The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) named Fresno State as a finalist for its 2016 Project Degree Completion Award. The annual prize works to identify, recognize and reward public universities across the country that employ innovative approaches to improve retention and degree completion. The award winner will be announced at the APLU Annual Meeting in November and will receive a $15,000 prize to further its efforts to improve student outcomes The other finalists are Cleveland State University; Montana State University; University of California, Riverside; and Wayne State University.

The Department of Physical Therapy was ranked best in the state by Collegestart.org, which measures accredited colleges in the U.S. that offer comparable degree programs. A total of 10 colleges and universities were included in this ranking.

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The Collegiate Licensing Company awarded the Campus Integration Award to the Fresno State licensing program. Under the direction of licensing director Clarence Chiong, the Fresno State program has hosted educational summits across campus on the University’s licensing and brand and collaborated with the Athletics Department through the Tailgate Product Showcase. Fresno State was selected from more than 160 universities to receive this award.

Two librarians received national recognition for outstanding professionalism and promise by the Special Libraries Association. Hiromi Kubo, liaison to the Craig School of Business, was recognized with the Achievement in Academic Business Librarianship award and Raymond Pun, the First-Year Experience Librarian, was recognized as one of four national Rising Stars.

Brian Cotham (Procurement) earned the status of “Certified Professional in Supply Management” from the Institute for Supply Management.

Liz Garvin (Planned Giving) passed the Crescendo Interactive exam to become a Certified Gift Planning associate.

Shirley Armbruster (University Communications) was named 2016 Public Relations Professional of the Year by the Central California chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.

Eddie Hughes (University Communications) won an Award of Merit from the Central California chapter of the Public Relations Society of America for his article “A Generation of Firsts: Changing the Educational Make-up of the Region” in the spring 2015 issue of Fresno State Magazine.

Randy Haar, Domenick Satterberg and Kathleen Schock (University Communications) won an Award of Award of Merit from the Central California chapter of the Public Relations Society of America for their video stories produced for Fresno State Top Dog Alumni 2015 Awards.

Dr. Martha Vungkhanching (Social Work Education) had her peer-reviewed manuscript titled, “Psychological Distress, Coping and Perceived Social Support in Social Work Students,” accepted for publication in the “British Journal of Social Work,” which is ranked among the top 10 best social work journals in the world.

Dr. Peggy Trueblood (Physical Therapy) and Dr. Nancy Nisbett (Recreation Administration) presented at the International Education Conference in Venice, Italy, on “Internationalizing Healthcare.”

Grace Castaneda (academic counselor in Health and Human Services) competed in the NorCal Open Kettlebell Sport Competition, where she placed first in her class and set a world record by doing 100 reps, using 16 kilogram kettlebells, in a little under 10 minutes.

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