Dr. Randy Perry, professor in the Department of Animal Sciences and Agricultural Education, retired June 16 after 33 years of service to the university.

The former department chair has overseen the campus beef unit where students work with a variety of breeds including Charolais, Angus and Hereford. His area of expertise and primary teaching responsibilities include beef cattle production and management, farm animal reproduction and artificial insemination. He has also conducted research in the areas of nutritional, genetic and reproductive management of beef cattle.

His experience has also been tapped as a special assistant to the dean, chair of the Jordan College personnel committee, campus undergraduate academic program review subcommittee and learning assessment team member.

The Red Wave Junior Livestock Show, which he helped start with former faculty member John Cordeiro, celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2023 as students from across the state showed nearly 500 beef cattle, goats, pigs and sheep. The college’s biggest off-campus annual event of the year is coordinated by over 100 Fresno State students, faculty and staff at the Big Fresno Fair, and is a key livestock judging educational experience and Fresno State student recruitment tool.

Perry came to Fresno State in 1990 after earning his bachelor's degree from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and his master's and doctorate degrees from Kansas State University.

Perry grew up in Newman, near Turlock, and graduated from Orestimba High School. He helped with his family’s cattle operation and also was a FFA member, which sparked the foundation for a life of interacting with students and livestock.

He will move this summer to Mulhall, Oklahoma to be with his wife and former faculty member, Susan Henderson Perry, and closer to their children (Austin, Macy and Colby) who either graduated from or still attend nearby Oklahoma State University in Stillwater.

Click here for an interview sharing more about his background and memories of our university agricultural programs.