Alumni: Talented alumni shape key industries throughout Valley and beyond

By BoNhia Lee

Illustrations by Todd Graves (’03)

Politics

The road to a career in politics can start with almost any degree at Fresno State. While some people have political science degrees, others bring their expertise in agriculture, business, criminology and communications to the dais.

The Valley is full of Bulldog alums serving in public office, from Mayor Pro-Tem Salvador Solorio-Ruiz in Delano to Fresno City Mayor Jerry Dyer and longtime Assemblyman Jim Patterson.

Six of the past 10 mayors of the City of Fresno earned their degrees at Fresno State. Dyer (illustrated above), who served 40 years in the Fresno Police Department, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in law enforcement. He succeeded Lee Brand, who earned a bachelor’s in public administration. Before Brand, the mayor was Ashley Swearengin, who is a two-time alumna with a bachelor’s and master’s in business administration and management.

Patterson, Fresno’s 22nd mayor, earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Fresno State. He was later elected to the California State Assembly where he has served since 2012. His term ends in 2024. Perhaps one of Fresno State’s biggest supporters is Representative Jim Costa, who returns to campus frequently for events and ceremonies and by video to offer support for new grants and programs. He graduated with a degree in political science.

New House of Representative freshman Lori Chavez-DeRemer from Oregon also earned her degree from Fresno State in management.

Media, Communications and Journalism

In a climate where clear, accurate and trustworthy information is as important as ever, many of the journalists and communications professionals the region relies on were trained at Fresno State.

The Media, Communications and Journalism Department has prepared thousands of students for professional media careers since 1928. It offers courses in advertising, broadcast and digital journalism, photography, public relations and video production.

Advertising and public relations graduates have gone on to work for J. Walter Thompson; Foote, Cone, and Belding; Chiat/Day; Publicis, Google, Facebook, American Airlines and local agencies like JP Marketing and Jeffrey Scott Agency.

Fresno State broadcast graduates have moved on to work for major news networks, including CNN, Fox and ESPN, while print and digital journalists have gone to the New York Times, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle and local companies like The Fresno Bee and new, nonprofit newsrooms.

The Valley has grown to rely on many of the local journalists who have stayed to serve the region.

News anchors Stefani Booroojian, Alexan Balekian and meteorologist A.J. Fox lead a strong showing of alumni at KSEE24/CBS47. The same is true at ABC30, where anchor Jessica Harrington and meteorologist Kevin Musso are familiar names and faces as is Liz Gonzalez at KMPH Fox 26. Many other Bulldog alumni work behind the scenes as producers, production assistants, editors, photographers/videographers and operations techs.

Radio alums include longtime sports broadcaster Tony D’addato, 90.7 KFSR director Julie Logan, and Soreath Hok, who studied English at Fresno State and minored in mass communication and journalism. She worked at the campus radio station, which launched her career into broadcast news as a producer at KMPH and KSEE24.

Entrepreneurs

Business education started at Fresno State in 1928 and soared into the early Depression era as interest grew in accounting, business organization, marketing, money, banking and labor. Entrepreneurs have come and gone through the Craig School of Business, named in honor of Sid Craig, a Fresno State alumnus and co-founder of Jenny Craig International, who gave the school a $10 million endowment in 1992. The school was ranked among the top 10 entrepreneurship programs in the nation by Entrepreneurship Magazine in 2005.

Other notable institutes and programs within the college include the Human Resource Management program, the Masters of Business Administration program and an Executive MBA program, tailored to those already in leadership roles. The Lyles Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, created by the family of Fresno businessman William Lyles, 6 10 of the most recent mayors of the City of Fresno earned their degrees at Fresno State out of helps people with business ideas realize their dream.

Next-Gen Escape owner Calvin Kammer and partner Kiara Hill are both Fresno State alumni. Kammer, who majored in entrepreneurship, won the Student Entrepreneur Award 2020 from the Fresno Chamber of Commerce, the Lyles Center and the Craig School. Hill was a biology major.

Like politics, Fresno State’s entrepreneur alumni come from all majors across campus who studied their respective subjects of interest before pursuing their business passion projects.

Artist Rae Dunn studied industrial design and found a love for ceramic pottery later in life turning it into a popular line of imperfect houseware with simple, elongated lettering. Former Bulldog basketball player Demetrius Porter created and developed Center Cork wine.

Law Enforcement

Criminology is consistently among the two most popular majors at Fresno State with more than 1,500 students enrolled each year. Six peace officers and four instructors began teaching a criminology investigation course in 1936 to train men and women in law enforcement. It was one of the few criminology programs available in California. Today, the bachelor of science degree in criminology is diverse, covering a wide range of opportunities in direct service and administration in corrections, law enforcement and victimology. A program in forensic behavioral sciences was also created for students interested in applying behavioral sciences, such as psychology and anthropology, to the criminal justice system.

In a unique partnership with the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, a program known as Criminology 108 helps train and recruit new deputies to serve the region. No other university in the California State University system offers a program like it, and it is believed to be the only program of its kind in the nation. The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office counts Crim 108 alumni all throughout its ranks.

Newly elected Fresno County Sheriff John Zanoni is a criminology alumnus who minored in agricultural business. He began his career as a 108 Reserve Deputy Sheriff training through the program at Fresno State. The Criminology Department has also trained many Valley lawyers who have participated in the successful Mock Trial Team Program. Many have come back to serve as coaches, including Lyndsie Russell, attorney with Miles, Sears, & Eanni in Fresno, and adjunct faculty and attorney coach Christopher M. Irwin.