Fresno State Jazz Festival revival is part of a larger vision for the program

Richard Giddens and the Jazz Band

It had been nearly 20 years since the last Fresno State Jazz Festival, and after a day of performances by visiting schools, the main concert began in the Fresno State Concert Hall on the evening of Nov. 29. Richard Giddens, Director of Jazz Studies for the Fresno State Department of Music directed the Fresno State […]

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Make Japan your classroom this summer

This summer study trip to Japan will make you experience Japanese society and culture. The emphasis of the program is to make “Japan the classroom.” You will stay with a Japanese host family for a week in Osaka. Also, you will have a chance to study Japanese culture (Calligraphy, Tea Ceremony, Flower Arrangement, Cooking, etc.) with Japanese students at […]

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Spend three weeks studying in China

Spend three weeks in Shanghai, the largest cosmopolitan city of China with native Chinese speaking professors in a total immersion environment for learning the Chinese language and culture, interacting with local Chinese students, touring the best of China’s traditional architecture and gardens, museums and galleries, and seeing the amazing development of China’s modernization as part of your experience. Tour Suzhou, an ancient city […]

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Drama-focused program unites future ESL teachers with international high school students

SJMHS drama program students

The innovative after-school program allows teachers to implement creative ways of teaching English through a drama-based context. This 2018 Fall semester, the linguistics department set into motion a brand new program that partners Fresno State’s future Teaching English as a Second Language (TESOL) teachers with English as a Second Language (ESL) international students at San […]

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Philosophy Club sharpens students’ intellectual creativity through discourse

Fresno State Philosophy Club

The Fresno State Philosophy Club meets every Thursday at 2 p.m. in “The Phil Zone” (Music 104) and discusses a variety of philosophical, religious, and legal topics and issues. Every Fresno State student, regardless of major, can join the club — or attend the club’s events and meetings. A theme, readings, and questions for each […]

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English Education alumnus takes unlikely path to teaching job

Jacob Simmons earned his bachelor’s in English Education from Fresno State in 2016.

~ By Jefferson Beavers, communication specialist, Department of English So how do you go from being a traveling hardware salesman and college dropout to landing your dream teaching job at your high school alma mater? You can ask recent Fresno State alumnus Jacob Simmons about his “15-Year Plan.” Simmons, a first-generation college student who returned […]

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Featured Supporter: Judy Kuipers

Judy Kuipers

“To me, the greatest satisfaction is in knowing that you, as a human being, made something better for another human being,” said Dr. Judy Kuipers, Ph.D., retired chancellor. “You feel it at your core. Not in… a self-serving way, but just a human satisfaction. Of course, to me, it’s surrounded by a great big ol’ […]

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Study Greek classics, while in Greece

Greece Featured Image

The 2019 Summer Trip to Greece, in partnership with the Paideia Institute, will take place in May. The trip offers students a unique opportunity to learn and see first-hand the area which many call the birthplace of Western Civilization. The program started in 2015 when Classics of Humanities Professors Curtis and Kristi Eastin created the “Summer Greek […]

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Armenian Studies Program inspires with a holistic approach to community-oriented events

William Saroyan House Museum opening ceremony

The sense of community that flourished at the Armenian Studies Program’s well-attended events made the Fall 2018 semester exceptional. Between the ceremony for the opening of the William Saroyan House Museum, a jazz piano concert, a CineCulture movie, and a series of riveting lectures, Prof. Barlow Der Mugrdechian, Berberian Coordinator of the Armenian Studies Program […]

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University Theatre announces production of ‘Carmen Jones’

Red Rose

University Theatre is pleased to announce the newest addition to our 2018/2019 Mainstage Season, “Carmen Jones” by Oscar Hammerstein II, based on Meilhac and Halevy’s adaption of Prosper Merimee’s “Carmen”, Music by Geroges Bizet, and directed by Thomas-Whit Ellis. The production will run from May 3-11, 2019 in the John Wright Theatre located in the […]

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Study abroad on the island of Mallorca in Spain

We shall encounter the beauty of this Mediterranean island with settlements and archaeological sites stretching back millennia (including Roman Pollentia). We shall analyze the architecture (including the majestic cathedral on the waterfront of Palma) and art (e.g., Joan Miró), and study the confluence of the Muslim, Jewish, and Christian cultures there.

