Stories inspire us. They connect us. They inform us of all the wonderful things — and sometimes challenging things — happening at the Fresno State campus that holds a special meaning to so many in the Central Valley and beyond. Stories are how we relate to one another, and oftentimes stories spark us to take action — whether it’s giving to a worthwhile cause, attending an event or rallying support. At Fresno State, stories create a bond between thousands of alumni, friends, students, prospective students and other community members.
Here is a glimpse, in no particular order, at some of the editor’s picks for the top 24 stories of 2024 — from the biggest campus news to the most touching and well-done storytelling from the university over the past year.
Pac-12 Bound Bulldogs; Garrett Klassy Q&A
In a landmark decision that marks a new chapter for Fresno State, the Pac-12 Conference Board of Directors unanimously voted to admit Fresno State, along with Boise State, Colorado State, San Diego State, Utah State and Gonzaga (non-football member) into the Pac-12 Conference.
Fresno State Magazine sat down for an exclusive interview with Garrett Klassy, who began his role as Fresno State athletics director in July, to discuss the Bulldogs’ fall 2026 move to the Pac-12 as well as his vision for the department.
Grab the keys to your ’75 Mercury Cougar convertible, start the engine, pop in that Doobie Brothers 8-track and get ready to cruise down Memory Lane while taking a swig of nostalgia. It was spring of 1975. Gerald Ford was the United States president, and the country was entangled in the Vietnam War. Minimum wage in California was $2. A tank of gas was about 53 cents per gallon, a loaf of bread just 38 cents and — perhaps of interest to college students at the time — a six-pack of beer averaged $2.55.
Despite all the challenges of the times, some visionary staff and students came up with an idea and executed it — leading to 50 years of springtime memories and traditions that have helped define student life at the university. That vision in 1975 became known as Vintage Days.
It’s a Vibe: Campus Fashion Trends by the Decade
A look through the Special Collections photo archives in the Fresno State Library is like opening up a time capsule. Decade by decade, the evolving fashion and hair trends are sure to stir up feelings of nostalgia or joy. To gain insight on the popular trends of the times, Fresno State Magazine reached out to alumnus Jesus Luviano (right), fashion show production director for Metropolitan Fashion Week. Luviano shares his thoughts on the following pages.
New report shows Fresno State contributes nearly $1 billion to Valley economy
Fresno State is a powerful engine of prosperity for the San Joaquin Valley, generating close to $1 billion dollars of annual economic activity, according to a new economic impact report produced by the Craig School of Business.
Among the key findings in the report – economic activity by Fresno State and its auxiliaries generates an annual average of $954 million in business sales and $391 million in worker income, while supporting nearly 11,000 jobs. University-related activities generate over $49 million in annual tax revenue for the State of California and the San Joaquin Valley counties of Fresno, Madera, Kings and Tulare.
Fresno State sets another record for research funding
Dr. Cory Brooks and his colleagues are a step closer to creating a facility at Fresno State where researchers from across the California State University system and the greater community can measure protein interactions.
Thanks to a $242,073 grant from the National Institutes of Health, Brooks and three other Fresno State biochemistry faculty were able to acquire a surface plasmon resonance instrument platform. Think of it as a fancy laser system with a prism, Brooks said. A sample is placed on the surface, a light shines through it and the reflected light intensity is measured.
Wall Street Journal ranks Fresno State top five nationally for social mobility
Fresno State continues to rank among the best public and private universities nationwide for helping students improve their socioeconomic status through educational opportunities.
The university ranked No. 4 in the nation for social mobility in The Wall Street Journal/College Pulse 2024 Best Colleges in the U.S. rankings published Sept. 4, moving up from No. 6 last year. Fresno State also ranked No. 15 for best student experience, No. 16 for Best Value and No. 51 overall among the 500 best universities in the country.
Inside a spare room of his Fresno home, Dr. Raymond Hall stands amid hundreds of physics toys on display, eager to share them with anyone who shows curiosity. Along the wall sits a light brown piece of IKEA furniture – with a wood-grained top that has become a trademark of sorts for Hall’s demonstrations on Instagram, where his @physicsfun account has 2 million followers. Yes, 2 million! He also has a Facebook presence with 731,000 followers and a YouTube channel with 610,000 subscribers.
Hall isn’t the only Fresno State faculty member – or the only one in the university’s College of Science and Mathematics – influencing the masses on social media. Howie Hua is so excited to announce that he is a math instructor at Fresno State. Go Bulldogs!
