Featured Supporter: Ronald Ballecer

Ron Ballecer head shot on a white background

“Me giving of my time…and my monetary support is important because I want people to have the same opportunities that I had.” ~ Ronald Ballecer

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In memoriam: Dr. Judy Kuipers

Judy Kuipers

Former administrator Dr. Judith “Judy” Kuipers passed away on Oct. 15. Born on June 24, 1937, Kuipers was vice president of Academic Affairs for Fresno State from 1984 to 1991.

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Featured Supporter: Carla Millar

Carla Millar stands in front of a tree and a house in a white and black pattered sweater and a red string with a jingle bell around her neck.

For 30 years, Carla Millar was a constant presence in the College of Arts and Humanities dean’s office at Fresno State, where one of her duties was coordinating the London semester and the London winter intersession program. Now retired, she continues supporting students.

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Featured Supporter: Dr. Shirley Bruegman

A woman in black poses for a photo. She has brown hair and brown eyes and is looking directly at the camera.

Shirley Bruegman’s journey began in the heartland of Nebraska, where vast fields stretched across low rolling hills. Her humble beginnings on a farm would lay the foundation for a remarkable story of dedication to education, passion for the arts, and a commitment to making a difference. 

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Featured Supporter: Randy Ataíde

Randy Ataíde in front of a book shelf.

Proud of his heritage, Randy Ataíde created the first scholarship fund through the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI). 

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Featured Supporter: Danny Swartz

Featured Supporter: Danny Swartz

In 1987, Fresno State student Danny Swartz departed for London. It was only his second trip on a plane — the first had been a short hop from Fresno to San Francisco — and his first time out of the country. Up until that point, he had only left the state a couple of times to go to Reno and Las Vegas. Now he would be spending his spring semester in London as part of the Fresno State London Program.

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Featured Supporter: Lilia Gonzales-Chávez

“I believe we are called to make this world better than when we found it. If we support students to be the best that they can be, they will go forward in whatever way they identify, to make our world better.”

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Student of Distinction: Sarah Theller

Student of Distinction: Sarah Theller

“I seek to address how the effects of trauma and limited scopes of personhood shape identity. In both my studio work and thesis scholarship, I investigate what it means to be ‘human’ across time.”

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Featured Supporter: Jane Bedrosian

Jane Bedrosian in a pink top and standing in front of a lawn with fall leave trees in the background.

Jane says being involved in the community is not about her. It’s about doing what she can to better the lives of others and helping them find their inspiration for life.

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Featured Supporter: Fresno Advertising Federation Foundation

The Fresno Advertising Federation Foundation (FAFF) announced the creation of two new scholarships to be awarded to graphic design students in the Department of Art, Design and Art History and students in the Media, Communications, and Journalism (MCJ) departments. 

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Meet our 2022-23 Italian Studies Scholarship Recipients

Top (left to right): Abigail Olguin-Serna, AnnMarie Kornele, Audra Burwell and Kathy Franco. Bottom row (left to right): Monica King, Nayeli Guerrero, Regina Rivera and Valerie Kurylo.

We proudly present some of this year’s Italian Studies scholarship recipients. Your support plays a direct role in ensuring these students’ success. As they graduate and find their place in the community, they are destined to elevate our lives and become an inspiration for life.

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Featured Supporter: The Ravi and Naina Patel Foundation

Left to right: Amar Patel, Naina Patel, Ravi Patel and Rashi Patel

“Whether we believe in it or not, the universe is interested in the greater good of everybody. It’s the impulse of life which promotes the wellbeing from the smallest of seeds to the biggest of elephants. The only way to be connected to the music of life is to be interested in the greater good of the universe.” ~ Dr. Ravi Patel

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Civil rights leader celebrates new Gandhi Center

Rev. James Lawson speaks at Fresno State.

On Feb. 18, Rev. James Lawson Jr. joined a Zoom gathering with Drs. Ravi and Naina Patel, community members, campus leaders, students and faculty from Fresno State as they announced the creation of the “M.K. Gandhi Center: Inner Peace and Sarvodaya.” 

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Featured Supporter: Katelyn Spencer

Katelyn Spencer in the Fresno State Peace Garden

“I love knowing that I am supporting the endeavors of our current students, especially for those who may be struggling to stay in college due to costs.”

