The Investiture ceremony to formally recognize Dr. Joseph I. Castro as the eighth president of California State University, Fresno, drew more than 1,300 people from throughout the Central Valley to the on-campus Save Mart Center on May 10.

Responding to a special university outreach to K-12 schools in the region, more than half of the attendees were children. Many, like the president, are from families in which college-going is not a tradition.

investiture1Castro gave the children a special message: “If you remember anything I said today, please let it be this: Fresno State is here for you now and in the future to help you achieve your dreams.”

Education dignitaries from the California State University system, the University of California and community colleges were on hand. Among them was President Emeritus John D. Welty, whose retirement in 2013 after 22 years at Fresno State preceded Castro’s appointment.

Dr. A. Eugene Washington, UCLA’s vice chancellor of health sciences, dean of the David Geffen School of Medicine and a mentor of Castro’s, delivered the keynote address.

CSU Chancellor Timothy P. White presented Castro with Fresno State’s presidential medallion.

In his speech, Castro looked to what he called a “bright future” for Fresno State, and one in which bold actions will bring positive results. Among recent bold actions to benefit students, Castro listed:

  • Faculty members stepping up to volunteer to teach their courses in a new way, using tablets through the new DISCOVERe Program.
  • Campus and community members volunteering to be part of the important President’s Commission on the Future of Agriculture, which presented its preliminary report May 9.
  • Donors like Dr. William Lyles and his family, and the Assemi family of Fresno who are making bold and generous gifts in support of Fresno State programs.

“Why do these bold actions matter?” Castro asked. “They matter because Fresno State, along with K-12 schools and other colleges and universities, plays a vital role in strengthening our economy and improving the overall quality of everyone’s life.

“They also matter because our youth need us to act in ways that will prepare them for even greater success than we are experiencing. The tradition of one generation paving the way for the next is a central theme in American society that must be preserved. Please look around you.  We owe it to our youth.

“I want Fresno State to act so boldly that the generations following us will marvel at how well we prepared for them to lead,” Castro said.

Following the ceremony, a community picnic for attendees featured student-produced food items such as new Bulldog Hot Dogs from the Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, the Bulldog Beat band, baton twirlers and university mascot TimeOut.

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