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California State University, Fresno

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California State University, Fresno
File:CSUFSeal.gif
MottoLucem Accipe Ut Reddas
(Latin, "Receive the light that you may give it forth.")
TypePublic
Established1911
PresidentDr. John Welty
Academic staff
2,109
Undergraduates18,000
Postgraduates3,000
Location
Fresno
,
California
,
USA
CampusUrban, 327 acres and 1,083-acre University Farm
ColorsCardinal and blue
MascotBulldog
Websitecsufresno
The campus on a sunny day

California State University, Fresno, commonly referred to as Fresno State, is one of the campuses of California State University, located at the northeast edge of Fresno, California, at the foot of the majestic Sierra Nevada mountain range in the San Joaquin Valley. Fresno County is the sixth largest metropolitan area in California. The university is within an hour's drive of many mountain and lake resorts and within a three- or four-hour drive of both Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Fall semester runs from late August through December. The spring semester runs from mid-January through mid-May. Short sessions are offered throughout the summer.

Campus

Fresno State was officially designated as an arboretum in 1978 and now boasts more than 4,000 trees on campus. The 388-acre main campus features more than 46 traditional and modern buildings. An additional 34 structures are on the 1,022-acre University Farm, which is considered one of the most modern and best equipped agricultural facilities in the West.

Fresno State purports to have the only commercial winery operating on a college campus in America.

Academics

Accreditation

Fresno State is accredited by California Board of Education and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. The university has 23 nationally accredited departmental programs, among the highest number within the CSU system.

The campus on a foggy morning

Colleges

Athletics and traditions

Fresno State is a member of the NCAA's Division I. Fresno State has been a member of the Western Athletic Conference since 1992. Before that, it had been a member of the Big West Conference since 1988. Fresno State was also a member of the Big West's predecessor, the Pacific Coast Athletic Association since its inception in 1969 and was a member of the California Collegiate Athletic Association from its beginning in 1939 (when Fresno State was in Division II).

Fresno State's football team, currently coached by Pat Hill, has garnered a reputation for being willing to play any top-ranked opponent, anytime, anywhere (usually on the opponent's field). Fresno State (as of December 2005) has achieved success with a 10-8 record against BCS teams, the most by any program not in a BCS conference. This has not only helped Fresno State gain revenue from top-ranked programs, it has also provided the Bulldogs a following among college football fans who admire its willingness to challenge the best teams (and has resulted in the Bulldogs being featured more regularly on college football TV programs than most non-BCS conference teams). However, their success in their non conference games hasn't translated to championships in conference play. The Bulldogs haven't won the WAC title since sharing it in 1999. Fresno State often travels between 10,000-20,000 miles during its football season, between its WAC conference games (the conference itself is spread from Ruston, Louisiana to Honolulu Hawaii) and its usually brutal non-conference schedule.

Sports

Fresno State fields seven sports for men. They are:

Fresno State fields nine sports for women. They are:

Sports facilities

Traditions

  • Official colors are Cardinal and Blue
  • The mascot of Fresno State is a bulldog named Timeout.
  • The green "V" worn on the back of the football players' helmets (and also on the front of the basketball uniforms along the neckline) honors the agricultural industry of the San Joaquin Valley, and the importance it plays in financially supporting Fresno State (as well as the university's contributions to the area economy).

Fight song

Fight Varsity
On your toes dig in and hit that line!
We're all pulling hard for you
So fight and give the best there is in you
Fight Varsity
On your toes and hit that line!
We'll fight on to victory
We're always true to Fresno State!

Alma Mater

Let us in song, our voices raise
 In cloistered courts, to sound thy praise.
Each voice and heart that sings is true
To thee, oh, Cardinal and Blue.
For thee, our hopes and memories;
For thee, our hearts and loyalties.
Thy sons and daughters hail thee great,
Our Alma Mater, Fresno State!

