Steve Magarian, longtime lecturer in the Criminology Department and former Fresno County Sheriff, passed away on Sept. 22 from cancer. He was 82 years old.

He earned bachelor's and master's degrees in criminology from Fresno State while working full time at the Fresno County Sheriff's Office. He started as a reserve deputy in 1966 before being promoted to a regular deputy in 1968, where he worked jail, court and patrol assignments.

After he started serving as assistant sheriff in 1983, Magarian was elected Fresno County Sheriff in 1986 and served three terms as sheriff from 1987 to 1999. In that period, he oversaw many modernization efforts that included the completion of the main jail and north annex jail, a new air support unit, a computerized field reporting system, and its Multi-Agency Gang Enforcement Consortium — the first of its kind in the state and still in existence.

Determined to continue to share his expertise with the community, Magarian taught “Professionalism in Criminal Justice,” at Fresno State from 2002 to 2019.

"Students benefited immeasurably from the guidance and wisdom he shared in the classroom ... They learned from him the importance of carrying out the work according to the highest standards of fairness and dignity," said Dr. Emma Hughes, criminology professor and former department chair.

He served as president of the Criminology Department’s Advisory Board that brought together leaders from local criminal justice agencies, non-profit organizations and community groups, before he stepped down from that role in 2019.

He received the College of Social Sciences Outstanding Alumni Award in 2007 and was recognized by students for their support on the faculty and staff honor roll.

He and his wife, Joanne, created the Sheriff Steve and Joanne Magarian Family Criminology Scholarship. The annual award provides $1,000 to an esteemed upperclass student with a 3.0 GPA who wants to go into law enforcement at the local, state or federal level.

More about his life and legacy are available in an obituary, Fresno County Sheriff’s Office press release and Fresno Bee story.

A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. Monday, Oct. 6, at CrossCity Christian Church, 2777 E. Nees Ave., Fresno.