Spring matures into summer, and summer brings the promise of heat that ripens our crops. And just as cyclically as the change of seasons, we celebrate such new beginnings with Commencement. A student graduates with new perspectives, new friendships forged over exams and football games, or a vision born from appreciating the value of camaraderie in difficult times. To achieve this sacred ritual, we pulled together to organize a unique ceremony, all for the sake of providing a personal experience for our students, their family and friends and our community. Faculty are proud of seeing the growth of our students and their accomplishments, coaches see their student-athletes graduate and take the lessons of the court and field into society, and staff feel satisfied in witnessing how they’ve played a critical part in furthering the greater good in our community. And Fresno State is ever so essential to the life of our Valley, with over 6,000 graduates who will improve the quality of life for everyone in our communities. Deep thanks to the Division of Student Affairs, for organizing this year’s Commencement ceremonies. And my sincere gratitude goes to our students, faculty and staff, for keeping true to the mission of Fresno State so that our community may thrive: To empower every student for success.

Academic Affairs

Our campus community is celebrating the remarkable accomplishments of our students as we conclude an extraordinarily challenging year. An example is the College of Arts and Humanities’ Arts in Motion, a week-long showcase of artistic expression and humanistic discipline. In a virtual format this year, it culminated in a celebration of scholarship recipients, students of distinction and Dean’s Medalists. View more: Arts in Motion Showcase, Arts in Motion Student Recognition, entire program below.

Administration and Finance

CSUBUY Marketplace, a new purchasing tool, is a collaborative Procure to Pay one-stop marketplace utilizing contract pricing with a number of vendors and generating revenue for the campus through rebates and increased use of ProCards. All orders, except ProCard excluded items, for the vendors are required to be ordered through CSUBUY on a ProCard, effective May 1. For more information and training opportunities click here or contact Brian Cotham bcotham@csufresno.edu.

Athletics

With the recent public health progress and positive trends in our community, we are excited that we’ve been able to host fans at our events once again. We’d love for all of you to come to our events and support your Bulldog student-athletes. Limited tickets to the remaining spring home games are available and season tickets for football this coming fall are on sale now. Click here to purchase.

Student Affairs and Enrollment Management

Undergraduate research and work opportunities in a student’s discipline have long stood as high impact practices in higher education. These two valued practices are often intertwined in Supplemental Instruction. SI Leaders, who are students, support their peers enrolled in historically difficult courses while conducting research alongside SI faculty members. Dr. Earvin Balderama (statistics), observed: “Their [students’] enthusiasm and desire to succeed in their classes, despite the challenges they face, give validation that the work we do is indeed valuable.”

Technology Services

In June of 2019 we began a project to migrate services into the Amazon cloud, which relieves the burden of installing, maintaining and upgrading outdated campus physical infrastructure. Cloud computing increases efficiency; services are deployed in a matter of minutes versus weeks or months. We have a group of amazing and dedicated employees who meet three mornings a week and have pivoted from in-person to Zoom collaboration without missing a beat!

University Advancement

University Advancement launched a second brand campaign that highlights the bold excellence of Fresno State faculty and students and extends the impact of our stories. Watch for print ads in The Fresno Bee, web digital ads and local and national TV commercials that feature Dr. Aly Tawfik of the Lyles College of Engineering (civil and geomatics engineering) and Dr. Kathleen Rindahl (nursing) of the College of Health and Human Services.