Fresno State President Joseph I. Castro announced Lar Yang as the newest appointment to the University Advisory Board. Yang is the owner and creative director of Yang Design, the graphic design company that he founded in 2000. He is a 1999 graduate of Fresno State, where he majored in fine arts with an emphasis in graphic design.
The University Advisory Board is a panel of community members that provides strategic input on development of the University. Members generally serve three-year terms. According to the University Advisory Board website, board members serve in an advisory capacity and provide counsel and advice to the president.
In 2008, Yang started a new resource, “Txhawb — The Hmong California Directory,” to help catalog all Hmong businesses in a printed directory. But the resource, which grew into a magazine, also helped tell the stories of the Hmong people. Txhawb magazine has now been in print for 12 years.
Yang, born in Laos, founded the Hmongstory 40 project, a multimedia exhibition commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Hmong refugee displacement that was on display during the Hmong New Year celebration at the Fresno Fairgrounds in 2015. Hmongstory 40 was later also displayed in Merced and Sacramento. More than 80,000 visitors experienced the exhibition.
“I am pleased and honored that Mr. Yang will serve on the University Advisory Board,” Castro said. “With his diverse perspectives and lived experiences, he will be a valued adviser as the board discusses key issues that shape the bold and bright future of Fresno State and our region.”
Yang was the co-producer and co-director for “The Hmong and the Secret War,” an hourlong documentary that aired on ValleyPBS in 2017. To view the documentary, go to www.pbs.org/video/the-hmong-and-the-secret-war-zwwpgu/.
For more information, contact Diana Ralls at diralls@csufresno.edu.
