Chevron is continuing its multi-year tradition of inspirational investment in Fresno State programs, powering several initiatives with a generous gift of $350,000. This brings the cumulative total of Chevron’s gifts to $1.7 million since 2017.

Chevron’s gifts through the years focus on addressing a shortage in the region of STEM-trained workers (STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics), providing enhanced educational opportunities in these areas.

“Thousands of students’ lives have already been transformed by Chevron’s generosity, which grows a new generation of leaders who are prepared to boldly address regional and national challenges,” said Fresno State President Joseph I. Castro. “With strong community partners like Chevron, we will continue to graduate nurses, scientists, engineers, teachers and researchers who help to elevate the Central Valley and beyond.”

Chevron will support the following Fresno State initiatives with this year’s gift:

  • Joyce M. Huggins Early Education Center at the Kremen School for Education and Human Development for STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) experiences for young children. The Huggins Center teaches our community’s youngest students and the STEAM Innovation Preschool Program will provide them with meaningful early experiences.
  • College of Health and Human Services to support the transportation of Fresno State students, making it easier for them to engage with rural communities. The enhanced transportation opportunities will benefit programs like the Community Health Mobile Unit, which offers free health screenings in underserved communities throughout Fresno County, while giving Fresno State nursing students valuable hands-on clinical placements.
  • College of Science and Mathematics to fund course-based undergraduate research experiences. The CURES program integrates research into students’ regular coursework, preparing them for science-research careers in the workforce.

“We are proud of our long-standing relationship with Fresno State and value the opportunity to help strengthen their curriculum and student development in STEM education,” said Billy Lacobie, vice president of Chevron’s San Joaquin Valley Business Unit. “STEM will play an increasingly critical role in helping to power the future of innovation not only in the Central Valley but also across the globe. We appreciate that Fresno State shares our view, as they demonstrate by laying an educational foundation for countless students and finding innovative ways to engage them and the wider university community in STEM education.”