Fresno State News Briefs
Professor, Poet Named Pulitzer Finalist
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.”
The book integrates archival research and declassified government documents to examine the biological warfare that threads through wars involving Hmong people. In lyrical poems of witness that defy historical erasure, “Yellow Rain” acknowledges those who perished and the trauma of those who survived.
Vang, an assistant professor of English, is the first Hmong American to be recognized in the 106-year history of the Pulitzer’s arts and letters prizes.
She is the fourth Fresno artist to be recognized in arts and letters, following William Saroyan, the 1940 winner in drama; Dr. Leslie R. Bassett, the 1966 winner in music; and Philip Levine, the 1995 winner in poetry. Bassett was a Fresno State alumna in music (1947), and Levine was a Fresno State professor emeritus of English (1958-92).
Vang called the Pulitzer finalist news a tremendous honor. She said the news surprised her.
“To even think that a daughter of Hmong refugees, who was born and raised in Fresno, can be part of shaping the present and future of literature in this country both astounds and inspires me,” Vang says. “For me, this means the work of Fresno writers, the lineage of Hmong poets and the stories of ancestors will continue to reverberate and be shared.”
—Jefferson Beavers
DONOR IMPACT
Spanish-language Programming for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children
As children of Mexican migrants who worked up and down the Valley picking crops and packing fruit, Dr. Robert R. Davila and his seven siblings initially spoke only Spanish and began school later in childhood.
At 8 years old, Davila contracted spinal meningitis and, as a result, became Deaf. His challenges were the catalyst to his esteemed career, which included serving as president of Gallaudet University — the premier higher education institution in the U.S. for the Deaf and hard of hearing.
Today, Davila continues to support the Deaf and hard of hearing community and the San Joaquin Valley through the Robert R. and Donna E. Davila Endowment in the Silent Garden at Fresno State. Named after himself and his late wife, Donna, the $250,000 endowment will support Spanish-language programming within the Silent Garden.
The Silent Garden in the College of Health and Human Services at Fresno State was created in 2008 to foster opportunity, understanding and awareness for the Deaf and hard of hearing in Central California. The program provides free educational conferences and resources to the community, as well as scholarships for Deaf education and interpreting students.
The San Joaquin Valley is home to nearly 150,000 Deaf children and adults who come from Spanish-speaking homes.
“I have not forgotten my early years in the Valley and the impact my deafness had on my family,” Davila says. “Although times were difficult at first, my deafness eventually led to efforts that allowed my family to grow and become educated. The Silent Garden can offer that same opportunity for the many Spanish-speaking folks in the Valley who are probably raising and perhaps worrying about how to help their Deaf children develop.”
— Melissa Tav
CSU Students Honor New Fresno State President
Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval, Fresno State’s president, has received a vote of confidence from the student organization that represents the nearly half a million students in the California State University system, the nation’s largest public higher education system.
The Cal State Student Association selected Jiménez-Sandoval as the 2021-22 recipient of the Robert C. Maxson President of the Year award, given annually by the association to one CSU campus president. The award was presented at the Calfornia State University Board of Trustees meeting on May 23 in Long Beach.
Established in 1958 to support students throughout the CSU system, CSSA is a non-partisan, membership-based advocacy organization composed of representatives from each of the 23 CSU campuses. The President of the Year award is named after Robert C. Maxson, a former president of CSU Long Beach.
“In his tenure as president of Fresno State, President Jiménez-Sandoval has embodied an honest value for student-centered leadership and the principles of an all-encompassing shared governance,” said CSSA President Isaac Alferos. “Especially during these turbulent times, he has been a model for honest, empathetic and driven leadership that has garnered the trust of students across the system.”
Jiménez-Sandoval became Fresno State’s ninth president in 2021, after Dr. Joseph I. Castro left to become chancellor of the CSU system. He has been with Fresno State since he joined as a faculty member in 2000. Since then, he served as professor of Spanish and Portuguese, coordinator of the Spanish master of arts degree, chair of the Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures, interim associate dean of the College of Arts and Humanities, dean of the College of Arts and Humanities, and provost.
— Lisa Bell
’DOG BYTES
Water Polo Repeats as Conference Champs
Fresno State water polo won the Golden Coast Conference Tournament championship for the second straight year, defeating Loyola Marymount 11-8 in Riverside.
In just the fifth year of competition since launching the program, the No. 8 Bulldogs (19-7, 7-0 GCC) also punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year. Fresno State fell 15-9 to No. 2 seed USC, which went on to lose the national championship game to Stanford.
