. By improving student awareness of this course-specific resource and reducing time conflict, our campus community can significantly improve student academic performance, student retention and course completion rates.