When Kerman Mayor Maria Pacheco graduated from Fresno State this past May with her bachelor’s degree in social work, it was more than just a special moment – it was a dream come true and a long time coming for the mother of six.
Now, she’s expanding on her dream by pursuing her Master of Social Work degree this fall as part of the Title IV-E Child Welfare Program, in which she hopes to further her policy and advocacy work around the Indian Child Welfare Act.
Biology professor uses VR to help students visualize the human brain
Fresno State senior Dustin Geringer put on a virtual reality (VR) headset for the first time this year to get a three-dimensional and immersive educational experience learning about the nervous system and human brain. It’s a bit disorienting at first, and when the goggles come off, but after a while, the technology becomes an extension of the arm, said the biology major from San Jose.
“It’s a useful tool for learning for all ages,” said Geringer, after he used the motion controllers to remove layers of nerves, blood vessels and more on 3D scans of the human brain so he could record and study the images in his physiology lab this semester.
This documentary-style feature video highlights Fresno State baseball legends Aaron Judge and Coach Mike Batesole, who became the 12th and 13th Bulldogs in program history to have their jerseys retired in fall 2023.
Judge spent three seasons with the Bulldogs from 2011 to 2013 before being drafted in the first round of the 2013 MLB Draft by the New York Yankees. Since then, Judge has been honored as the two-time American League MVP (2022, 2024), AL Rookie of the Year (2017), four-time Silver Slugger (2017, 2021, 2022, 2024) and Hank Aaron Award recipient (2022).
Fresno State embarks on first new student dorm project in 50-plus years
Fresno State broke ground this fall on a new affordable student housing project, the first major housing initiative at Fresno State since 1968. This project will add 228 apartment-style beds to the portfolio for Fresno State Student Housing.
The new 80,000-square-foot building will be four stories high and include one- to four-bedroom units. It will also offer a limited number of apartments for students with children. The new building will be located on the corner of Shaw and Cedar avenues, adjacent to existing residence hall buildings.
On the fourth floor of the Fresno State library, tucked away in the Special Collections Research Center, lies a box with the label “Campus Unrest.” It documents the years leading up to the first Vintage Days at Fresno State in 1975.
“Unrest” is a common word to describe the significant cultural, social and political turmoil at that time. The 1960s were characterized by anti-war protests and the Civil Rights Movement, and Fresno State students and faculty joined college campuses around the world in taking part in widespread political and social activism.
Creator of iconic Bulldog logo receives Certificate in Art
In the quaint and lushly decorated living room of the Smittcamp Alumni House on the Fresno State campus, Joseph Guadalupe Garcia stood off to the side looking through the 1950 Fresno State yearbook. As a small group of Garcia’s friends and family members arrived, they spoke of Garcia’s many accomplishments as an artist, journalist and Fresno State alumnus, albeit one who put his own degree on hold for his country and his family.
It didn’t take long for Garcia and others to notice the small bronze Bulldog sculpture on the bookshelf and start gathering to take photos with it. Garcia explained that his first drawing of the iconic four-paw Bulldog logo was in 1981. Over 40 years later, it remains the primary logo for Fresno State athletics.
Nelson Mandela monument unveiled in Peace Garden
The joyful sounds of the African Drum Interactive moved through the Fresno State Peace Garden like a chorus of exuberant heartbeats on Sept. 12, kicking off the unveiling ceremony for the latest addition to the monument statues honoring peacemakers from around the globe.
A life-sized bronze statue of anti-apartheid activist, former South African president and Nobel Peace Prize winner Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela stands just east of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. statue, facing the Fresno State Library from in front of the Professional Human Services building. This is the first new statue added to the garden in nearly 20 years.
From smart robot to prosthetic technology, engineering research fuels new innovations
Faculty from the Lyles College of Engineering at Fresno State are making research breakthroughs with local and global impacts.
Dr. Hovannes Kulhandjian, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, received a patent for his invention, “System and Method for Human and Animal Detection in Low Visibility,” a handheld device that can be used by firefighters to find humans and animals in heavy smoke during emergency situations.
Wellness-to-go vending machine provides health and hygiene items to students
Fresno State held a ribbon cutting on Oct. 8 for the official launch of the wellness-to-go vending machine located on the first floor of the Resnick Student Union.