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Alumna of Linguistics Carol Inger Simerly remembered

Carol Inger Simerly

 OBITUARY Carol Inger Simerly 11/28/1943 – 10/09/2018   Carol Simerly died peacefully in her home in Fresno on October 9, 2018, just shy of her 75th birthday. She had been plagued with respiratory and cardiac issues for some time. She was born in 1943 in Long Beach, California during the War years to Leland Glen Simerly and Inger […]

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Tigran Hamasyan delights audience with an innovative live performance

Tigran

By Annie Rubio Music is a universal language, with messages and emotions that can be understood regardless of one’s background. Modern artists are always seeking new ways to push the boundaries of their craft, to continuously innovate. Armenian jazz pianist Tigran Hamasyan artfully melds modern and traditional sounds into his music and he also ties in […]

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Barking Bulldogs finish fall semester with big success at CSU Northridge

Barking Bulldogs

The Fresno State Barking Bulldogs wrapped up their Fall 2018 season with an excellent team performance at CSU Northridge on Nov. 2 through 4, with the Bulldogs placing third overall in the policy debate sweepstakes. Sweepstakes awards are an important team milestone because they are based on the performance of every Fresno State debater at […]

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Students collaborate to publish a children’s book which teaches environmental responsibility

The Tree Tales

College of Arts and Humanities undergrads Kelsi Stieler, Kaylee Gutierrez, and Kristin Bonillas have utilized their talents and collaborated to write, illustrate and publish a children’s book. “The Tree Tales” book, which is available on Amazon, centers around the importance of environmental conservation and teaches kids what they can do to help. “A large part […]

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Communication students organize TEDxFresnoState event

TEDxFresnoState team

Five speakers and one musician took to the TEDx stage in the Wahlberg Recital Hall on Wednesday, Nov. 14 for an afternoon designed to discover new ideas and spark conversations within our community. The event was curated by Dr. Marnel Niles Goins, Professor and Graduate Coordinator in the Department of Communication, and organized by her […]

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Fall tradition returns with ‘Band Spectacular’ concert

Fresno State Marching Band (Photo by Cary Edmondson)

The Fresno State Jazz Orchestra, Fresno State Wind Orchestra, and Bulldog Marching Band combine for the “Band Spectacular” at 8 p.m., Monday, Nov. 19th at the Fresno State Concert Hall. The fall tradition continues as three of Fresno State’s finest ensembles unite for an evening of music both inside the Concert Hall and on the […]

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Transformative two-year grant to promote Portuguese legacy in Valley

Dr. Vasco Rato, FLAD president, director Miguel Vaz, Fresno State President Joseph I. Castro, Rep. Jim Costa, Rep. Devin Nunes, Rep. David Valadao, and other University officials, students, and faculty for a reception and gift announcement at 11 a.m. Nov. 5 in the Smittcamp Alumni House.

The Luso-American Development Foundation (FLAD), based in Lisbon, Portugal, gave $130,000 to launch two initiatives in the newly created Portuguese Beyond Borders Center at Fresno State. The grant will be split two ways with $100,000 funding the Portuguese-American Oral History Project and $30,000 to fund a speaker series. “FLAD is extremely enthusiastic about the opportunity […]

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Fresno State to Host Interactive Adobe Day on Nov. 15

Adobe Creative Cloud graphic

A chance for students to win prizes, Adobe merchandise, and annual Adobe Creative Cloud licenses. Fresno State will host its first-ever Adobe Day on Thursday, Nov. 15, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Free Speech Area. As part of a partnership between the California State University (CSU) system and Adobe, Fresno State students, faculty […]

