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Growing enrollment, additions to the faculty
and staff, major new buildings plus a new design for the future campus
of California State University, Fresno are producing exciting times in
the life of the university, President John D. Welty said today at the
annual Spring Assembly.
Welty told the faculty and staff gathered for the annual event that
Fresno State is achieving great things that underscore its teaching and
research mission and commitment to Central California.
Not only is the university adding faculty at a rapid pace – 92 searches
are currently under way, for example – Fresno State is attracting “some
of the best academic talent in the nation and world,” Welty said.
The campus is being transformed physically with new buildings and other
major improvements. And more change is in store. The draft of the new
Comprehensive Master Plan – a blueprint for the Fresno State campus of
the future – includes a dramatic new entry avenue from Shaw Avenue
toward the new and expanded Henry Madden Library and the Student Union
at the heart of the campus.
The university also will have a higher “profile,” with new buildings
that are at least three stories tall and multistory parking structures
to replace some street-level lots. Improved pedestrian circulation and
integration of the academic campus with the university’s agricultural
heritage also are in the plan.
In the development stage is Campus Pointe, a public-private project with
extensive educational benefits that includes residential, commercial,
office, entertainment and hotel development on the eastern edge of the
campus. A Hyatt Place hotel will be part of Campus Pointe, allowing the
university to host small conferences and community events and adding to
the community’s inventory of hotel space that helps attract larger
conventions and conferences.
A new event management/hospitality major is possible, and the movie
theater that is part of the plan can accommodate large classes and
seminars. Students in gerontology, sociology and physical therapy will
be able to work with residents of senior housing.
Another indicator of Fresno State’s progress is the momentum of The
Campaign for Fresno State. Over the past 60 days, donors have made $14.5
million in commitments – a $10 million gift to the Madden Library from
Table Mountain Rancheria’s and a $1.5 million endowment from Arnold and
Dianne Gazarian of Fresno for a Real Estate Center in the Craig School
of Business.
Similar substantial gifts to the university will be announced in the
next few weeks and months, Welty said.
“The progress we are making together,” Welty told the faculty and staff,
“is transforming this great university and helping transform our region
and accomplish great things around the world.”
To read President Welty’s entire Spring Assembly speech,
click here.
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