Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Xuanning Fu announced on Sept. 8 that Dr. Jim Schmidtke was appointed interim associate vice president for Faculty Affairs, effective immediately.

Schmidtke (Ph.D., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) is a professor of management in the Craig School of Business and has served as the department chairperson for the past six years. In addition, he has served on many college and university committees, including currently chairing the University Budget Committee. His research focuses on sexual harassment, workplace discrimination, organizational deviance, diversity and virtual teams. He has published in a variety of high-ranking journals in human resources, management, and psychology, and has served as an expert witness in multiple court cases involving human resource-related topics.

Dr. Joy Goto, has been appointed interim dean of Research and Graduate Studies, effective Jan. 3, 2022. Goto has served the campus community since 2007. She recently completed a five-year term as chair of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and has also served as the departmental graduate coordinator. She earned a B.S. in chemistry from UC Davis and her Ph.D. in chemistry from UCLA. She was a John Douglas French Foundation postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School and a Beckman Institute Research Fellow at the City of Hope prior to joining our campus. Born and raised in Fresno, she is committed to connecting to the local community through her involvement in the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) campus community and her service with the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL). She served as Governor of the Central California District Council of the (JACL) and chair of the National JACL Resolutions Committee. In 2019, she was selected as one of 10 in the nation for the U.S.-Japan Council, Japanese American Leadership Delegation.

Goto’s research focuses on the role of a non-protein amino acid, beta-methyl amino L-alanine (BMAA) in model systems (fruit flies and neuronal cells), and its connection to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis-Parkinsonism dementia complex (ALS-PDC). She collaborates with her many undergraduate and graduate students and fellow faculty.

The Graduate Studies staff are responsible for all functions related to the graduate student experience, such as the evaluation of graduate student records, thesis and dissertation advising and clearance, and the oversight of the Graduate Student Success Center and its accompanying support services. On another front, the research staff provide professional assistance to faculty, students and staff in pursuit of research and contract activities that extend Fresno State's goals and advance its mission in fostering faculty expertise in grants and contracts.

Academic Affairs announced Oct. 12, that Dr. Bryan Berrett was named interim director of Innovation and Digital Excellence for Academic Success (IDEAS) — a new office morphed from Center of Faculty Excellence.

Recognizing how impactful the work of the Center of Faculty Excellence (CFE) has been during this pandemic and the critical role academic technology played in ensuring student and faculty success, the Division of Academic Affairs is reorganizing these services into this new office.

IDEAS will consolidate the Center for Faculty Excellence, DISCOVERe, CSUCCESS, Academic Technology Resource Center and the Accessible Resource Center under one umbrella administered by the Provost's Office. The office will ensure that faculty and students have outstanding support for Canvas, Explorance, Panopto, Zoom and much more. IDEAS will continue the tradition of providing high-level professional development opportunities in the areas of open educational resources, accessible course content, technology, innovation, and pedagogy, which we all have benefited from over the years.

Berrett is a professor of deaf studies and has served the past five years as the director of the Center for Faculty Excellence. Previously, he served in a variety of capacities in the College of Health and Human Services and as department chair in Communicative Sciences and Deaf Studies. He earned his doctorate in educational technology from Pepperdine University, is a graduate of the management development program at Harvard, and is a PROCI certified change management practitioner. Berrett is responsible for several university-wide and system change initiatives including Quality Learning and Teaching (QLT), Universal Design for Learning, Affordable Learning $olutions, Canvas adoption, DISCOVERe, Ally, CSUCCESS and virtual instruction. Each of these initiatives aligns with our commitment to technology, inclusion and pedagogy to empower faculty and students for success.