FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   

May 22, 2004     

Contact: Tom Uribes or Shirley Armbruster

(559) or 246-1717 or 593-1815

NOTE: See the Commencement News Web Site at FresnoStateNews.com for general info about Commencement including names and portraits of Graduate Deans Medallists through links at FresnoStateNews.com. Click here for original Commencement press release.  

Adam Van Dusen Named Class of 2004 President’s Medalist
at First Fresno State Commencement in Save Mart Center

California State University Fresno named Adam Van Dusen of Rocklin, an economics graduate, as President Medalist during Commencement Ceremonies Saturday in Save Mart Center – a high ranking that he already knows as the nation’s number one ROTC student.

Van Dusen, who represents the College of Social Science as the Dean’s Medalist, is a four-year scholarship recipient from Fresno State’s ROTC and a 4.0 student who was ranked No. 1 out of 4,681 senior students nationwide in the Army ROTC National Order of Merit last fall.

Fresno State President John D. Welty presented Van Dusen with the award as nearly 14,000.people admired and cheered the Class of 2004 – the first to graduate from the university’s Save Mart Center that opened in November.

The President’s Medal winner, one of two that designate the university’s top students, is selected from the nine undergraduate Dean’s Medalists who represent the academic colleges and schools and the Division of Student Affairs.      

Last night, Robert T. Gaeta of Madison, Wisconsin, the Dean’s Graduate Medalist from the College of Science and Mathematics, was awarded the University Graduate Medal during the Graduate Degree Hooding Ceremony for master’s and doctoral degree candidates. He was chosen from the nine Dean’s Graduate Medal winners.      

The President’s Medal and the University Graduate Medal are the highest honors given by the university to a graduating student.  The medals are awarded on the basis of academic achievement, service to the school and contributions to the community.

Welty commended Van Dusen for his hard work and achievements. 

“He is described by his faculty as extraordinary creative, intelligent, a diligent worker, an unpretentious high achiever, an accomplished leader, a mentor, and a modest and humble young man with a deep desire to continue serving his university, community and country,” Welty said.

Van Dusen is praised by faculty for both his academic prowess – making the President’s List every semester at Fresno State excelling with A’s in difficult courses that few could master – and his community involvements well as his accomplishments in the university’s Department of Military Science.

“Mr. Van Dusen is perhaps the best well-rounded student I have met during my tenure at Fresno State,” said Dr. Luz Gonzalez, interim dean of the College of Social Science.

Van Dusen, the recipient of the 2002-03 Harlan Hagen Scholarship in Economics, assisted Dr. Sally Hays, economics professor, with her research regarding the role of the pollution haven hypothesis in the causation of the California energy crisis.

Dr. James Cypher, a professor of economics, praised Van Dusen not only for his accomplishments but his modest and humble personality.

“I am convinced he has done so well for the right reasons – he pushes himself to perform through full commitment and dedication because he wants to learn, rather than because he wants a grade,” Cypher said.

“He is a broadly grounded student with a sense of social responsibility and social consciousness,” Cypher said.

Van Dusen presently works for the Community Medical Foundation where he conducts donor research to assist in fundraising for Community Medical centers, the primary care provider to indigent patients within a five-county radius.

He participated in four mission trips to Mexico from 1997 to 2000 in conjunction with AMOR ministries, helping to build homes in the maquiladora region east of Tijuana, and led a door-to-door food drive for the homeless at Poverello House in Fresno.

But his crowning achievement was the ROTC’s No. 1 ranking, which encompasses academics, military skills and physical capabilities.

The accomplishment brought honor to him, his ROTC and his university as the first Fresno State cadet to be selected as the top cadet in the nation.

He has served as captain of the university‘s Ranger Challenge Team, which competes in physically arduous events against 22 other major universities in the West and won top honors, including a championship in 2002.

He has served as president of ROTC’s Scabbard and Blade philanthropy organization the past two years and as commander of its Corp of Cadets.

“What continues to distinguish Adam from most other high achievers is that he is a selfless leader who uses his knowledge and abilities to make others better,” said Lt. Col. Barrett Larwin, chair of the Military Science Department in the Craig School of Business at Fresno State.

During today’s Commencement ceremonies, President Welty conferred 3,421 bachelor’s degrees and 780 master’s degrees. Doctoral degrees in educational leadership, offered jointly by Fresno State and the University of California, Davis, were conferred on 8 students.      

President Welty also conferred emeritus status on retiring faculty members in recognition of their years of service to the university. 

During the ceremony, the honorary degree of doctor of humane letters was conferred on Fresno State alumna Mary Carolyn Dobbs of Grass Valley, a teacher and pioneer in special education whose work has achieved international recognition.     

Dr. Susan Harris, professor of Curriculum and Instruction, was presented the Excellence in Teaching Award by Dr. Jeronima Echeverria, provost and vice president of academic affairs. Harris is also co-director of TALENT (Teaching and Leading for Educational Needs with Technology) 

In addition to Van Dusen, the other 2004 Graduate Dean’s Medalists are:

Andrei R. Slivinschi of Romania – Craig School of Business

Benjamin Ramirez III of Sanger– Kremen School of Education and Human     

      Development

Ashley Evans of Fresno – College of Engineering and Computer Science

Jose A. Mercado of Clovis – College of Health and Human Services

Mong Kon Mo of Fresno – College of Science and Mathematics

Firhana Mohamed Fathil of Malaysia – Division of Student Affairs

Portraits and bios of the medalists, as well as coverage of the various 2004 events, can be seen on the FresnoStateNews.com Commencement News Web Site.

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