Fresno State Centennial

Memories

 

Memories of Fresno State and the early history of the Chemistry Department

When I arrived in Fresno on September 1, 1956, the campus was still divided between its new (now present) site and its original site (now Fresno City College). I lived at 2117 E. Shields Ave., which was then on the northern extremity of the city. I remember walking a few blocks westward to Blackstone Avenue with my older daughter Ruth (b. January 8, 1956, now Mrs. Martin H. Bryskier) to watch the bulldozers breaking ground for the Manchester Shopping Center, the first shopping center north of the downtown city center. more

Centurion remembers time at Fresno State

Boasting a birthdate of November 11, 1911, Fresno State Professor Emeritus of Music, Dr. Ben Bakkegard, shares his story in this video interview. Having come to Fresno State in 1958, Dr. Bakkegard say that teaching here was “one of the most pleasant experiences of my lifetime.” 

 

 

 

 

Centennial show celebrates decades of fashion

President Welty with Abigail Paxton (in the navy blue dress), the organizer of the Centennial fashion show at the Secret Garden Party, which is the annual fund-raising event for the Arne Nixon Center. The rest of the ladies are Fresno State student models, wearing costumes from each decade, in order by decade, including a vintage dress wedding dress from 1910.

Alumna recalls days at Fresno State

Roberta Sumner, at age 99 plus, hasn't forgotten her alma mater. As one of Fresno State's oldest alumns, she still recalls with fondness her days at what was then Fresno Normal School.

Born in Coalinga in 1911 as Roberta Beebe, Sumner is a Valley girl through and through. She is a member of the Native Daughters of the Golden West, a community-service group for native-born Californians dedicated to preserving California history.

Sumner's parents met in a boarding house and moved their family to Fresno County while Sumner was only about six. They came by surrey, a horse-drawn carriage.

Sumner attended high school and made the decision to go to Fresno Normal School in 1929 because she wanted to become an elementary school teacher. Times were tough during the Depression. Since her family's resources were limited, Sumner chose to go to a college that was local and relatively inexpensive. more

Finding true love at Fresno State

I met my husband Kevin Tate in November 1999 at Fresno State.  I was working part-time on campus and  pursuing my Master's Degree in  Education Administration.  He  was a transfer student from City College and pursuing his engineering degree.

We met in the Pavilion at the Subway Food Court.  He was sporting my favorite apparel... a Dallas Cowboys jersey and cap.  I complimented him and the rest is history (smile)!! 

We married in February 2001 and now have 3 beautiful children.  I love FRESNO STATE!!! 

- Pamela Davis-Tate, Faculty in the College of Social Sciences

University Archives

The University Archives is a treasure trove full of unique items documenting Fresno State’s long history. It is not a hidden, dusty archive full of dilapidated boxes in some dark basement, but part of the newly remodeled Special Collections Research Center featuring an exhibit area, a research room and stacks on the fourth floor of the Library’s South wing.

It includes, for example, the plaque dedicating the very first building (the Administration Building, now called the Old Administration Building on the Fresno City College campus) on the Fresno School Normal School campus in 1916. It also includes a 1937 history of Fresno State written by Charles L. McLane, the first president and the minutes of the very first meeting on campus in 1911. The personal papers of every past president is represented as well as the papers of a number of faculty members and some prominent alumni such as Malinda Chouinard (co-founder of the Patagonia Inc.), Dr. M. Carolyn Dobbs (a pioneer of Special Education in the U.S.) mand Virginia Sager Jansen (the first female student body president of Fresno State College). There are also historical records from various colleges/schools, departments, programs, student clubs and other units on campus. more  

Treasures of the library

When the Fresno State Normal School opened in 1911, it had no library, no librarian, and no library books. During the first year, the administration assigned Maude Schaeffer, an instructor of English, the task of starting the library. In that year, the campus acquired 432 books for the library. While some of the books were purchased, many were gifts from faculty – including from President McLane himself. Of that first collection, the Henry Madden Library still owns 44 volumes. Most of these books will be on display in the library throughout the fall semester on shelves near the Reference Desk on the First floor. more  

Summer study abroad business students celebrate 100 Years!

Students and faculty at the Craig School of Business Summer Study Abroad Program give a warm Centennial greeting to Fresno State all the way from Sydney, Australia.  Seventy six undergraduate students and three faculty members participated in the 2010 Summer Study Abroad Program. Students visited the Blue Mountains, Sydney Museum, Hype Park Barracks, and Hunter Valley. A great example of how far we’ve come in education since 1911!   

William "Newell" Davis, Jr.

Newell Davis was born in 1915 and grew up in Dinuba, CA, the second of five children, where his father was the Superintendent of Public Schools.  He attended Fresno State 1932-36 where he was a member of the Zeta Mu fraternity and was known as the "Student Prince." His final classes were taken at the 1936 Sierra Summer School at Huntington Lake. He graduated during that session and also met his future wife, Ruth Maudlin, who was visiting from Tulsa, Oklahoma.  read the full story

Dan Waterhouse - B.S. Business, 1978

My memories of Fresno State… being a communicative disorders client and research subject when I was 4 years old … my brother being the Senator for the School of Engineering in 1968 and 1969… trying to figure out the Library of Congress cataloging system at Madden Library while in high school… playing innertube water polo over at the North Gym pool in 1973 while still a student at Fresno City College…  read the full story