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Featured Supporter: Barlow Der Mugrdechian

Prof. Der Mugrdechian began teaching at Fresno State in 1985. Since 2008 he has been the Berberian Coordinator of the Armenian Studies Program and Director of the Center for Armenian Studies at Fresno State. 

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Featured Supporter: tony sanders

“I love storytelling. I love a good story. I love theater’s ability to tell a story in the moment and the power that an artist possesses to make choices in that moment, and the connection between artist and audience in that moment.”

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In historic partnership Jain and Hindu communities establish joint Endowed Chair in Jain and Hindu Dharma

Images: Hindu Goddess Saraswati calendar art; Shri 1008 Mahavir Swami by Dayodaya.

The groundbreaking partnership between the Jain and Hindu communities and the University underscores a mutual commitment to educating current and future generations of students about the principles of nonviolence, dharma (virtue, duty), justice, pluralist philosophy, the interconnectedness of all beings and care for the environment through Hindu-Jain texts, philosophies and traditions.

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MCJ Alum Mike Williams gives back with Scholarship, mentorship

Mike Williams in front of the Google Building

In 2009, Mike Williams and his friend Lee Lawrence sat across from the impossible client. This client was so prestigious in the Fresno market that many thought there was no way they would advertise in Fresno State’s Collegian newspaper. But Williams had a plan.

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McClatchy Foundation grant brings renowned Stonewall art exhibit to Fresno State

“Run Little White Girl” by David Antonio Cruz

With the help of a $205,000 grant from The McClatchy Fresno Arts Endowment of The James B. McClatchy Foundation, the Center for Creativity and the Arts will present the “Nobody Promised You Tomorrow: Art 50 Years After Stonewall” exhibition, Aug. 19 through Oct. 31, 2021, at the Phebe Conley Art Gallery at Fresno State.

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Making Joy

Benjamin Boone, Frank Kissi, Bernard Ayisa, UVSL Studio, Accra

It was hot! It was the summer of 2018 in the city of Accra, about 400 miles north of the equator, and Benjamin Boone and the Ghana Jazz Collective had gathered in the UVSL recording studio — a white concrete building down one of the many dirt side roads. Even with the high-tech equipment, to get clean recordings, the studio had to turn off the air conditioning during recording sessions.

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Featured Supporter: Miguel A. Gastelum

Miguel A. Gastelum is a Graduates of the Last Decade (G.O.L.D.) Dean’s Council member, a program that enables recent alumni to support the college through membership for as little as $10 per month. He’s always been passionate about Fresno State and, as a G.O.L.D. level donor, he believes in providing students with opportunities to enrich their education and time spent at the university.

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A ‘Classics’ underD.O.G. tale

Dr. Kristi Eastin

How the Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures went from two supporters to over 90 in three years for Day of Giving.

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The monumental journey of Anabella Monzon

Anabella Monzon has already had a storied career as an artist. A highly regarded muralist, her creations have graced public spaces in Kansas City, Missouri; Seattle, Washington; and San Diego, California for decades. But that life came to an end when her husband died.

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2020 State of the College of Arts and Humanities

State of the College 2020 - Inspiration for Life

The College of Arts and Humanities provides a diverse student population with the communication skills, humanistic values, and cultural awareness that form the foundation of scholarship. The college offers intellectual and artistic programs that engage students, faculty and the community in collaboration, dialogue, and discovery. These programs help preserve, illuminate, and nourish the arts and humanities for the campus and for the wider community.

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Featured Supporter: James Cardella

Jim Cardella

It was 1952 when an eight-year-old Jim Cardella, accompanied by his parents, left his home in Firebaugh to board the “California Zephyr” train in Oakland and begin an epic journey that took him nearly halfway around the world.

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Featured supporter: Michael Giovannetti

Michael Giovannetti

“I cannot imagine my life without the presence, friendship, and the unconditional support of teachers, administrators, colleagues, and friends from Fresno State.”

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After overcoming brain cancer, alumnus Kai DiMino finds strength through theater

Kai on stage at Fresno State

Battling a rare childhood brain cancer at a young age, DiMino went through several years of chemotherapy and radiation treatments and was told that he would lose various cognitive, motor, and physical abilities. The long-lasting effects would prevent him from many activities. However, at age seven when he had beaten cancer, he learned to adapt.