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‘Unveiling Supergroovalistic Funk’ celebrates funk, culture and artistry

Unveiling Supergroovalistic Funk

“Supergroovalistic Woman” is a ceramic female nude sculpture by visual artist Michael Chukes which has been acquired by the Center for Creativity and the Arts on behalf of Fresno State. The sculpture, along with other works by Chukes, will be on display from Thursday, Nov. 15 until Jan. 15 in the Pete P. Peters Ellipse […]

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ESL teacher Kelsey Evans on assignment in Vietnam

Evans Vietnam students

ESL teacher Kelsey Evans is currently completing a ten-month teaching program in Vietnam through the English Language Fellow Program (ELF) that began in June 2018. While earning both a BA and MA in linguistics from Fresno State, Evans began teaching English as a second language by getting involved with the American English Institute (AEI) during her Junior […]

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‘Normal’ Authors Explore Narratives of Family, Growth, and Identity

Angela Morales and Bich Minh Nguyen

By Jefferson Beavers Authors Beth Bich Minh Nguyen and Angela Morales will read from their work at The Normal School fall reading event on Friday, Dec. 7, inside The Backroom at The Revue coffee bar, 620 E. Olive Ave. The authors are returning to Fresno after teaching this past summer in The Normal School’s Creative Nonfiction […]

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Peter Everwine, poet and Fresno State professor emeritus, dies at 88

Peter Everwine, Poet and Emeritus Professor at Fresno State

By Jefferson Beavers Dr. Peter Everwine, a professor emeritus of English at Fresno State and nationally acclaimed poet and translator, died in Fresno on Oct. 28 at the age of 88. Services for Mr. Everwine are scheduled for 11 a.m. on Nov. 10 at Farewell Funeral Services, 660 W. Locust Ave. #101 in Fresno. The […]

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Fresno State Focus covers local midterm election results

Control room at Fresno State Focus

“Fresno State Focus” — a public affairs program produced by Media, Communications and Journalism students — will air its fifth weekly show of the Fall 2018 semester at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 7. The student-run news production will cover the election – partnering with our colleagues at The Collegian. Our student reporters will be at both […]

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Standing in the warm light of poetry giant Juan Felipe Herrera

United States Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera

“Something happens in the presence of giants. There’s that warm; reddish glow,” I say to the former United States Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera. “A warm reddish glow,” he repeats. At that moment a colleague of his walks in, interrupting the conversation for a couple of minutes, which had drifted to one of his latest […]

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Middle East Studies Lecture, Performance and Film Series presents ‘Traces in Indian Miniature Paintings of Socio-Cultural Connections’

Middle East Studies Lecture, Performance & Film Series 2018-2019

The 2018-2019 Middle East Studies Lecture, Performance & Film Series presents “Traces in Indian Miniature Paintings of Socio-Cultural Connections Between the Mughal Court and the Persianate World” featuring speaker Professor Bonnie C. Wade of the University of California Berkeley, Department of Music. The event will be held on Thursday, Nov. 8 at 5:00 pm in the […]

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‘The Poetry of Jazz’ by Philip Levine and Benjamin Boone ranked #3 Jazz Album of the Year by Downbeat Magazine

Philip Levine, Benjamin Boone and the band in the studio

What started as a jazz project between two Fresno State colleagues has earned the respect of Downbeat Magazine readers who rank “The Poetry of Jazz” the number three Jazz Album of the Year in the 2018 Readers Poll. The poll results appeared in the December 2018 issue and praised the performance of Pulitzer-winning poet laureate […]

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Emma Hill wins Senior Cello award at 2018 CalASTA State Solo Competition

Emma Hill

Congratulations to music performance major Emma Hill who received the Senior Cello award at the 2018 CalASTA (California American String Teachers Association) State Solo Competition on Oct 20 at the Ann E. Pitzer Center on the UC Davis campus. At the competition, 43 competitors were divided into Novice, Junior and Senior divisions. According to CalASTA […]

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