3 with Fresno State ties inducted into the Valley Music Hall of Fame

September 25, 2023.Reading time 2 minutes.

Black and white head shots of Benjamin Boone holding a saxophone, Dr. Juan Serrano playing a guitar and Ann Leonardo Thaxter as a younger woman.

Three local music legends with ties to Fresno State were honored at the Valley Music Hall of Fame.

Benjamin Boone’s new album ‘Caught in the Rhythm’ adds to poetry and jazz experiment

September 15, 2023.Reading time 8 minutes.

Benjamin Boone holds his saxophone in front of a dark grey-blue background wearing a dark blue sport jacket and black Tshirt with bright blue eyeglasses.

“Caught in the Rhythm” is the fourth in a series of Boone’s explorations of improvised music and spoken language, long an area of both scholarly and artistic interest for the saxophonist.

Career Development Center launches Career Champions, Honors Professor Betsy Hays

September 5, 2023.Reading time 5 minutes.

Professor Betsy Hays holds the Career Champion of the Year Award

At the inaugural Career Champions luncheon in August, the Career Development Center formally recognized Professor Betsy Hays with the Career Champion of the Year award.

Kapoor focuses on expanding the Peace Garden legacy after stepping away from classroom

January 26, 2023.Reading time 15 minutes.

Dr. Kapoor stands at a podium at in the Peace Garden at Fresno State.

Dr. Sudarshan Kapoor taught his philosophy class for the last time in the fall of 2022, marking the end of an era.

‘Winter Evening’ album features Fresno State faculty and staff

November 22, 2022.Reading time 1 minute.

Dr. Maria Briggs reclines in front of a deep red tapestry wearing a deep red dress with the flower paisley shawl.

The collection of luscious romantic songs by Tchaikowsky, Rachmaninov, Medtner and others written to the poetry of Pushkin, Goethe and Baudelaire was released through Centaur Records and is available on most streaming platforms.

Two new piano professors entertain with unique concert

October 26, 2022.Reading time 14 minutes.

Peter Klimo and Michael Krikorian in their Piano concert.

The Fresno State Symphony Orchestra kicked off its 2022-23 season with two new Department of Music piano faculty members Dr. Peter Klimo and Dr. Michael Krikorian on Saturday, Oct. 8.

Professor Mai Der Vang wins American Book Award

September 9, 2022.Reading time 1 minute.

Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry Mai Der Vang stands in front of a green field and a setting sun.

Author Mai Der Vang, an assistant professor of English at Fresno State, won an American Book Award for her documentary poetry collection, “Yellow Rain.”

‘It’s all for the people’; Juan Felipe Herrera Elementary School opens in SE Fresno

August 26, 2022.Reading time 7 minutes.

The entrance of Juan Felipe Herrera Elementary School -- a bright orange roof shelter with a deep blue office.

Located on Church and Willow avenues in Southeast Fresno, the Juan Felipe Herrera Elementary School grounds are visually striking, with a large orange entrance contrasted with the dark blue administrative office and the vivid sky that often graces Fresno in the late summer.

Dr. Devendra Sharma awarded Fulbright to research folk opera in India

June 3, 2022.Reading time 5 minutes.

Devendra Sharma performing as Mahoba prince Indal with Sharvari Deshpande as princess Chitralekha of Balk-Bukhara, at the South Asia Conference of University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2015.

Through his experience in the Fulbright program, Sharma intends to form a larger performance-for-communication theoretical model that can be applied across cultures.

English professor Mai Der Vang named finalist for Pulitzer Prize in Poetry

May 11, 2022.Reading time 2 minutes.

Author and Fresno State professor Mai Der Vang was honored May 9 as a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry, for her groundbreaking book of documentary poetry, “Yellow Rain.”