Nearly 70 new faculty members have joined the Fresno State ranks this fall, the largest number of new professors hired in an academic year.

The new faculty members replace retiring faculty and help meet the teaching demands of a growing student body, said Dr. Jeri Echeverria, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs.

“The faculty of Fresno State work with more than 22,000 students who come primarily from the San Joaquin Valley,” said Echeverria. “Each year, about 4,000 of these students complete their degrees and move on into brighter and more productive futures. That is what we do at Fresno State, and that’s why I am very proud of our faculty.”

A new Engineering College dean also has joined the administrative staff. Dr. Michael Jenkins came to Fresno State from the University of Detroit Mercy.

He is internationally recognized for his work in standards and codes for advanced materials. He has expertise in the thermomechanical behavior of composite and monolithic structural ceramics, damage mechanics and experimental mechanics. (For more information on Dr. Jenkins, see www.fresnostatenews.com/2007/06/newengineeringdean.htm)

For more information about academics at Fresno State, see www.csufresno.edu/academics/index.shtml .

Requests for interviews with Provost Echeverria should be directed to Shirley Armbruster at 278-5292.