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Dr. Yolanda Doub percolates ideas at annual PAMLA conference

Dr. Yolanda Doub

Doub teaches a graduate seminar on coming-of-age stories, the Spanish American bildungsroman. She brings in her presentations and uses them as examples, showing students what they can do for oral presentations or how their current research can be a seed for a later essay.

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Summer Arts Featured Supporter: Armen Bacon

Armen Bacon

If you’ve never met Armen Bacon, her impeccable style and petite frame offer no clues into the literary powerhouse and community servant she truly is. She is a champion of the arts, well spoken, and a phenomenal author.

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5,000-mile journey to find a mentor ends at Fresno State

Kelvin Diaz Inoa plays his cello

It was late July 2016 in Philadelphia when FOOSA Musician Kelvin Diaz Inoa made his decision. He packed his red 1999 Ford Focus with a few small personal belongings and his cello and hit the road. He didn’t know much about where he was going. All he knew was he had finally found the teacher and mentor he had been searching for…

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Featured Supporter: Haley Wagner

Haley Wagner

As a Fresno State Interior Design program alumna who worked multiple jobs as a student to make ends meet, Haley Wagner says her collegiate success was partially due to scholarships she received.

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Featured Supporter: Kate McKnight – Video

Featured Donor Kate McKnight

Kate McKnight has spent her entire life on the Fresno State campus, growing up with an English professor father then becoming a student, instructor, University High teacher, and an Advisory Board member for the College.

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State of the College of Arts and Humanities

State of the College 2019

With 80 percent of the alum continuing to live in the Central Valley, the College of Arts and Humanities powers the local economy and touches every corner of life in our community.

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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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Day of Giving! Support the College of Arts and Humanities

Day of giving is Thursday, Nov. 1, 2018, that goes from midnight to midnight — and you can help! It only takes two simple steps… Visit dayofgiving.fresnostate.edu and donate as little as $10 to the College of Arts and Humanities. Help spread the word using #FresnoStateDOG on Facebook, Twiter or Instagram. It’s that easy! Or almost… There […]

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Featured Supporter: Dr. Raymond and Jacqueline Doumanian

Dr. Raymond and Jacqueline Doumanian

Over the years, Dr. Raymond and Jacqueline Doumanian have formed a deep connection with the College of Arts and Humanities. Both were students at Fresno State — Raymond earned his degree from the Department of Philosophy and went on to the University of the Pacific School of Dentistry — Jacqueline earned both her B.A. and […]

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Investing in students: Meet the Faculty and Staff who donate to the Dean’s Council

Jim Boren, Douglas Fraleigh, Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval, Barlow DerMugrdechian, Jefferson Beavers, Mariana Anagnostopoulos

Many faculty and staff of Fresno State’s College of Arts and Humanities are able to see first hand how the Dean’s Council funds impact the students, faculty, and departments. Because of this, we are especially proud when they donate their hard earned money back to the Dean’s Council. DONATE NOW! We asked them to write […]

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Six Media, Communications and Journalism students gain real-world experience and new perspectives in Ghana

Young Ghana boy in a cocoa tree

The College of Arts and Humanities takes pride in supporting the full range of creative and academic endeavors of students and faculty — endeavors made possible through generous gifts made to the Dean’s Council Annual Fund. Over the 2017-2018 winter session, Dean’s Council funds helped five of the six Arts and Humanities students experience a […]

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Undergrad Linguistics student Julia Whelan presents at the 2018 NordMetrik conference in Stockholm, Sweden

Julia Whelan

The College of Arts and Humanities takes pride in supporting the wide range of creative and academic endeavors of students and faculty — endeavors made possible through generous gifts made to the Dean’s Council Annual Fund. DONATE NOW! In September, Dean’s Council funds helped yet another Arts and Humanities student experience a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Thanks […]

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Featured Supporters: David and Linda Brown

David H. Brown and Linda Hammer-Brown

It is from the support of our generous donors that the College of Arts and Humanities thrives in the ability to aid students through their academic careers with the establishment of scholarships, as well as in further developing our faculty, resources and facilities. This is why we are grateful in recognizing our supporters the Rev. David H. Brown and Linda M. Hammer-Brown, whose wonderful gift to the College will benefit many future students of the Department of Theatre Arts in becoming an endowed scholarship.

