Fresno State will award honorary doctorates to three individuals this year — educator Ron W. Goode, corrections department professional Danielle Lopez and entrepreneur Dennis Parnagian.
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.
Goode will receive an honorary doctor of humane letters and will be recognized during the commencement ceremony for the College of Social Sciences at 1 p.m. Friday, May 16, at the Save Mart Center.
Lopez will receive an honorary doctor of humane letters and will be recognized during the Chicano Latino Commencement Celebration at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 17, at the Save Mart Center.
Parnagian will receive an honorary doctor of humane letters and will be recognized during the commencement ceremony for the Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology at 3:30 p.m. Friday, May 16, at the Save Mart Center.
Ron W. Goode – Doctor of Humane Letters
A gifted educator, the Honorable Ron W. Goode is widely recognized for sharing his rich cultural heritage. Goode is the tribal chairman of the North Fork Mono Tribe.
A retired community college professor in ethnic studies, Goode was inducted into the Clovis Hall of Fame in 2002 for his work in education and community service.
Goode was awarded the Society for California Archaeology 2022 California Indian Heritage Preservation Award, recognizing his valuable contributions to preserving the state’s cultural heritage. He is also a veteran of the U.S. Army, a life member of the Sierra Mono Museum and of the U.S. Judo Federation, in which he holds a sixth-degree black belt.
Goode volunteers with collaborative and tribal forums, enhancing the ecological environment, watersheds and cultural resources of the forests, parks and tribal lands. He and tribal members have restored cultural resource sites, including meadows, oaks and cultural resources on Forest Service lands over the past 25 years.
In 2018, he and the North Fork Mono Tribe negotiated a “Master Cost Share Agreement” with the Sierra National Forest, which will open cultural burning practices and training certifications related to the work they do on ecosystem restoration. (Cultural burning is explained in this 5-minute, 35-second video, which includes comments from Goode.)
His journal writings and webinar presentations have garnered worldwide attention. He is a nationally and internationally recognized practitioner and scholar of California Native culture and ecological stewardship.
Goode is a published author, producing an ethno-botany book on native plants and resources, “Cultural Traditions Endangered.” He is working on a second book. Additionally, he is a co-author of other published books, peer-reviewed journal articles and curriculum.
He is on the Native American advisory committee for the Department of Water Resources for the California Water Plan Update, and a co-founder and summit chair of the California State Agencies and California Tribes Water Summits for 2009, 2013, 2018 and 2023. In 2017-18, he was the coordinating lead author for the Tribal Indigenous Communities Climate Change Assessment as a new report of the California’s Fourth Climate Change Assessment.
Danielle Lopez – Doctor of Humane Letters
Born in southwest Fresno, Danielle Lopez is the eldest of six siblings. Raised by a single mother in an area of high poverty and crime, Lopez helped support her family as a farmworker, picking fruits and vegetables in the San Joaquin Valley during school breaks. These early struggles, along with the influence of her mother, served as the driving forces in Lopez’s life.
She took some summer school classes at Fresno City College and after high school enrolled at Fresno State, where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in criminology and completed the coursework for her master’s degree. She worked full time to finance her college education while attending night classes, and still made time to participate in local community organizations, including serving as a senator with student government.
Motivated by her experience growing up in an at-risk community, Lopez chose a career in the criminal justice system, where she worked for more than 37 years. She began as a county probation aide, became a juvenile hall counselor and eventually reached the level of deputy probation officer. She then moved to the California Department of Corrections, working her way through the ranks as a corrections officer, parole agent, correctional lieutenant, captain and associate warden. After 19 years with the Department of Corrections, Lopez became a deputy commissioner with the state Board of Prison Terms.
She has volunteered with the Chicano Correctional Workers Association and the Fresno chapter of the Big Brothers, Big Sisters of America, as well as serving on the boards of the East Fresno Boys and Girls Club, Habitat for Humanity-Greater Fresno Area, the National Scholarship Fund-Fresno, and Arte Américas, for which she also served as president. Since her retirement, she has volunteered as a golf coach with First Tee-Fresno, a youth development organization that teaches life skills to young people through the game of golf. She is also a trustee on the Fowler Unified School District board.
Lopez chose to receive her honorary doctorate during the Chicano Latino Commencement Ceremony, given that she participated in the first-ever such celebration in 1977.
Dennis Parnagian – Doctor of Humane Letters
Dennis Parnagian is a visionary entrepreneur with more than 50 years of experience in business and leadership. He is the chairman of Fowler Packing, which farms about 23,000 acres and employs around 400 full-time workers and more than 2,500 seasonal workers.
At age 8, Parnagian started working in the family’s packing plant, which was established in 1950 by his father, Sam Parnagian, a pioneer in the fruit industry. He attended Fowler High School and still lives in the same house where he grew up. After graduating from the University of San Francisco, he thought about going to law school, but has no regrets about not doing so.
Today, Fowler Packing is one of the largest growers, packers and shippers in the fresh produce business, handling over 10 million boxes of stone fruit, table grapes and Clementines each year. More than 80% of the fruit is owned and farmed by the Parnagian family.
The legacy of Fowler Packing includes a tradition of social responsibility that involves providing employees 300,000 free meals annually at an onsite cafeteria, “Cocina de Samuel.” In 2014 the company opened Fowler Health Clinic, a free on-site clinic providing medical care for employees and their families.
Parnagian has dedicated his life to philanthropy, serving on many community boards that support the greatest needs of his community – health care, education and food insecurity. Fowler Packing actively partners with the Community Food Bank of Fresno.
Parnagian has been a devoted and loyal philanthropic partner and volunteer of Fresno State. He has served on numerous Fresno State volunteer committees, including the Fresno State Foundation Board of Governors, the President’s Campaign Leadership Council, the President’s Commission on the Future of Agriculture, the Jordan College’s Institute for Food and Agriculture Advisory Board and the Kenneth L. Maddy Institute Board of Directors.
His community board service includes Harris Woolf Almonds and AMOR (Alliance for Medical Outreach and Relief).
