He offers his thanks to all staff and faculty “for your patience, flexibility, creativity and commitment to the University’s mission during an extraordinarily challenging time.”

You can read it on the Fresno Bee website or use this link and sign in with your Fresno State log in information if you can't access the Bee's site. The opinion piece is also pasted below.

Fresno State, shining brightly during the pandemic

I want to acknowledge March 20 as the one-year anniversary of the day we had to pause in-person classes and services at Fresno State because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As I reflect on this past year, I am grateful to our students, faculty, staff and community partners for showing such patience, flexibility, creativity and commitment to the University’s mission during this unprecedented time in our nation’s history.

At Fresno State, the health and safety of our campus community has been our main focus as we have worked diligently to keep the incidence of COVID-19 on our campus low, and, thankfully, we’ve had no deaths.

During this year, the strength and resilience of the Fresno State community has shined brightly, exemplifying Bold Excellence. While we celebrated when Dr. Joseph Castro became Chancellor of the California State University (CSU), we also doubled down and focused on charting our path to new levels of distinction.

Our faculty and staff have been the core of our success this past year, shifting to virtual modes with skill and care. Many faculty rose to the occasion, with more than 700 taking training in virtual delivery of instruction, for example. Faculty with children at home, like Dr. Zhanna Sahatjian, adjusted their course delivery to provide meaningful instruction in notable and creative ways. Others focused on technology, like Dr. Joseph Ross, who created time-stamped videos and recorded lectures. And still others continued their efforts to innovate our curriculum: Dr. Veena Howard connected with donors who established a Jain and Hindu Dharma Chair, the first of its kind in the United States.

Likewise, our staff have gone above and beyond. A small team in Environmental Health and Safety directs all COVID-19 safety and has been instrumental in establishing campus guidelines and protocols, coordinating with public health officials and providing training in contact-tracing. Lisa Kao, Michael Burgess, Jamie Horio, Marissa Castillo and John Hung have been an exceptional team during this time.

Fresno State has earnestly engaged with and positively impacted our community throughout this difficult year. I am proud of our collaboration with the County for COVID-19 testing analysis and a contact-tracing training program. We loaned a low-temperature freezer to Community Medical Centers for COVID-19 vaccine storage. The Fresno State Community Health Mobile Unit has provided COVID-19 testing events, and is currently involved in vaccinating rural communities.

Additionally, University faculty have been involved in important and relevant research. Fresno State’s Transportation Institute developed promising findings in a COVID-19 public transit study. The Central Valley Health Policy Institute at Fresno State developed policy recommendations to support the dental community, in providing proper hygiene protocols.

As we look ahead to the fall semester, I am hopeful that Fresno State will significantly repopulate the campus with students, faculty and staff. It’s clear that our repopulation is dependent upon the number of positive COVID-19 cases locally, the percentage of our vaccinated population and guidelines from local and state health agencies and the CSU.

Currently, our Fall 2021 Planning Task Force is meeting regularly to gather information and advise me and the Cabinet on the development of draft plans for our return to in-person instruction.

Our four Principles of Community — kindness, respect, collaboration and accountability — are our North Star during this time of upheaval and change. I know that our future is bright, and that Fresno State stands as a shining beacon of light that promotes an educated citizenry, a strong economy and a Central Valley that is proud of its unique talents and diversity.