Fresno State will award honorary doctorates to three individuals this year — advocate for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Robert R. Davila; Hinds Hospice founder Nancy Hinds; and Fresno arts proponent Lilia Gonzales-Chavez.
Honorary doctorates are awarded on behalf of the California State University system and Fresno State in recognition of excellence and extraordinary achievement in significant areas of human endeavor that embody the CSU system’s objectives and ideals.
Davila and Hinds will both receive an honorary doctor of humane letters and both will be recognized during the commencement ceremony for the College of Health and Human Services, scheduled from 10:30 a.m. to noon Saturday, May 18, at the Save Mart Center.
Gonzales-Chavez will receive an honorary doctor of fine arts and will be recognized during the commencement ceremony for the College of Arts and Humanities, scheduled from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Friday, May 17, at the Save Mart Center.
Robert R. Davila
Robert R. Davila
Robert R. Davila was born in Southern California to Mexican parents who worked in the fields and orchards. At age 8, he contracted spinal meningitis and became deaf. His mother sent him to the California School for the Deaf, initially located in Berkeley, where he excelled.
Davila learned American Sign Language and English. After graduating with honors from the California School for the Deaf, he became the first Latino student to enroll at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., where he earned a bachelor’s degree in education in 1953. He later earned a master’s degree in special education at Hunter College and a doctoral degree in educational technology from Syracuse University.
His journey led to a life promoting education and advocating for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in the U.S. and around the world.
Davila started as a high school teacher and moved into leadership positions in the K-12 educational system. Starting in 1972, he served for 38 years in various positions, from professor to college administrator, at a number of institutions, including Gallaudet University. He was later named the ninth president of Gallaudet University on Jan. 1, 2007.
From 1989-93, Davila served as assistant secretary for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services for the U.S. Department of Education under President George H.W. Bush. He was the first Deaf person appointed by a president to a policy position where he managed a nearly $6 billion budget. He was also the first Deaf person to address an official session of the United Nations General Assembly in 1992.
Following his time with the Department of Education, Davila returned to work with schools for the Deaf. In 1996, Davila was installed as the first Deaf vice president of the National Technical Institute for the Deaf.
He connected with Fresno State as a keynote speaker for the Chicano/Latino Commencement Celebration and a conference for teachers. He has also worked closely with Karen Jensen, founder of the Fresno State Deaf Education Program.
In 2022, Davila established the Robert R. and Donna E. Davila Endowment in the Silent Garden at Fresno State. The $250,000 endowment will support Spanish-language programming for Deaf and Hard of Hearing families in California.
Nancy Hinds
Nancy Hinds
Nancy Hinds is nationally and internationally recognized for her work with the terminally ill and as the founder of Hinds Hospice, a non-profit hospice and grief organization serving Fresno, Madera and Merced Counties. A 2021 Business Journal article said Hinds’ “name is synonymous with compassion and quality care.”
Born in Akron, Ohio, Hinds trained at Cleveland Clinic and began her nursing career at age 23 as a missionary nurse in the West Indies. She later met her Irish husband, Dr. Godfrey Hinds, while working in Nigeria during the Biafra War. They also served in Uganda. Godfrey died of cancer in Ireland in 1977, leaving Nancy a widow with three preschool-aged sons. In 1980, she moved to Fresno to be near family, and, in 1981, she began caring for the terminally ill in her own home. This was the beginning of Hinds Hospice
Today, Hinds Hospice includes a pediatric hospice program to support children and families with terminally ill children, a prison program and global outreach. The Angel Babies Program provides grief support to families who have a pregnancy loss or an infant diagnosed with a life-limiting condition. It is provided through the Center for Grief and Healing.
As a pioneer in hospice and palliative care, Hinds felt a responsibility to share her experience with the next generation of medical providers. Hinds and her staff have educated physicians and medical students from the University of California, San Francisco, and Davis programs, providing formal hands-on training in end-of-life care.
Fresno State departments and programs — including the Jan and Bud Richter Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning, Social Work Education and others — have placed volunteer, service-learning and internship students in various capacities with Hinds Hospice since 1995. Students have participated as part of experiential learning at Hinds Hospice, which cares for more than 1,500 patients per year and provides grief support to more than 4,500 people annually. Hinds and her staff have been co-educators for hundreds of students over the years, both from undergraduate and graduate programs.
Hinds’ most significant legacy is her ability to inspire generations of other health care clinicians from all disciplines to follow in her footsteps and serve families with compassion and love during challenging times.
Lilia Gonzales-Chavez
Lilia Gonzales-Chavez
Gonzales-Chavez has served Fresno and the Central Valley for decades by promoting and furthering art and culture throughout the city and region.
For the past 12 years, Gonzales-Chavez has promoted the arts and a vibrant Fresno culture as the executive dIrector of the Fresno Arts Council, and with the California Arts Council since she was appointed to that role in 2020 by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Gonzales-Chavez has been a champion for promoting and supporting artists and spreading diverse and vibrant culture in Fresno, the Central Valley and across the state.
She has spearheaded community events, created numerous opportunities for Fresno’s diverse population to share their culture and talents with the broader community, and overall made Fresno a more exciting, vibrant and accepting community.
Gonzales-Chavez earned a bachelor’s in human development at Fresno State, before earning a master’s in public administration from Fresno Pacific University.
Gonzales-Chavez danced with Los Danzantes de Aztlán while she was a Fresno State student and then joined one of her college professors to start a folklorico group for young children in Fresno — Los Ninos de Aztlan.
She was an integral part of growing Art Hop into what it is today, with thousands of Fresnans visiting Fresno art galleries twice a month to celebrate art and be together. She was one of the founders of Arte Americas, the Central Valley’s largest Latino cultural arts center, and established Fresno’s poet laureate program.
Gonzalez-Chavez served on the California Arts Council until her term ended in 2023. During her time there, she worked to secure funding for arts programs in Fresno and other underserved areas of California.