Notable alumni

  • Armen A. Alchian, Professor Emeritus, Founder of the "UCLA Tradition" in Economics
  • Verna L. Allen, Exec. Dir. Arizona Commission for Postsecondary Ed
  • Theresa Alvillar-Speake, Director of the Office of Minority Economic Impact, Department of Energy
  • Marvin Baxter, Justice, California Supreme Court
  • Prof. Wendell Bell, Yale University's Graduate Studies Director
  • William Boyanjian, President, Gemological Institute of America
  • Lee P. Brown, former Mayor of Houston, former New York Police Commissioner
  • Ezunial Burts, President - Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce
  • Joe Cafaro, Cafaro Cellars, Napa Valley, California
  • Malinda Chouinard, Owner of Patagonia, one of the world's most successful designers of outdoor clothing and gear
  • Roy Christopher, Emmy Award winning set designer
  • Jac Cole, Winemaker for the Charles Krug Winery
  • Joy Covey, Former Chief Strategy Officer, Amazon.com
  • Sid Craig, CEO, Co-Founder and Chairman of the Board of Jenny Craig, Inc.
  • Dr. Joseph Crowley, President Emeritus, University of Nevada
  • Larry S. Dickenson, Senior VP Sales, Boeing
  • Nat DiBuduo, President, Allied Grape Growers of California
  • David Fillpot, President of Alaras Software, enterprise software development
  • Major General Jon Gallinetti, Commander Joint Warfighting Center, and Director, Joint Training, J-7, U.S. Joint Forces Command
  • Geoffrey Gamble, President, Montana State Univ.
  • Jim Ganduglia; Touring musician with Johnny Mathis
  • Kirk D. Grimes, Exec. of Energy & Chemicals, Fluor Corp
  • Sam Iacobellis, CEO, Rockwell International (retired). Led development of B1 bomber
  • Manny Mashouf, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, bebe fashions
  • Eric McAfee, Co-founder of Cagan McAfee Capital Partners
  • Dennis Morgigno, Station Manager, Channel 4, San Diego
  • Col. Steven Nagel, NASA Astronaut
  • Paul O'Neill, former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, CEO of Alcoa Corporation
  • Dr. Norval Pohl, President, University of North Texas
  • Tammy Savage, Manager of Business Development, Microsoft
  • Gary Soto, acclaimed poet, essayist, and fiction writer
  • Roberta Spear, Award-Winning Poet
  • Sherley Anne Williams, Author, National Book Award Nominee, Emmy Award Winner

Notable athletes

Notable faculty and staff

  • Kenneth Fugelsang, Fresno State Winemaster--leads world-renowned enology program
  • Eric W. Hickey, Criminology Professor - Noted criminologist and author.
  • Bruce Thornton, Humanities and Classics
  • Victor Davis Hansen - Regular on Real Time with Bill Maher [HBO]

Notable former faculty and staff

  • Victor Davis Hanson, founder of Classics Department--historian, essayist, columnist
  • Philip Levine, English--widely known poet and Pulitzer Prize winner
  • Roger Tatarian, journalism--editor-in-chief, United Press International (deceased)
  • Lawrence Sutherland has served as Director of Bands and Professor of Music at California State University, Fresno since 1969. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Music Education from the University of Tulsa and his Master of Arts degree in Music Theory from the University of Missouri. His Doctor of Musical Arts degree in conducting was the first such degree to be awarded by the University. Sutherland has performing credits as a trombone and euphonium player with the St.Louis Symphony, the Kansas City Philharmonic Orchestra, the Tulsa Philharmonic Orchestra and Tucson Symphony, Fresno Philharmonic and the Tommy Dorsey, Ralph Marterie, Richard Maltby, and Woody Herman bands. He has served as guest conductor and adjudicator throughout the United States, Alaska, Canada, Europe, New Zealand, England and Japan. Sutherland is the only person to have directed all three California Music Educators All-State instrumental honor groups - Orchestra, Symphonic Band and Jazz Band. He has been a three-time conductor of the California Band Directors All-State Concert Band and regularly conducts band and orchestra throughout the west.

External links

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