The university’s student-produced ice cream will be served by students from the Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology in the Free Speech Area on campus from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, March 17.

Students from various clubs in the seven departments throughout the college will participate in the event, helping educate students and the entire campus community about agriculture’s contributions.

In addition to scooping ice cream, the ag students will make sundaes using Fresno State-made toppings.

The week is sponsored by the Agriculture Council of America to recognize and celebrate the agricultural abundance and to increase public awareness about the industry, which is the San Joaquin Valley’s most important.

For more information, visit www.agday.org/education/index.php

(Copy by University Communications news intern Sadie Thomas)

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Speakers from various departments on campus will offer information on such issues as financial aid, transfer credits and how culture affects education. Other topics include succeeding in higher education, scholarships, networking and overcoming adversity.

The free conference, sponsored by University Outreach Services, will begin at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, March 20, at the Satellite Student Union with a welcome and introduction. Events continue through 3 p.m.

The keynote address will be presented by Dr. Mui Vuong, director of the Educational Opportunities Program at Fresno State, focusing on the importance and power of an education, choosing the right university and thriving once on campus.

“This conference’s main purpose is to make sure younger students or potential Fresno State students have a chance to network with others and hopefully build upon skills for success in their personal and professional lives,” said MaiLee Lee a Fresno State University Outreach counselor.

Vuong was appointed to her current position in 2007, after earning her Bachelor of Science in psychology and a master’s in educational psychology from the University of Utah. Her doctorate in education was awarded through the Fresno State/UC Davis joint Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership.

Fresno State’s Educational Opportunities Program helps first-generation, low-income, educationally disadvantaged college students learn about and take advantage of educational opportunities provided by the university..

For more information, contact Lee at falee@csufresno.edu or 559.278.2048.

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• Event registration
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CSU Trustee Carol Chandler of Selma, a Fresno State alumna, accompanied Welty on visits to San Joaquin Valley representatives and their staff on March 10.

The CSU delegation hosted members of Congress, their staff members and alums at a reception as part of the Hill Day activities.

“It was a productive day and provided me an opportunity to build support for key CSU policy issues and projects,” said Welty. “The House passed a special resolution honoring the 50-year mark for the California State University.”

Photo Caption: Fresno State President John D. Welty, second from right, joins CSU Chancellor Charles Reed, left, Cal Poly Pomona President Michael Ortiz, a former Fresno State provost, and Rep. Grace Napolitano, D-Norwalk during CSU Hill Day.

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A notice will be posted Thursday, March 18, in a special spring break edition of the Bulldog Blog, the biweekly e-mail newsletter sent by Associated Students Inc. to all Fresno State students. Spring break will be March 29-April 2.

The Bulldog Blog announcement says in part, “The U.S. Embassy urges U.S. citizens to delay unnecessary travel to parts of Durango, Coahuila and Chihuahua states.”

While Fresno State does not typically issue travel advisories for students, Dr. Paul M. Oliaro, vice president for Student Affairs, and Associated Students Inc. President Jessica Sweeten said they want students to be aware of potential dangers and to consider a community service project on their break, instead.

“Some of our students do undertake community service projects during the week-long break, while many others use that time to work and earn extra funds,” Oliaro said.

The student newspaper, The Collegian, also is being encouraged to cover this issue to help inform students, Sweeten said.

Melissa Jessen, assistant director of the Jan and Bud Richter Center for Community Engagement and Service-Learning, said service opportunities in the Alternative Spring Break program are available at Rotary Playland and with the Street Saints.

The university’s Alcohol Safety Council is helping send its own message about spring break responsibility with a DUI mock trial at 6 p.m. March 22 at the Satellite Student Union.

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The city is taping appeals from people throughout the community for a YouTube video intended to persuade Google to bring the new technology to Fresno. One will come from Fresno State President John D. Welty.

The city’s cameras will come to the Fresno State Free Speech area from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, March 16, to record students holding signs that say, “I Want My Google Fiber.”

Google Fiber would make available 1 gigabit-per-second connections – over 100 times faster than what most Americans have access to today in their homes.

For more information and suggestions about how individuals and groups can participate, visit the Fresno campaign’s Web site www.fiberfresno.com.

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The award was presented Friday, March 12, at the association’s conference in Sacramento

Association president Jeff Jenkins commended Caldwell’s musical performance talent, teaching accomplishments and service to the musical community. Caldwell, who plays and teaches trumpet, directs the Clendenin Brass Quintet, and from 2002 to 2008 conducted the award-winning Fresno State Jazz Band “A.”

Caldwell joined the Fresno State Department of Music faculty in 2002. In addition to teaching, he is vice chair of the Academic Senate, chair of the Board of Directors for University High School, a public charter school on campus, and serves as faculty director of the Fresno State Alumni Association Board of Directors.

The California Music Educators Association President’s Award was established in 2000 and honors music educators for their service to the profession and the organization.

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Orlean’s books include a profile of Florida orchid breeder,“The Orchid Thief,” “The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup: My Encounters with Extraordinary People” and “My Kind of Place: Travel Stories from a Woman Who’s Been Everywhere.”

