A Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and one of the central San Joaquin Valley’s agricultural giants will receive honorary doctorates on May 23 at California State University, Fresno’s 2009 Commencement.
Leslie Bassett
Trustees of the California State University will confer on Leslie Bassett of Flowery Branch, Ga., (photo on left) an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree for his musical accomplishments.
An honorary Doctor of Humane Letters will be awarded to John L. “Jack” Woolf of Fresno (photo on right), whose generosity has helped Fresno State students focus on agricultural water issues.
Jack Woolf
Hanford native Bassett received his Bachelor of Arts at Fresno State in 1947, launching a career as a composer of orchestral, chamber, choral, vocal, piano and organ works that have been performed in many parts of the world. He is considered one of the most important contemporary American composers.
His 1966 Pulitzer Prize-winning “Variations for Orchestra” represented the United States that year at the International Rostrum for Composers in Paris and has been widely performed.
Bassett studied composition at the University of Michigan and, with a Fulbright Fellowship, at L’École Normale de Musique de Paris.
He has been a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters since 1976 and has earned grants from the Koussevitzky Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts and Rockefeller Foundation.
Bassett taught composition at the University of Michigan from 1952-91, where he chaired the composition department (1970-88) and was the Albert A. Stanley Distinguished University Professor of Music (1977-91).
Bassett returned to Fresno State as an instructor for the 2000 CSU Summer Arts program and remains connected to the Department of Music.
Woolf has played a major role in the development of farming on the west side of the Valley, first helping Russell Giffen start and build one of the region’s major farming operations, and then on his own, farming in the same area.
Woolf Enterprises is a diversified farming business that produces tomatoes, garlic, cotton, wheat, alfalfa, wine grapes, almonds and pistachios. The company has diversified into tomato, almond and cotton processing, irrigation equipment and a nursery.
Although retired, Woolf advises and supports his children who continue his legacy through Woolf Enterprises. He also has served on the boards of the Westlands Water District, Santa Clara University, the Fresno Historical Society and the California Tomato Growers Association, which he served as president.
Fresno State’s Ag One Foundation recognized Woolf’s accomplishments by naming him the 2006 Community Salute honoree. Ag One supports students in Fresno State’s College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology.
His children matched money raised at the salute, establishing an endowment of approximately $250,000 in Woolf’s name. The scholarships support Fresno State students working with water technology and agricultural business.
