[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 182 (Friday, October 23, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E978]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





 IN RECOGNITION OF DR. JOSEPH I. CASTRO BEING NAMED CHANCELLOR OF THE 
                   CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM

                                 ______
                                 

                              HON. TJ COX

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 23, 2020

  Mr. COX of California. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate 
Dr. Joseph I. Castro on being named the eighth Chancellor of the 
California State University system. Dr. Castro will be the first 
California native and the first Mexican American to hold the 
chancellorship. In his role as Chancellor, he will oversee 23 campuses 
and 486,000 students throughout our nation's largest four-year higher 
education system.
  Dr. Castro was born and raised in the small city of Hanford, in the 
heart of California's Central Valley. The grandson of Mexican 
immigrants and the son of a single mother, Dr. Castro knows well the 
challenges so many young men and women face in their pursuit of higher 
education. Like many of his students, Dr. Castro is a first-generation 
college graduate. He earned a B.A. in political science, a M.P.P. from 
the University of California, Berkeley, and later a Ph.D. in higher-
education policy and leadership from Stanford University.
  Since 2013, Dr. Castro has served as President of California State 
University, Fresno. Under his leadership, Fresno State attained a 
national ranking as one of the top universities in the country. The 
school was also recognized for its commitment and achievements to 
diversity. More than 60 percent of Fresno State's recent graduating 
class are the first in their families to attend a four-year 
institution. As President, Dr. Castro has led by example, encouraging 
Fresno State students, faculty, and staff to ``Be Bold'' in order to 
meet and overcome any challenge that would limit academic, personal or 
professional growth.
  As an advocate for Fresno State and the California State University 
system, Dr. Castro serves on numerous boards, including the Hispanic 
Association of Colleges and Universities' Governing Board, WASC Senior 
College and University Commission, Mountain West Athletic Conference 
Board, and the Stanford University Graduate School of Education 
Advisory Council. Before becoming President of Fresno State, he served 
for 23 years in the University of California system. From 2006 to 2013, 
he was Vice Chancellor of Student Academic Affairs and Professor of 
Family and Community Medicine at the University of California, San 
Francisco.
  Earlier in his career, he held faculty and administrative leadership 
positions at four other University of California campuses including 
Berkeley, Davis, Merced and Santa Barbara. Dr. Castro has received five 
Excellence and Innovation Award from the American Association of State 
Colleges and Universities for his accomplishments at Fresno State. In 
2018, he was named as CSU President of the Year by the California State 
Student Association. In 2016, he received the Alumni Excellence in 
Education Award from the Stanford University Graduate School of 
Education. Dr. Castro has also been honored with the Ohtli Award, which 
is highest honor granted by the Government of Mexico to recognize 
leaders who have empowered the lives of Mexican natives in the United 
States.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Dr. Castro for all 
of his achievements. On behalf of a grateful Central Valley and State 
of California, we look forward to his future accomplishments and what 
he will do for California State University students everywhere.

                          ____________________