Editor̢۪s Note: The following is a letter submitted by the nine deans of the colleges and schools of the university. As always, we would like to encourage readers to continue to submit their ideas and opinions. We look forward to a lively and open discussion with our readers.

WE, THE ACADEMIC DEANS at California State University, Fresno, want to share a different story in the new year than has been reported lately in the news. We are fully cognizant that the headlines have left some of you confused, and others feeling deeply dismayed. The story we wish to share here, however, isn̢۪t about that and never was.

It is instead a hard won story of pride and accomplishment. Pride in a university with a truly outstanding history, whose academics year in and year out literally transform the lives of tens of thousands of students. With a distinguished past stretching back nearly a hundred years, Fresno State enriches every facet of our community, provides the raw talent and expertise to underpin the economic growth of the region and touches the lives of thousands in the region for the better.

None of these accomplishments could have been possible without inspiring leadership at the top, without exceptional stewardship among administrators, brilliant teaching by faculty dedicated to the highest standards of pedagogy and learning, or the hard work of our dedicated staff. These are the tangible benefits our university gives to California each year, and to the world at large. This to our minds is the real Fresno State. In all these arenas we firmly believe it is President John D. Welty who has provided the leadership for all of us to succeed.

Outstanding is surely the closest word to describe this university̢۪s accomplishments. From the nadir of 1994, today we have increased enrollment by over 13 percent to almost 22,500. We rank in the top 15 schools nationally in the number of Latino students who graduate and 59 percent of our students are women. Not least, over the last ten years alone the hiring of women faculty has increased from 33.8 percent to 40.5 percent, and of women administrators by nearly 5 percent, to comprise 46 percent of our management workforce. And through our Office of Community and Economic Development, estimates suggest 21,000 new jobs have been created in the Central Valley alone.

But we are academic deans and the university̢۪s accomplishments in the realms of teaching, learning, research, curricular support and community service opportunities for our students have all been nationally recognized. To highlight just a few: It was President Welty who secured the Craig endowment, which built the Craig School of Business, now nationally ranked as one of the top business schools by the most recent Princeton Review survey. Annually, the Craig School places over 300 students in internships that support community businesses and non-profits. Needless to say, the knowledge base, development support and management expertise the Craig School provides local business, large and small, is incalculable.

Under President Welty̢۪s leadership, the Kremen School of Education received legislative permission to provide the first CSU doctoral program, the highly successful Ed.D in Educational Leadership. And of course, the beautiful Kremen School building itself was constructed under his stewardship.

It has been in the last ten years, too, that the College of Agriculture has grown its world class Viticulture and Enology program to rival any in the nation, producing wines that have won many awards. And through the determined efforts of President Welty, we were able to partner with the Central Valley Business Incubator in the establishment on campus of our own Water and Energy Technology Incubator.

Inspired by President Welty̢۪s vision of an engaged university, the College of Health and Human Services has developed a number of institutes and centers bringing together the intellectual capacity of the college and university with the resources of the community and region. These centers and programs, such as the Central Valley Health Policy Institute, the Central California Public Health Partnership, the Central California Center for Excellence in Nursing and the Central California Social Welfare Evaluation, Research and Training Center play a major role in improving the lives of hundreds of residents of this region.

Public performances provided by Arts and Humanities students in music, theatre and dance bring thousands of community members to the campus, as does the statewide Summer Arts Festival, a program which, under the encouragement of President Welty, selected our campus as a home. Three endowed chairs and professorships in Armenian Studies, Journalism and Creative Writing have also been established, the MFA of the latter program gaining national acclaim. Not least, University High School, founded in 1999 as the first college preparatory university based charter school within the CSU system, has become the highest performing school in the region and the fifth-highest performing charter school nationally.

In the sciences, new programs with a transformative impact on our region have been established. The biomedical physics program prepares undergraduates for careers at the frontier of physics and medicine and the recently established Central California Autism Center is the only center-based treatment facility for autistic children in this region. Thousands of children from schools across the Central Valley visit the Downing Planetarium each year and enjoy the educational activities in the Downing Space Museum. And, without President Welty̢۪s vision of quality education, the establishment of the Smittcamp Honors College attracting some of the most accomplished students for an exceptional educational experience would not have been possible.

Furthermore, as Dean Luz Gonzalez of the College of Social Sciences pointed out at a recent meeting, under President Welty̢۪s leadership, women and underrepresented minorities from our campus have secured positions throughout the country as university presidents, provosts, deans, vice presidents, associate vice presidents and executive directors. Noteworthy, her school has the largest Latino Commencement Celebration in the country. This annual event has contributed to the increase in the number of Latino students to 32 percent.

We thus see in every school and college outstanding growth and unqualified success, hallmarks of the education we provide. Nor is it an accident that under President Welty̢۪s leadership, in January 2009, the university will complete the largest library in the CSU system and arguably one of the most beautiful in California. Fresno State is the future of the New California. This is the story that should be grabbing the headlines.

Paul Beare, Dean, Kremen School of Education and Human Development
Charles Boyer, Dean, College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology
Karen Carey, Interim Dean, College of Science and Mathematics
Dianne Dickerson, Interim Dean, Division of Graduate Studies
Luz Gonzalez, Dean, College of Social Sciences
Doug Hensler, Dean, Craig School of Business
Michael Jenkins, Dean, College of Engineering
Peter McDonald, Dean, Library Services
Vida Samiian, Dean, College of Arts and Humanities
Benjamin Cuellar, Dean, College of Health and Human Services

Correction (1/24/2008): In regards to the Jan. 16 letter to the editor, “The Deans Speak,” Dean Benjamin Cuellar of the College of Health and Human Services was inadvertently omitted.