After a historic vote last year by Fresno State students to build a new student union, philanthropists and entrepreneurs Lynda and Stewart Resnick, owners of The Wonderful Company, have made a $10 million investment to make this new facility a reality.
The generous commitment, the largest ever made to a student-life initiative at Fresno State, will transform the University by supporting a central hub for students on campus, one that will accommodate the growing student body for years to come.
On Sept. 24, the California State University Board of Trustees approved naming Fresno State’s new student union the Lynda and Stewart Resnick Student Union. The Resnicks’ gift will support the design, construction, operation and maintenance of the new building, which will embrace the tenets of sustainability and achieve LEED Gold-equivalent certification, incorporating energy efficiencies including solar panels.
“Stewart and I have long supported Fresno State’s mission of shaping the Central Valley’s best and brightest young minds, while serving as a significant pipeline of talent for businesses throughout the region,” said Lynda Resnick, vice chair and co-owner of The Wonderful Company. “Our hope is that this beautiful new facility will empower student success well into the future.”
In 1994, the Resnicks established Wonderful Education, with the clear mission to significantly increase the number of college degree-earning students in the Central Valley. With a cradle-to-career focus, Wonderful Education operates three preschools, two public charter schools, an agriculture-focused early college pathway and has awarded classroom grants across 165 schools and 2,350 college scholarships.
A portion of the Resnicks’ investment will be used to create The Wonderful Scholar Center within the new student union, a dedicated space where the over 200 Wonderful Scholars scholarship recipients attending Fresno State will receive tutoring and counseling from their college-success specialists.
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