Saúl Jimenéz-Sandoval has been appointed as the ninth president at Fresno State.

After serving as the interim president, Jimenéz-Sandoval was officially introduced as Fresno State’s new president on Wednesday morning during the California State University Board of Trustees meeting.

He has served as the interim president since January 2021 when former president Joseph I. Castro officially took office as CSU chancellor.

“It is an honor to be chosen to lead this premier university, which opens doors of opportunities for our talented students and improves the quality of life for everyone in the Valley,” Jimenéz-Sandoval said at a news conference on Wednesday. “I look forward to working together with our dynamic faculty, committed staff, talented students and innovative community partners to increase the life-changing opportunities that a Fresno State education provides.”

Prior to taking over as interim president, Jimenéz-Sandoval spent 15 years as a professor of Spanish and Portuguese at Fresno State. He served as the dean for the College of Arts and Humanities before being promoted to provost and vice president of academic affairs in 2019.

At the age of 10, Jimenéz-Sandoval immigrated to the Central Valley from Mexico. He grew up working on his family farm and later went on to complete his bachelor’s degrees in history and  Spanish from the University of California, Irvine.

“Saúl has a keen and demonstrated knowledge of innovative and proven student success measures, and he has played a critical leadership role in Fresno State’s continued ascend as an educational, social, cultural and economic driver in the region,” Castro said.

Jimenéz-Sandoval is slated to earn a salary of $348,423 and receive a $1,000 auto allowance. This is about 2.53% higher compared to Castro’s base salary as president in 2019 which was about $339,612 according to Transparent California. 

“Dr. Jiménez-Sandoval has an exciting vision for the future of the university while having gained immeasurable institutional knowledge and developed outstanding relationships throughout the campus and community over his many years of service to Fresno State,” said CSU Trustee Jane Carney, chair of the Fresno State search committee.

With the campus slated to reopen in the fall, Jiménez-Sandoval said training would be provided to professors who will be handling the addition of 50 HyFlex classrooms.

“We plan to give our faculty training over the summer so that they truly know how to work the technology so that they are fully prepared to take on the teaching performance.” Jiménez-Sandoval said.

In regards to Fresno State Athletics, Jiménez-Sandoval said he is aware that there is some deferred maintenance and said he already began to work in some areas as president.

“So my plan for athletics is really to get out to get us a strong secure base,” Jiménez-Sandoval said. “Then from there to see how it is that we will systematically grow on to the next level of excellence.