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Shown with the new Jordan College logo, from
left, are Dr. Peter Mehas, President John D. Welty, Dean
Charles Boyer, Mrs. Dee Jordan. |
The naming of the Jordan
College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology was be celebrated
Thursday, May 14, at at California State University, Fresno. The
ceremony was held outdoors on the east side of the Ag Science
building.
The California State University Board of Trustees approved the name
May 13.
On April 23, 2009, a gift of $29,442,516 was presented to the college by
Dee Jordan on behalf of her late husband Hanabul “Bud” Jordan and his
late brother, Lowell Jordan. The gift is the largest single cash gift in
the history of Fresno State or the California State University system.
This prompted Fresno State President John Welty to petition the trustees
of the CSU to name the college in honor of the Jordans.
Participating in the ceremony will be Welty; Dr. Charles Boyer, dean of
the college; Ag One Foundation President Cristel Tufenkjian, faculty
member Dr. Andrew Larson, student and Jordan Scholarship recipient Jaime
Flores, and donor Dee Jordan.
During the event, a new logo bearing the Jordan College of Agricultural
Sciences and Technology name was revealed. A barbecue lunch followed.
The Jordan family is from the East Bay, where Bud owned and operated FL
Construction, a general contracting business headquartered in Hayward.
Lowell lived on the family Four Bar J ranch in Dublin, tending to a
small herd of highlander cattle.
The gift is a testament to the importance of relationships. Fresno State
agricultural economics professor emeritus Bob Glim and his wife Dorothy
introduced the Jordan family to the work of the college at a motor home
rally.
He did such a great job that they began a scholarship endowment in
November 1995 through the college’s Ag One Foundation without ever
setting foot on the campus. Over the years, the Jordan family
contributed $130,000 to this endowment, which supports six to seven
deserving students each year with scholarships of $1,000.
After the first gift was made, new friendships were formed with Ag One
Executive Director Alcidia Freitas Gomes. She visited the Jordans a few
times each year, bringing news of the Jordan scholarship recipients and
faculty along with products from the Fresno State farm. She and Boyer
continue this tradition.
The Jordan gift is transformational for the college. New facilities and
research opportunities will position the Jordan College of Agricultural
Sciences and Technology at the leading edge of agricultural education in
California.
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