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London trip gives students new perspective on world

From left, Melissa Noriega, Samina Najmi and Janette Porraz

Janette Porraz, one of the 2018 Students of Distinction for the College of Art and Humanities, was able to enhance the education she obtained in the Department of Art and Design during three weeks she spent studying abroad in London.

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Seeing the world brought me closer to home

Marisa Mata reflects on her London Study Abroad experience.

We were dancing and the music stopped. Everyone in the room started to countdown from 10. Lights flashed. Balloons and confetti fell from the ceiling. It was New Years. And we were in London.

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Featured Supporter: Ben and Clarice Krikorian

Clarice and Ben Krikorian

Over the years, Ben and Clarice Krikorian have formed a deep connection with the College of Arts and Humanities. Since 2010, the Krikorians have made it easier for Fresno State students who chose to follow their passion and study the arts. They established an orchestra scholarship and a piano scholarship. The scholarships go to a music student studying in those areas.

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Dean’s Council funding helps send opera student to national convention

From left, Dr. Anthony Radford, Alejandra Tejeda and Dr. Maria Briggs

In January, Dean’s Council funds helped yet another Arts and Humanities student experience a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Thanks to the generosity of Dean’s Council donors, travel funding was be provided to master’s of music student and opera singer Alejandra Tejeda, who attended the prestigious National Opera Association’s annual convention Jan. 3-7, in New Orleans. 

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Featured Supporters: The Fisher family

The Fisher Family - A photo of Ruth and Ray

The Fisher family transformed loss into legacy, endowing memorial scholarships for music and creative writing students in honor of their loved ones.

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We thank the community for Day of Giving success!

Thank you to our Day Of Giving donors!

Fresno State and the community rallied together on Nov. 2 to make the University’s first-ever online Day of Giving (D.O.G.) a success as 1,138 unique donors from 29 states and 3 countries participated. When the 24-hour campaign ended at 11:59 p.m., 168 digital ambassadors had helped secure 1,316 gifts totaling $431,395. Final results by college, area and department will be available by the end of the week.

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D.O.G. — The Arts and Humanities of Giving

Day of Giving Arts and Humanities

The College of Arts and Humanities has several events going on throughout the day during Fresno State’s first-ever Day of Giving (D.O.G.) campaign, on Thursday, Nov. 2.

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Join us on Nov. 2 for a Big Picture!

Big Picture noon Nov. 2 on lawn by amphitheatre

Join us for a Big Picture at noon Thursday, Nov. 2, on the Amphitheatre lawn! Let’s show our College unity and pride by gathering as many Arts and Humanities faculty, staff, students and supporters together for a big group photo for Day of Giving.

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Bulldog Marching Band helps build excitement, on and off the field

Bulldog Marching Band

The dedicated students who perform in the Bulldog Marching Band come from various backgrounds, representing nearly every academic major on campus. Participation is extra-curricular, with students committing six to eight hours of practice each week – in addition to their class work, performance and travel time. To recruit and retain the most talented students, scholarships are critical.

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Inspire a child — adopt a school

Promo image for Theatre for Young Audiences - shows poster for this year's play with image in the background of a previous production

Fresno State’s Theatre for Young Audiences has provided quality theatre productions for children throughout the Valley since 1928, while giving college students vital performance and touring experience.

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Research by Cara Peracchi Douglas wins prestigious CASE Alice L. Beeman Award

Cara Peracchi Douglas

~ By Lisa Maria Boyles, communications specialist for the College of Arts and Humanities Research by Cara Peracchi Douglas, a recent master’s graduate from the Department of Media, Communications and Journalism, has been selected as the winner of the 2017 Alice L. Beeman Award for Outstanding Research in Communications and Marketing for Educational Advancement from […]

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CAH employees receive service awards at STAR Day

Three employees of the College of Arts and Humanities received service awards at the Staff Training and Recognition (STAR) Day luncheon on Thursday, May 25. Kelly Pantzlaff Curry (above left), the costume shop foreman and costume vintage collection curator in the Department of Theatre Arts, was recognized for 10 years of service at Fresno State. […]

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