President's Circle Speech

March 26, 2004

President John D. Welty

There was a silent earthquake in California over the past year.  You didn’t notice it?  Well, it happened nonetheless. No, pictures didn’t fall off of your walls and your china didn’t break.  But there was an earthquake that should have registered about 9.9 on the Richter scale.

The first sign of the earthquake was this (Dr. Welty holds up a copy of the San Francisco Chronicle). “Fresno State on the cover of The San Francisco Chronicle.”  And not because of something bad.  No…rather unbelievably for many San Franciscans…it was a page one story in the San Francisco Chronicle about an OPERA event at Fresno State. 

Now let me say that one more time…An OPERA event at Fresno State was FRONT PAGE news in San Francisco.  And who could imagine that the world’s most famous opera star -- Andrea Bocelli -- would open the spectacular new Save Mart Center at Fresno State? Now, there’s a tremor that shook the state.

But that was only part of the great earthquake in the center of California.  In October, another major tremor shook the state…and no matter your political views, that quake has re-formed the political landscape of California.  The recall of Governor Davis and the election of Governor Schwarzenegger attracted international attention…but most people missed one important new factor in that election.  For the first time in history, what the people of San Francisco and Los Angeles wanted…they didn’t get.

Los Angeles and San Francisco and Alameda County voted against the recall.  In fact, most of the coastal counties of California voted against the recall.  Be it known…this election marked the full emergence of Central California as a major player in the political life of California.  The aftershock of that tectonic shift is still being felt in Sacramento.

Central California’s emergence as the “New California” is happening and the trend is unstoppable.

There is a larger trend about Fresno and Central California that’s apparent.  Our region is turning a corner for the better.  In many significant ways, our region has made a transformational leap into a new era of development and progress.  I’m proud that Fresno State faculty, students and staff -- along with all of you here tonight -- have been the agents of change to make that happen. 

For more than a decade, most regions of California have experienced an incredible appreciation of property values.  For how many years have we heard about the increasing prices of homes in Los Angeles or Silicon Valley?  Fresno was largely bypassed as the state enjoyed an unprecedented boom.  But now, that’s all changed. 

People in other parts of the state are casting admiring eyes at the Valley as Fresno and other communities enjoy the highest rates of home appreciation in the United States – 21 percent last year alone.

That’s a surprising new development to some, but not here at Fresno State.  Our faculty and graduate students in the Real Estate and Land Use Institute were already forecasting a climb in area home prices, and tracked the dramatic changes in the new home market in Fresno and Clovis.  The Institute’s ongoing research is helping area developers and realtors better understand the rapid changes in, what is now, the hottest housing market in the U.S.  

Last month Inc. Magazine rated Fresno as the fourth best city in the country in which to do business. They reported that Fresno's renewed economy is driven by real estate affordability and population growth, particularly spurred on by Latino and Asian immigration. A key issue, according to the Inc. Magazine editors, will be creating a bigger high-end service, manufacturing, and information sectors.

Well, at Fresno State, we didn’t need a magazine to tell us that business growth is soaring, as companies discover the low costs and the excellent quality of life in Central California.

Our faculty and students at the Craig School of Business are already leading the New California through business development, job creation and entrepreneurship programs.  Our faculty and staff have played a major role in creating the Regional Jobs Initiative that will seek to create 30,000 jobs over the next five years. Already progress is underway as the International center for water technology has been established and construction on the first phase of the center will begin this summer.

Another national magazine, Hispanic Outlook, recently reconfirmed another important fact about Central California.  With our burgeoning Hispanic population, Fresno State continues to be a national leader in preparing Hispanic college graduates.  Last year,   Fresno State was the 14^th largest Hispanic degree granting institution in the entire United States, surpassing campuses such as the University of Arizona and Texas A&M.  Many of the top leadership positions in the country are held by Fresno State graduates. The U.S. Census Bureau just reported that by mid-century Asian and Hispanic populations will be about three times larger than now. The country's sum will be roughly half white and half made up of what's now considered "minority groups."  Imagine the impact our Hispanic graduates will continue to have in the nation and the world.  