The vending machine is the first of its kind serving a student population in Fresno County. Enrolled Fresno State students can access several over-the-counter medications, hygiene supplies like menstrual kits, chapstick, deodorant, at-home Covid tests, and harm-reduction products including Narcan and fentanyl test strips, for free or at a low cost. While most products are free of charge, some items are available for purchase at a nominal cost.
Charitable giving increases 34% to second-highest amount in Fresno State history
Thanks to the generous support of Fresno State alumni, partners and community organizations, gifts to the university during the 2023-24 academic year hit the second-highest amount ever — $38.8 million.
The total includes $28.9 million for academics and $9.9 million for athletics. That’s a 34.52% increase in overall giving from the year before.
Alumna creates scrub closet for speech-language pathology students
Tucked away in the graduate lounge of the Department of Communicative Sciences and Deaf Studies at Fresno State is the speech-language pathology medical scrub closet. Behind the doors of one cabinet are about 100 brightly colored scrubs of all sizes, brands and materials. These were collected by Fresno State alumna Athena Alvarado, whose lived experiences inspired her to give back.
“During my medical externship while in the speech-language pathology graduate program, I had three children and had to stop working to attend my externships full-time,” said Alvarado, a speech-language pathologist working at a skilled nursing facility operated by Jericho Care Group. “So purchasing scrubs was a large expense.”
Bronze, mythical creatures have taken perch on Fresno State’s campus, silently watching the bustle of campus life. With wings unfurled or caught in mid-motion, the beings invoke curiosity, potential and empathy while inviting individual interpretation and meaning in their existence.
The five bronze sculptures are centrally showcased along the Maple Mall and will remain for the enjoyment and enrichment of students and community through August 2025. “Wings of the City” was originally exhibited in artist Jorge Marín’s home country of Mexico and has since traveled around the world through cities in the Middle East, Europe, Asia, Africa, North America and, now, Fresno.
Fresno State unveils brand new mobile health units
The College of Health and Human Services at Fresno State unveiled two new, state-of-the-art mobile health units on April 5, bringing the future of health education to the campus and the San Joaquin Valley.
Emblazoned with Fresno State’s vibrant signature colors and Bulldogs logos, the mobile health units usher in a new era for the program that has been nearly 10 years in the making. From previously having one mobile unit to now having two, the expansion of the new, larger units mean students and faculty now have the capacity to serve even more patients within this collaborative clinical experience.
Academic success coach mentors peers, honors late father
A year away from earning her bachelor’s degree, Patricia Yang has found her stride.
Originally a political science major, Yang imagined she would become a lawyer practicing family law but felt a disconnect in her political science classes. She decided to study child and family science instead, while also serving as an academic success coach on campus — a role in which she’s able to support students and carry on the legacy of her father, who was a counselor for Fresno Unified School District and supported at-risk Southeast Asian students.
New teaching credential focuses on development of youngest learners
Fresno State will introduce the new PK-3 Early Childhood Education Specialist Instruction Credential (PK-3) program in May 2025 to prepare educators for the unique developmental needs of students in transitional kindergarten (TK) through third grade. With this new program, the university will become one of six early childhood education credential programs approved in California.
Research continues to illuminate the significant impact of early childhood education, especially when provided for children before entering kindergarten. The expansion of early education strives to improve academic, health and professional outcomes later in life for students across the state, such as higher graduation and employment rates.
State champion follows family path to ag communications degree
There’s an old lasso looped on the wall at graduating senior Clayton Merrill’s home ranch near Los Alamos. Its age is unknown, but it’s likely more than 100 years old since the first family member, Pablo Antonio Cota, arrived in California eight generations ago in 1769 as an agent for the King of Spain. The Santa Rosa Adobe he later built in 1808 is one of the first on the Central Coast.
“The ‘reata,’ which is Spanish for lasso, was a key piece of equipment for any Spanish Vaquero,” Merrill said. “Some even made them themselves from their own horses’ hair, so it had a special connection. It’s been passed down from generation to generation.”
Fresno State, Tioga-Sequoia Brewing Co. unveil Red Wave Light Lager
Fresno State athletics and Tioga-Sequoia Brewing Company announced the creation of Red Wave Light Lager, the officially licensed craft beer of Fresno State.
Red Wave Light Lager is named in honor of the fan base that has backed Fresno State athletics for generations. The locally crafted lager represents the Bulldog Spirit and passion that permeates throughout the Central Valley and the beloved hometown team that unites the Valley.
