Congratulations to Molly Smith, a lecturer in the Department of Construction Management, for receiving the Outstanding Junior Faculty Award at this year's National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) 2020 International Builders’ Show. This award recognizes educators for their dedication to their community, industry and NAHB. Visit the Lyles College of Engineering blog to read more.

Assistant professor Juliet Wahleithner, department of Literacy, Early, Bilingual and Special Education, received the 2020 Classroom Excellence Award — College Level by the California Association of Teachers of English (CATE) on Friday, Feb. 21 at the 2020 CATE Conference in Los Angeles.

The Fresno Rainbow Pride Parade has selected deans Del Hornbuckle and Michelle DenBeste as grand marshals. They will be publicly recognized at the Grand Marshall Ball at 5 p.m Saturday, March 14, at Bitwise Industries. Go here for tickets. Visit this site for more information.

Del is the fourth dean of library services at the Henry Madden Library and is a member of the American Library Association’s Rainbow Round Table (RRT) and Fresno State's LGBT+ Allies Network. Hornbuckle has advocated for culturally responsive library collections and services that represent BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ communities. She is leading the library’s Special Collections in creating a Rainbow Archives for the Central Valley at Fresno State and working closely with Qistory and Community Link in this effort. Hornbuckle is a global traveler, a fur mom, and loves spending time with her rescue wild bunch and her wife, Tonya.

DenBeste is dean of the College of Social Sciences at California State University, Fresno. Both an avid cyclist and an active supporter of the LGBTQ+ community in Fresno and beyond, DenBeste has participated in the AIDS/LifeCycleride for the past two summers, raising $20,000 for AIDS research and education. When not travelling or researching far flung communities, DenBeste enjoys sharing champagne and home improvement projects with her wife, Melissa, and spoiling their two dachshunds and brand new kitten.

Donna DeRoo, director of the Central California Center for Health and Human Services, was recognized at the Fresno Community Health Improvement Partnership (FCHIP) State of our Health breakfast on Feb. 7. As one of the founding members of the organization, she was honored for her dedicated five-year service and for her role as chair last year. FCHIP is comprised of over 400 individuals in the sectors of health, education, business, government and community-based organization. Its goal is to address health outcomes and inequities in Fresno County using a multi-sectored approach.

Robert Pagesmith has officially stepped into the role of coordinator for the College of Health and Human Services' Advising and Career Development Center. He has served in this capacity for the past 10 months, as interim coordinator and was an academic counselor with the CHHS advising center since 2015.

Nicole Smith, assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology, presented on the use of walking trails and outdoor exercise equipment: case study using iSOPARC on a university campus at the Active Living Conference in Orlando, Florida. The study was completed by Smittcamp Honors College student Audrey Ang and four other graduate students who participated in data collection.

The Central Valley Health Policy Institute was one of the local arms of research and community engagement selected to participate in DRIVE (Developing the Region’s Inclusive and Vibrant Economy) - a 10-year investment portfolio to fuel equitable economic development in Fresno County. This research will be presented directly to Gov. Gavin Newsom and his staff, who has since committed $10 million for one of the initiatives.