Harvard professor Samuel Huntington is troubled by this demographic shift; he writes the growth of the Hispanic population "threatens to divide the United States into two peoples, two cultures and two languages."  I can understand Dr. Huntington’s fears, but here in the New California, we have found something else…the reality that a community can be stronger than the sum of its parts.  We’ve seen that the common pursuit of education, learning and discovery can bring people together and increase understanding like nothing else. We’ve found that, despite all of the challenges, that different cultures can join together into a unique Valley culture… an American culture….   Our graduates…all of our graduates…are proving that every day.

This month Fresno received another distinction from Esquire Magazine. They identified Fresno as sixth in the “Top Ten Cities that Rock.”  Imagine that.  Now, I’m still amazed that Fresno is being singled out for our music scene, but again, we sometimes take for granted how lively the Valley arts environment is.  When we go to the Tower District and listen to great music, see a play and enjoy a great dinner, we sometimes miss how really wonderful an experience that is. 

The associate editor of Esquire said their magazine’s rating should be a signal to Valley residents “that there is good music around here and that they don’t have to go to LA or San Francisco to enjoy that music.” 

Back in 1991, Fresno Bee columnist John Canzano spotted the trend when he wrote about the then planned Save Mart Center and Grizzlies Stadium:  “The reality is, we're concerned less and less all the time with how Fresno is perceived by others. The construction of these sports venues isn't about posturing. It's not about putting on Fresno's best face and hoping to be validated by other communities. It's more basic and more personal that this. Simply, people in Fresno will have a state-of-the-art basketball arena and they'll have a cozy downtown baseball stadium. They'll have more options for free time. They'll have a higher quality of life. And they'll have the comfort of knowing that this isn't about anything but living up to Fresno's own standards.”

Of course, Fresno State discovered and took advantage of an untapped potential for events and entertainment that only a few people saw when we opened the Save Mart Center.

One more aftershock from the silent earthquake…this spring Fresno State has experienced the greatest increase in the number of students applying to attend among all of the campuses in the CSU system – more than a 50 percent increase so far.  That speaks to the popularity of this campus to students throughout the state.  It also speaks to the great educational needs of our region.

Over the past several years, I have spoken to you about the Fresno State as the University for the New California.  We’ve talked about seeing a vision of what this university…and what this region of the state…can be become. 

Every day is confirming to me that we are on the right course.  To take advantage of these changing conditions we must prepare an educated work force.  To continue to build a great university we must earn the support of private donors. We must demonstrate our value to the region’s economic development.

Fresno State is already leading the New California through business development, job creation and entrepreneurship programs. Only Fresno State has the faculty, graduate students, and community linkages in place throughout the region to deal with the breadth of business and development issues of New California. 

We’re helping transform agriculture to meet the demands of a 21^st Century marketplace, in this, the United State’s Number One farming region.  Our Kremen School of Education is developing the new teachers and the curricula to lead the New California – from an outstanding program in pre-school education to a doctoral program in educational leadership.  The Craig School of Business is helping us achieve national prominence through education programs that have a global perspective while driving regional economic development.

We’re leading the way through campus centers and institutes in agriculture, water technology, health policy, business development and entrepreneurship, international business, public affairs, and disabilities studies.  Over the past year our faculty members have directed deep space astronomy with the Hubble Space Telescope.  We’ve seen U.S. News & World Report’s 2004 rankings on “America’s Best Graduate Schools” place our Rehabilitation Counseling Program among the top 20 in the country.  We’ve seen our International Center for Water Technology Center gain millions in federal funds as we work with the San Joaquin Valley Water Technology Cluster, an organization of more than 40 American manufacturers of water technology products.

As you have learned, we can look forward to a new library that will serve this entire region. This addition will provide the knowledge the University needs to nourish the entire region.

Yes, the trends are up in “the New California.”

It’s a new day for the people of the New California.  And our university…Fresno State…is providing the opportunity to realize our dreams. Our university is helping to lead the way to an exciting future for Central California.

One of the reasons that we have been able achieve these changes is the President’s Circle. The financial support which you provide gives us the venture capital that we need to start some of these new initiatives or the capital that we need to match other funds. Tonight I hope you feel very proud of what you have done. Your support has made it possible to dream about new possibilities -- the New California. We would not be able to do it without your help.  Thank you for what each one of you has done to support this university.  We have a clear view of the future, and what it’s going to take to get us there.  Here’s to an exciting journey.  Thank you.

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