University Communications

Welcome to campus for what will be an exciting year as Fresno State celebrates its 100th anniversary!

I want to take this opportunity to give a special welcome to our 2,700 new freshmen, our 2,000 new transfers and 750 new graduate or credential students. Our new and returning numbers
total about 21,000 students.

Our celebration, which begins this fall and continues through Commencement next May, is an opportunity to look back over a century of excellence and to look ahead as we begin our second 100 years. It’s also a reminder of how successfully we’ve worked together to overcome challenges and help thousands of individuals thrive to the benefit of others.

Fresno State has evolved from modest beginnings as a normal school to train teachers into an acclaimed, culturally diverse, 21st century university, which offers educational opportunities through eight schools and colleges. Our students have applied what they’ve learned at Fresno State as leaders and do-ers in communities throughout California, around the world and clear into space.

Our alumni are 9/11 heroes, judges, ambassadors, university presidents, teachers, farmers, doctors and nurses, political leaders, military men and women, authors and artists, astronauts, inventors, athletes and business executives. Fresno State alumni have won the Pulitzer Prize, Oscars, Olympic medals, Emmys, Grammys, the Super Bowl and other distinctions.

We’ve also helped our neighbors through volunteer service and partnerships designed to transform our region and improve our quality of life.

We have stayed true to the four Latin words on our university seal:
“Lucem accipe ut reddas” (“Receive the light that you may give it forth”).

As Bulldogs, I challenge each of you to continue taking those few powerful words to heart this year as we look back and look ahead to our next 100 years.

I hope each of you has a wonderful year at Fresno State!

John Welty is the president of California State University, Fresno.