Luz Gonzalez, executive director of the Fresno State South Valley Campus (FSSVC), has been with the campus since its beginning, nearly 50 years ago.
She began by teaching an evening class for Fresno State at the College of the Sequoias (COS) in the 1980s. Then, in the 1990s, COS provided Fresno State with trailers for office and classroom use near the COS campus. At the time, she was a professor in the Department of Chicano and Latin American Studies.
Now, it’s a different story.
As Fresno State’s presence in Visalia grew, its leaders knew it was time to create an official home base in the south valley.
In collaboration with COS, the FSSVC was born in 2016. 
A poll conducted on The Collegian’s Instagram revealed that, out of 351 votes, 43% of users knew of the FSSVC, 37% didn’t know and 19% knew of its existence, but didn’t know much about it.
For nearly 10 years, the FSSVC team has worked to create a space for Bulldogs in Visalia.
When it came time to establish a dean for the campus in 2016, Gonzalez figured she had what it took to lead a student body.
“I have taken all these big projects and learned to work collaboratively with all of my colleagues, and I thought, you know, I can do this,” Gonzalez said.
Since then, Gonzalez and Vanessa Lopez, the administrative support coordinator, have guided students from Tulare, Kings and north Kern counties through their unique journeys at Fresno State.
For some students from these areas, like Jeremiah See, commuting an hour to Fresno State isn’t realistic or sustainable, but that’s where the FSSVC comes in.
“Honestly, if it wasn’t for the South Valley Campus, I wouldn’t know what to do,” See said.
What’s the FSSVC all about?
FSSVC is simply an extension of Fresno State, only an hour south of the main campus. It offers degrees in criminology and law enforcement, the South Valley Integrated Teacher Education Program and registered nurse to Bachelor of Science in nursing online programs.
In the making of the FSSVC, Gonzalez said COS was largely behind the scenes.
“The College of the Sequoias took on a lot of the financial burden as well, and they knew that this wasn’t just for their students,” Gonzalez said.
As she was organizing course offerings and programs, Gonzalez had to consider what the south valley was missing.
“The region needed healthcare,” she said. “Law enforcement was in high demand, teachers were in high demand.”
When it comes to applications for the FSSVC, Gonzalez said it’s the exact same process as it is for the main campus. When Gonzalez and Lopez review applications from individuals from Tulare and its surrounding counties, they email them about the opportunities at the Visalia campus.
Lopez said that Gonzalez makes an effort to advertise the FSSVC to incoming college students in the area.
“She’ll do in-person presentations for the students,” Lopez said.
Lopez said these marketing efforts make it easier for students in the south valley to become aware of the FSSVC.
“But people on [the] main campus, even staff, faculty, sometimes have no idea there’s a satellite campus,” she said.
Right now, over 1,000 students are enrolled at the campus. Some students take classes both at the main campus and the FSSVC, but some are enrolled full-time in Visalia.
“It’s fairly small, but they have four classrooms,” said Morya Peterson, a criminology and law enforcement student. “You have two days out of the entire week for classes.”
Peterson said she never goes to Fresno State’s main campus, and the only discrepancy is that FSSVC students don’t have easy access to the Student Health and Counseling Center.
Still, Peterson said she’s planning on sticking to Visalia.
In her cohort, there are around 45 other students. Peterson said that because the population is so small, it’s easier to build connections.
“As you get further on, you create more friendships and more networking so that you have more communications for your career later,” Peterson said.
Just as much of a Bulldog
Despite the geographical distance and smaller size, See said he feels like just as much of a Bulldog at the FSSVC.
“It’s smaller, you get more in contact with students and peers and you just get to be closer to home,” See said.
Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) has made an effort this semester to host events at the FSSVC. Student Efrain Cortez-Resendiz brought up a pumpkin decorating event that ASI, in collaboration with Gonzalez, brought to the Visalia campus on Oct. 30.
ASI President Camalah Saleh said she, too, wasn’t aware of the FSSVC at first.
“I think a lot of students don’t know that there’s a satellite campus,” Saleh said. “I will say, they don’t nearly have as much of an environment, a college life here, which is why we try to make it [to] at least three events a semester.”
ASI has supplied the south valley campus with patio furniture, snacks, blue books and scantrons.
Saleh said it is ASI and the FSSVC’s mission to make sure students are aware of who their student government is through events and other efforts. She also emphasized the importance of having an official Fresno State presence in Visalia.
“If we can meet even a portion of our students where they’re at in the south valley, then I think that’s the way to do it,” Saleh said.
The south valley’s future
Gonzalez has been with the FSSVC for 10 years. This year, she will be retiring, and she has no idea who her successor will be.
“By May, I’m flying off to greener pastures,” she said. “But I did tell the president and the provost at one point that I would volunteer to support the new leadership.”
In the meantime, COS and the FSSVC are partnering to build a new University Center. It will include classrooms, computer and science labs, a lecture hall and study spaces.
According to records from a 2024 COS Community College District Board of Trustees Meeting, construction is set to begin in January 2026, and the project is fully funded by Measure C, passed in 2022.
Though change is underway, the sky seems to keep getting brighter for the Bulldogs at the FSSVC.
