California State University, Fresno founding President C.L. McLane will be honored with a presentation to great-granddaughter Beverly Brock during the university’s100th Commencement beginning at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, May 21 at the Save Mart Center.
The conferral of degrees on the Centennial Class of 2011 culminates a yearlong celebration of Fresno State’s first10 decades of higher education in Central California.
Here’s the short version of what’s happening:
- More than 5,200 students will receive degrees or specialist credentials.
- The Fresno State Orchestra will perform before the procession and during the ceremony. https://www.fresnostatenews.com/2011/05/centennial-commencement-set-for-may-21/
- The President’s Medalist will be announced, chosen from among nine students nominated by colleges/schools of academic discipline and by Student Affairs. https://www.fresnostatenews.com/2011/05/deans-medalists-honored-for-excellence/
The University Medalist will be announced during the Hooding Ceremony for postbaccelaureate degree candidates on Friday, May 20. https://www.fresnostatenews.com/2011/05/nine-students-named-graduate-medalists-at-fresno-state-2011/
- An honorary doctorate will be conferred on Fresno native and entertainment icon A. Jerrold Perenchio. https://www.fresnostatenews.com/2011/04/univision-ex-ceo-jerry-perenchio-to-receive-honorary-doctorate/
- Current and retiring faculty will be honored, topped by the Provost’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. https://www.fresnostatenews.com/2011/04/dr-anne-petrovich-selected-for-top-teaching-award/
- A traffic alert has been issued to use routes other than Freeway 168 if approaching campus from the north as part of the freeway will be closed Saturday morning for a bicycle race. http://www.csufresno.edu/police/traffic/flow/advisory.shtml
In the tradition of 100 previous springs, Fresno State’s 5,235 graduating students will be honored for earning baccalaureate, master’s and doctoral degrees or specialist credentials. Nearly 2,000 students are expected for Saturday’s ceremony, up from about 1,300 last year. The first class in 1912 had 32 graduates.
The Commencement ceremony is the highlight of three days and 23 events from May 20 to June 2 that honor the Class of 2011.
As the senior faculty member, Dr. Gina Strumwassar, a professor of art and design who joined the faculty in 1971, is grand marshal and will lead the faculty prior to the platform party that is led by university President John D. Welty.
Welty will introduce Brock for the special McLane presentation after the student welcome by Pedro Ramirez, president of the Associated Students, Inc. and a graduating senior.
McLane will be honored for his visionary leadership in public education for the region in the early 20th century. As Fresno schools superintendent, he persuaded community leaders to push for legislation to establish the state’s first community college, Fresno Junior College, in 1910.
The following year, McLane and the civic leaders won approval for Fresno State Normal School, which opened its doors Sept. 11, 1911. McLane presided at Fresno State until his retirement in 1927.
McLane’s great-granddaughter will join the platform party and be recognized by Welty, McLane’s sixth permanent successor as Fresno State president. Welty, who joined the university in 1991, is the second longest-tenured Fresno State president, behind only Frank W. Thomas (1927-48), McLane’s successor.
Brock, a resident of Sanger, remembers meeting her great-grandfather when she was very young at his house in Fresno’s Old Fig Garden area and seeing him at Thanksgiving. McLane died in 1949.
Brock grew up in Fresno, received an English degree at Stanford University, joined the Foreign Service and spent time in Latin America.
Upon returning to the San Joaquin Valley, she worked as a travel agent and in the family’s business, Valley Air Conditioning. Her mother and grandmother were both only children and she is the only remaining McLane family member in the area.
“It is important to look back and remember how, at that time point in this area, there was only a small group of movers and shakers and these were the people who really made a difference,” Brock said of Fresno State’s origin. “They were the ones who started our education in agriculture, education and business. People tend to forget that … there were very few who had the education and that kind of drive to make this all happen.”
The highest testimony to McLane’s contributions to Central California’s education comes when Welty confers degrees on the graduates: 4,279 students who completed their baccalaureate studies in 2010-11 and 916 students receiving master’s degrees.
Another 40 are eligible for doctorates: 23 in the university’s independent Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership, six in the Joint Doctorate in Educational Leadership and 11 in the Joint Doctorate in Physical Therapy. Nine individuals will receive the Education Specialist Degree, approved in 2008 for the continuing education of school psychologists working in grades K-12.
The Class of 2011 includes 24 baccalaureate students who achieved perfect 4.0 GPAs and 130 who earned summa cum laude (with highest praise) distinction for a GPA of 3.9-4.0. Nineteen students are graduating with special majors and 43 Smittcamp Family Honors College President’s Scholars are graduating with university honors.
Three posthumous degrees will be awarded: bachelor’s degrees to Ella Danilyuk (Art – Graphic Design Option) and Christina Montoya Pittman (Health Science – Community Health Option); and a Master of Science to Guadalupe Lopez in Rehabilitation Counseling.
The Fresno State Air Force ROTC will present colors. Alyssa Maas will sing the National Anthem and Joshua Bear will close the ceremony by leading the new alumni in singing the Alma Mater. Both soloists are graduating music majors.
After the degree conferral, Brad Fischer, Fresno State Alumni Association president, welcomes the grads as official alumni. The Alumni Association provided the graduates with commemorative lapel pins honoring the Centennial Class of 2011.
All commencement events are free and open to the public, except those requiring tickets. http://www.csufresno.edu/studentactivities/documents/2011%20COMMENCEMENT%20SCHEDULE52.pdf
Live streaming will be available online for the May 20 Hooding Ceremony and May 21’s Centennial Commencement and International Graduation Celebration. The broadcasts – with captioning – can be viewed at http://channel1.video.csufresno.edu/ .
For more information about Commencement, call 559.278.2741.
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