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Statement to the University
Community from:
Dr. John Welty, President
Dr. Mike Botwin, Chair, Academic Senate
Janice Brown, Chair, Staff Assembly
Juan Pablo Moncayo, President, Associated Students, Inc.
Valerie Vuicich, President, Fresno State Alumni Association
The Dec. 6 verdict closed the most-public part of a very long and
painful process for the university. While trials have dominated media
headlines over the last few months, the good work of the university
proceeds undaunted. The administration is actively appealing two of
these decisions and will not dwell on pending legal matters.
There have been frequent attempts to link together the three lawsuits
against the university to make it appear there is a pattern of
discrimination at Fresno State. We want to assure the university
community that discrimination of any kind will not be tolerated at
California State University, Fresno. Policies and procedures are in
place to safeguard the members of our institution. We have dedicated
professionals who enforce these policies as well as the discrimination
laws at the local, state, and national levels.
These are events from our past and they have detracted from the
incredible accomplishments by students, staff, and faculty on our
campus. Linking these unrelated events together – most of them from
years in the past – have obscured and mischaracterized serious issues on
our campus. The university has acted appropriately to resolve past
problems and has moved aggressively to make sure they were not repeated.
Most importantly, it’s time to move forward with our good work.
We’re proud of the opportunities we give to all our students. We’re
proud that the diversity of our student body, faculty and staff reflects
our community and provides role models, especially for young people. We
believe that our reputation of helping students succeed on campus and
after they graduate is a major strength. Many of our students are the
first in their families to attend college. We’re trying to remind the
public that their trust in Fresno State to deliver a first-class college
education is not misplaced.
Despite the characterizations of some, Fresno State is in excellent
shape. To learn more about our current progress go to
www.FresnoStateNews.com.
Just like you, we get questions about Fresno State; but when we explain
the facts, people are generous in their support. They continue to help
us provide a quality education, as we’ve been doing for nearly 100
years.
Our faculty, our staff, our students, our alumni and our supporters are
the most dedicated, hard-working people we could ever have the pleasure
of knowing and are truly the heart of our campus, our community and our
region.
With more than 25,000 students, faculty and staff, there doubtless will
be troubles in our future, as there will be in the future of any
similar-sized institution. But the key is how we respond to those
challenges when they arise, what we do to anticipate them and what we
learn from dealing with them. Together, Fresno State’s mission of
achievement will benefit our region, state, nation and world.
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