[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 167 (Thursday, December 16, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2164]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   IN RECOGNITION OF THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF CALIFORNIA STATE 
                           UNIVERSITY, FRESNO

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JIM COSTA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, December 16, 2010

  Mr. COSTA. Madam Speaker, I rise today with my colleagues, Mr. 
Radanovich and Mr. Cardoza to extend our sincerest congratulations to 
California State University, Fresno as they celebrate their centennial 
anniversary.
  As Fresno State celebrates its 100th anniversary, the university is 
``Powering the New California'' in our rapidly changing region as we 
move forward in the 21st Century. California State University, Fresno, 
also known as Fresno State, has evolved from its founding as a teachers 
college to become a renowned center for higher learning in the Central 
Valley with eight schools and colleges serving over twenty thousand 
students.
  Fresno State was originally founded as Fresno State Normal School on 
September 11, 1911 under the guidance of its first president Mr. 
Charles L. McLane. In 1921, Fresno State Normal School changed its name 
to Fresno State Teachers College and began to share a campus with 
another fine local institution, Fresno City College, to provide a 
quality education to local students for whom the distance of 
universities such as the University of California and Stanford 
University was too great a hardship. Fresno State Normal School would 
change its name again to Fresno State College in 1934, and in 1949 the 
first advanced degrees in English and Education were granted. Forty-
five years after Fresno State first opened its doors, it relocated to 
its present location on Shaw and Cedar Avenues in 1956, where it 
currently sits on over three hundred acres of land. In 1961, Fresno 
State College became the charter institution of the California State 
University System and would officially become known as California State 
University, Fresno in 1972.
  Today, Fresno State enrolls more than 21,500 undergraduate students 
and 4,400 graduate students and offers Bachelor's, Master's, and 
Doctoral degrees. In 2011, Fresno State will graduate its 100th class 
with an anticipated 5,500 students graduating from the institution. 
Notable among the academic programs at Fresno State, the Sid Craig 
School of Business has been nationally recognized by the Princeton 
Review as a ``Top Business School,'' the Jordan College of Agricultural 
Science and Technology oversees the only commercial winery in the 
country run by a university, and the Lyles College of Engineering has 
the only Geomatics undergraduate program in the Nation. Fresno State is 
also home to the Henry Madden Library, which with over one million 
books is the largest academic library between Sacramento and Los 
Angeles, and serves as a learning resource for the entire region. It is 
programs and institutions such as these that truly embody the 
excellence of Fresno State.
  Fresno State has not only established itself as a leader in 
academics, but also in athletics; the school has gained national 
recognition through their various sports programs such as football, 
baseball and soccer. For instance, in 1998, Fresno State's women's 
softball team won the NCAA Women's College World Series by defeating 
the defending two-time former champions, the University of Arizona. 
Additionally, a decade later, the Fresno State men's baseball team 
climbed their way through the College World Series as the lowest ranked 
seed in post-season play to capture the 2008 NCAA title in a shocking 
defeat of the University of Georgia. Fresno State's distinguished 
alumni include Mayor of Fresno, California Ashley Swearingin, three-
time Olympic Gold Medalist Laura Berg, former NASA Astronaut and 
Mission Commander of the Space Shuttle Columbia Colonel Rick Husband, 
U.S. Ambassador to Colombia and Honduras Phillip V. Sanchez, former 
U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Paul H. O'Neill, former Nevada Governor 
Kenny Guinn, and 2001 Super Bowl winning quarterback Trent Dilfer.
  Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join with Mr. Radanovich, Mr. 
Cardoza and myself, in recognizing California State University, Fresno 
as they celebrate their centennial anniversary and continue their 
outstanding educational leadership for students throughout the Central 
Valley and the State of California.

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