She is working on a biography of Rin Tin Tin, a staple of cinema serials in the 1920s and ’30s, that was revived as a TV series in the 1950s.

Orlean has written for newspapers, New York magazine, Vogue, Rolling Stone, Outside and Esquire, joining the New Yorker staff in 1992.

Her Fresno State schedule includes a question-and-answer session with writing students and the campus community at 3 p.m. Friday, March 19, at the Leon S. and Pete Peters Education center in the Student Recreation Center (just west of the Save Mart Center). She will make a public presentation at 7 p.m. at Peters Center. Parking for the event will be free in Lot V.

Orlean’s evening presentation is presented by the Master of Fine Arts Creative Writing program within the Department of English at Fresno State in association in conjunction with the Fresno Poets Association and the San Joaquin Literary Association.

For more information, call 559.278.2553.

(Copy by University Communications news intern Sadie Thomas)

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Fresno State student Jennifer Long didn’t enjoy her winter break, and what she faces March 22 will probably spoil her spring break the following week as well: a trial for driving under the influence after a party celebrating the end of the fall semester.

Jennifer was arrested Dec. 8 for DUI and is fighting the charge before Fresno County Superior Court Judge Brant K. Bramer. And she will do it in front of Fresno State students at 6 p.m. that day at the Satellite Student Union.

That’s the scenario for a mock trial involving a fictitious student, but based on facts and heard by a real judge.

It’s part of a strategy by Fresno State’s Alcohol Safety Committee and the Criminology Department to grab students’ attention as they head off to spring break which is March 27-April 4. It’s a preview of what would happen to them if they get caught drinking and driving.

“The purpose of the trial is to educate students to the risks and consequences of driving under the influence,” said criminology professor Mark Stevens, who developed the case to replicate an actual DUI trial.

Criminology students will portray lawyers, officers, witnesses and the jury in the real Judge Bramer’s mock court. The mock jury will deliver a verdict and Bramer will decide the penalty, using real-life sentencing guidelines.

Stevens developed the DUI Mock Trial Education Program teaching at North Carolina Wesleyan College prior to coming to Fresno State. He was asked by Dr. Paul M. Oliaro, vice president for Student Affairs and chair of the university’s Alcohol Safety Committee, to develop one for Fresno State students.

Stevens is the adviser for Fresno State’s mock trial competition teams, but this is not a part of that program.

“I like to do it right before a major drinking event such as spring break or around winter holidays,” Stevens said. “Students need to be informed about California’s DUI and Implied Consent laws when they choose to consume alcohol.”

Adjunct professor Bethany Berube, the Tulare County public guardian, is assisting Stevens by coaching the students in her Criminal Legal Process class. Also assisting are Fresno attorneys Kara Schacher, Tina Barberi and Amanda Dayton.

Organizers hope to attract Fresno State students March 22, but the free event is open to everyone.

Oliaro said the community is encouraged to get involved with the Alcohol Safety Committee and help promote its awareness programs to all students.

For more information, contact Stevens at mstevens@csufresno.edu, 559.278.5416 or Oliaro at 559.278.2541 or poliaro@csufresno.edu.

(Copy by University Communications news intern Sadie Thomas)

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The lecture at 4 p.m. Monday, March 15, will be held in the University Business Center, Room 194. Cost is $25 for non-IFB members.

Gross will discuss how producers in and out of agriculture should operate in the current international economic climate. He will address the rates in which U.S. agricultural imports have increased internationally and the impact of fluctuating global rates.

Gross, who holds a doctorate in economics from the University of Tennessee, is the MacAllister Chair and professor of economics at Creighton, which is in Omaha, Neb. He also is the editor of Economic Trends, an economics newsletter, and the past president of the Omaha Association of Business Economics and National Purchasing Management Association-Nebraska.

RSVP to the institute office at 559.278.5662.

For more information, contact Lori Few at 559.278.4426.

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The exhibit, “Madhubani: Mithila Artists,” showcases 16 color photos and five framed paintings by the artists. It is mounted in the Peter P. Peters Balcony Ellipse Gallery on the third floor of the library’s Table Mountain Rancheria Tower.

A documentary film introduces exhibit goers to the artists and their work from one of Sharma’s trips to the region, which is in northeastern India near the border with Nepal.

The tradition of painting murals inside and outside Madhubani homes is rapidly vanishing, even as the art form continues to evolve, she explained. Madhubani art is an ancient form traditionally created by women.

“Art in this region has empowered rural women and given them recognition in their family and society,” Sharma said.

Sharma recently published a collection of photographs documenting the Madhubani artists in Mithila. She also will lead an art workshop and tour to India from Dec. 27 to Jan. 10 that will focus on Madhubani work and the artists.

Sharma received a master’s degree from Indiana University and her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Temple University’s, Tyler School of Art. She has traveled extensively throughout Europe and India.

For more information, contact Sharma at jksharma@csufresno.edu or 559.278.2707.

(Copy by University Communications news intern Sadie Thomas)

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