Fresno State President Joseph I. Castro has announced appointments to the University Advisory Board and the Fresno State Foundation Board of Governors.
Castro named Barry Bedwell and Will Lyles to the University Advisory Board, a panel of community members who provide him advice regarding the improvement and development of the university.
Bedwell is president of the California Grape & Tree Fruit League. He graduated from Fresno State in 1974 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. He also serves on the President’s Commission on the Future of Agriculture at Fresno State, Mayor Ashley Swearengin’s President’s Council and the Chancellor’s Agricultural Advisory Committee for the California State University.
Lyles, vice president and board member with Lyles Diversified Inc., graduated from Purdue University. He is a member and past board chair of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Fresno County and a member of the Advisory Council for the Lyles Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Fresno State.
Leaving the advisory board are Mike Patton and Allysunn Walker-Williams.
Castro’s appointments to the foundation board are Fresno State alumni Kevin Sweeney and Dora Westerlund.
The Fresno State Foundation manages the financial activities relating to sponsored research grants and contracts, gifts and endowments and campus program trust accounts.
Sweeney is senior director of sales for Wells Fargo’s Wealth Management Group for the state of California. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Fresno State and was a NCAA record-setting quarterback for the football team. He is a board member for Children’s Hospital Foundation, Foundation for Clovis Schools and University of California, Merced.
Westerlund is president and CEO of the Fresno Area Hispanic Foundation. She enrolled at Fresno State as an international student and earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration — international business. She is a member of Castro’s transition team, the Big Fresno Fair Board of Directors, Comerica Bank Community Advisory Board, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. Community Advisory Council and the Fresno County Office of Education Board of Directors.
Transitioning to governor emeritus roles are Helen Smades and Mike Patton. Smades had been a member since 1983, serving on the audit, budget, development and governance committees. Patton, a member since 2006, served on the membership committee and was vice chair of the investment committee, chair of the Investment Advisory Council and founding member of the New California Ventures, LLC