The Bulldogs were led by GCC Coach of the Year Natalie Benson, GCC Player of the Year Emily Nicholson, a senior from Auckland, New Zealand, and GCC Newcomer of the Year Fanni Muzsnay, a freshman from Budapest.
— Eddie Hughes
Tennis Earns Mountain West Championship
Fresno State finished the regular season unbeaten in the Mountain West to earn the regular season conference championship. The Bulldogs (19-3, 10-0 MW) were led by Mountain West Coach of the Year Denise Dy and MW Player of the Year Pang Jittakoat, a junior from Bangkok.
CLUB HOPPING
Club Rugby Wins National Championship
Fresno State’s club men’s rugby team completed its undefeated season with a 22-17 win over Kansas to earn its first American College Rugby DI-AA national championship at Choctaw Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
“Being able to lead the team as we make history for Fresno State feels like nothing I’ve felt before,” says team captain C.J. Banuelos as the team prepared for the game. “Just thinking about winning that trophy makes me tear up a little, and I know it gets the rest of the boys fired up.”
Unlike NCAA-sponsored varsity scholarship sports at the University, such as football and softball, rugby is a club sport and none of the athletes receive athletic scholarship aid.
Fresno State beat San Diego 46-7 and Western Washington 52-15 in the West Regional championship to earn a berth in the final against East Regional champion Kansas.
— Marisa Mata
AROUND THE FOUNTAIN
2022 Best Colleges
Fresno State is among the nation’s best colleges when it comes to quality, affordability and outcomes — ranking No. 29 out of 623 colleges nationwide in Money’s 2022 Best Colleges list. The University also ranked No. 25 for Best Public Colleges and No. 17 for Best College in the West.
‘Victor E. Lap’
After nearly seven years as Fresno State’s live mascot, Victor E. Bulldog III is preparing to pass the collar. Victor E. Bulldog IV will be introduced in fall 2022, and will be trained by his predecessor before a ceremonial passing of the collar in spring 2023.
‘Zoo U’
Fresno State and the Fresno Chaffee Zoo signed an MOU in March to expand a partnership that will facilitate opportunities for students and faculty to collaborate in biology and ecosystems, marketing, interior design and service-learning experiences and internships at the zoo.
Economic Opportunities
For the fifth straight year, Fresno State ranked among the top five universities for social mobility, creating opportunities for students to move from one socioeconomic class to another. Fresno State placed No. 5 out of 1,549 schools in the 2021 Social Mobility Index developed by CollegeNET.
Spirit of Service
Neuroscience student Ali Fakhrudin Dadawalla received the 2022 Paul DeRuosi Memorial Community Service Scholarship of $1,000 for his commitment to service through the Cub Scouts program. He volunteered for numerous community partners to achieve his goal of becoming an Eagle Scout.
DONOR IMPACT
Mission to Provide Quality Education to Early Learners
Research doesn’t show anyone how to prepare for a pandemic, let alone how to put a 3-year-old in front of a computer camera for weeks to learn.
But the Joyce M. Huggins Early Education Center within Fresno State’s Programs for Children was up to the task, having set the bar high for innovation and teacher training over the years thanks to the support of the Fansler Foundation.
After a four-month closure early in the pandemic, the Programs for Children reopened in August 2020 to provide the children of student-parents, faculty and staff with hybrid learning options: engaging and creative online interaction for those who chose to stay home, or onsite learning in a safe and sanitized environment.
The Huggins Center and the Fansler Foundation have long shared a mission to provide quality education to young children. The foundation has awarded grants to Programs for Children since 2002 to help with programming and professional development. Programs for Children provides services for about 155 children ages three months to 12 years.
In October, Fresno State received a $150,000 gift from the Fansler Foundation to support the endowment for the D. Paul Fansler Endowed Chair for Leadership in Early Childhood Education and to continue the work of the Huggins Center. Fansler was the nonprofit’s founder, who with his wife, Marlene, set out to help special needs and socioeconomically disadvantaged children in the Valley. He passed away in 1990, and his wife continues to lead the foundation.
In recent years, Programs for Children started incorporating STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics) into its teaching. That includes having equipment like light tables, microscope pens, a digital microscope, coding robots and coding blocks for the children while adapting online apps like Scratch Junior for early learners.
“Many of our children are not from wealthy families,” says Dr. Pei-Ying Wu, Fansler Chair and assistant professor in the Department of Literacy, Early, Bilingual and Special Education. “Children from disadvantaged backgrounds don’t have resources to receive high-quality, advanced STEAM education. With the Fansler Foundation’s generous support, we are able to provide that education to young children and their families.”
