You are in the official 1997-98 General Catalog
for California State University, Fresno.
California State University, Fresno
Accreditation
California State University, Fresno is fully accredited by the California
Board of Education and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.
The university is also a member of the Western Association of Graduate Schools,
the Council of Graduate Schools in the United States, and the American Association
of Colleges for Teacher Education.
School, department, or program accreditations, certificated memberships,
and accrediting organizations include:
- Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology
- Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication
- American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business
- American Chemical Society
- American Council for Construction Education
- American Dietetic Association
- American Physical Therapy Association
- American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
- California Board of Registered Nursing
- Commission on Teacher Credentialing
- Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs
- Council on Education of the Deaf
- Council on Rehabilitation Education Inc.
- Council on Social Work Education
- Foundation for Interior Design Education Research
- National Accreditation Council for Environmental Health Curricula
- National Association of Industrial Technology
- National Association of Schools of Music
- National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration
- National Association of Schools of Theatre
- National Athletic Trainers Association
- National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education
- National League for Nursing
- National Recreation and Park Association
- State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors
- State Department of Public Health
The University's Mission
The university offers a high-quality educational opportunity to qualified
students at the bachelor's and master's levels, as well as in joint doctoral
programs in selected professional areas. To carry out this mission, the
university provides a General Education program and other opportunities,
to expand students' intellectual horizons, foster lifelong learning, prepare
them for further professional study and instill within them an appreciation
of cultures other than their own.
The university offers undergraduate degrees and programs in the liberal
arts and sciences as well as in a variety of professional disciplines emphasizing
agriculture, business, engineering
and technology, health and human services, and education, preparing students
for productive careers and responsible world citizenship. Building upon
the strength of these undergraduate programs, graduate programs provide
opportunities for personal and career enhancement through advanced study,
preparing students for positions of leadership in the arts, sciences and
professions.
The university encourages and protects free inquiry and expression, ensuring
a forum for the generation, discussion and critical examination of ideas.
By emphasizing the primacy of quality teaching and the close interaction
between faculty and students, the university seeks to stimulate scholarly
inquiry and discourse, inspire creative activity, heighten professional
and technical competencies, encourage and support research and its dissemination,
and recruit and develop outstanding teacher-scholars/artists.
The university fosters an environment in which students learn to live in
a culturally diverse and changing society. Within that environment, it strives
to develop a community founded upon mutual respect and shared efforts, in
which individuals can communicate openly and work together to enrich the
lives of all and to further the growth and excellence of the university.
The university seeks and encourages historically under-represented students
to embark upon and complete a university education.
The university serves the San Joaquin Valley while interacting with the
state, nation and world. California State University, Fresno is a center
of intellectual, artistic and professional activity. Through applied research,
technical assistance, training and other related public service activities,
the university anticipates continuing and expanding partnership and linkages
with business, education, industry and government.
The University's History
California State University, Fresno is the sixth oldest in the California
State University system. It began with the establishment of the first junior
college in California in 1910 and a state normal school in 1911 which, under
a single administration, offered two-year programs in general and vocational
training and in teacher preparation.
Between 1911 and 1921 a campus was built on University Avenue, then the
northern border of Fresno. In 1921, the combined schools became Fresno State
Teachers College, authorized to offer a four-year program and grant the
bachelor of arts degree in teaching.
In 1935, by act of the Legislature, the official designation became Fresno
State College. A variety of degree programs, in addition to those related
to the teaching credential, were authorized at that time. Following World
War II, expansion accelerated, both academically and physically.
In 1949, the university offered its first master's degree; today, it offers
this degree in 39 fields of study. Between 1953 and 1958 the college was
moved from the old campus site, by then surrounded by the city of Fresno,
to a 1,410-acre site six miles to the northeast. In 1961, under the newly
created California State College system, the administration and control
of the state colleges was transferred from the State Board of Education
to an independent board, the Trustees
of The California State Colleges. By legislative action in 1972, the state
college system became The California State University and Colleges, and
in 1982 the system was renamed The California State University.
In Fall 1991, the university began offering an interdisciplinary doctoral
degree (Ed.D.) in educational leadership, offered in partnership with the
University of California.
The University Seal
The official seal of the university was designed by artist and California
State University, Fresno Professor Emeritus Darwin Musselman, who also created
the seal used by the California State University system. The Fresno State
seal includes the "lamp of learning" and the "book of knowledge."
The Latin inscription "Lvcem accipe vt reddas" translates "Receive
the light that you may give it forth." The date 1911 refers to the
founding year of the school.
Between 1965 and 1968 an approximation of university organization was accomplished
on the Fresno campus, and the transition to official university status in
the state system became effective on June 1, 1972.
The university is now comprised of the School of Agricultural Sciences and
Technology, the School of Arts and Humanities, the Sid Craig School of Business,
the School of Education and Human Development, the School of Engineering
and Computer Science, the School of Health and Human Services, the School
of Natural Sciences, the School of Social Sciences, the Division of Extended
Education, and the Division of Graduate Studies.
Fresno Normal School, in 1911, had an enrollment of 150 students, most of
whom were women. By 1940 enrollment had increased to 2,000 students, and
in 1968 enrollment surpassed 10,000. In the fall of 1996, more than 17,200
students registered at California State University, Fresno.
The presidents, in order of tenure:
Charles L. McLane (1911-27)
Frank W. Thomas (1927-48)
Arnold E. Joyal (1948-64)
Frederic W. Ness (1964-69)
Karl L. Falk (Acting) (1969-70)
Norman A. Baxter (1970-80)
Harold H. Haak (1980-91)
John D. Welty (1991- )
