Author / The Collegian

Today the Fresno State community will gather to remember the late political science professor Dr. Rodney Anderson at the Leon S. Peters Ellipse Gallery on the second floor of the Henry Madden Library at 11 a.m. where a resolution by Associated Students, Inc. will be presented.

The passing of Anderson took many students and professors by surprised, but members of ASI were especially hit hard.

“I think ASI was hit because of his passing mainly because we have a lot of political science students”” now and in the past,” said Senator Jamie Moncayo. “A lot of us knew Dr. Anderson personally.”

Moncayo wrote the resolution and presented it to Political Science Department Chair Dr. David Schecter and Professor Kimberly Arvanigian at last Wednesday’s Senate meeting.

“It’s just a brief biography of Dr. Anderson about what he did here at Fresno State in terms of what classes he taught and how many students he reached,” Moncayo said.­ “He was an avid sports fan and went to many of the football games. He was also a very big supporter of the baseball team and was actually there when the team won the 2008 championship.”

Arvanigian, shared an office with Anderson for nearly ten years, spoke of Anderson’s love for Fresno State at the Senate meeting.

“Dr. Anderson loved his work here. [He] never complained one day in sixteen years,” Arvanigian said. “The office is quite empty without him.”

Copies of the resolution will also be available for attendees.

“We just wanted to do something in memory,” Moncayo said. “We wanted something to send to his family that would show the appreciation students had for him. That originally was the purpose of the resolution.”

The Political Science Department is asking for peoplem, in lieu of flowers, to make a donation for the Dr. Rodney Anderson Memorial Fund.

Fresno State President John Welty ordered flags on campus to be lowered to half-staff until March 23 for not only Anderson’s death, but also university benefactor Pete P. Peters who died at the age of 94 on Friday.

A funeral service is planned for Peters on Tuesday at 11 a.m. at the First Armenian Presbyterian Church.