Paul Forté, Jr., deputy discrimination, harassment, and retaliation administrator, Human Resources, was recently honored with a Central Valley Trailblazer Award from Fresno's African American Historical and Cultural Museum. Born in San Francisco, Forté is a Vietnam veteran with over 25 years in higher education.

Dr. Peter Robertson, director, Alumni Relations and Annual Giving, recently shared his doctoral dissertation research and findings at the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE): Districts VII & VIII Conference. The title of the presentation was "Contemporary Philanthropy: LGBTQ+ Allyship Affiliations and Donor Motivations."

Dr. Veena Howard, professor and chair, Department of Philosophy, is giving a keynote lecture at the newly endowed James Lawson Institute's inaugural symposium at Vanderbilt University. The topic of the lecture is "Why are We Afraid of Non-Violence?"

Shawna Blair, coordinator of major events and staff development, Student Involvement and Student Unions, is District 4's Woman of the Year. She was honored by Fresno City Councilmember Tyler Maxwell.

Blair was one of eight women honored by the City of Fresno as part of Women’s History Month. The women were recognized as trailblazers in the community with a reception at Fresno City Hall.

The Special Collections Research Center hosted the “Unseen Labor Panel Discussion” on February 21. The presenting librarians were: Ann Kardos (University of Massachusetts Amherst), Bobby Bothmann (Minnesota State University, Mankato), Tina Marie Maes (Madison Public Library), and Julie Renee Moore (California State University, Fresno.)

Over 396 people attended the hybrid webinar for a lively program and discussion. The panel discussion recording is available as is the slides from the program.

Many thanks to Lars Newlander and Classroom Video Services, Adam Wallace, and Suzanne Lopez for setting up and overseeing the technical aspects of the webinar. Suzanne also moderated the online discussion.