President Castro Visits the Armenian Studies Program During Arts & Humanities Tour

Staff Report

Newly appointed Fresno State President Dr. Joseph I. Castro and his wife Mary, together with Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Andrew Hoff, Dean Vida Samiian of the College of Arts and Humanities, and Associate Dean José Diaz visited the Armenian Studies Program on Friday, September 20. They were greeted by Armenian Studies Program Director Prof. Barlow Der Mugrdechian and Berberian Chair of Armenian Studies, Dr. Sergio La Porta.

President Castro was visiting departments and programs within the College of Arts and Humanities, giving him an opportunity to become familiar with the largest College on campus, both in terms of numbers of enrolled students and also in the diversity of its programs. The College is composed of nine departments and the Armenian Studies Program.

The ASP faculty discussed the history of the Program with Dr. Castro, outlining the significant achievements of the Program over the past forty years, with emphasis on the teaching and scholarship conducted by faculty and in the student involvement. The Program is distinctive in its outreach efforts, with a highly successful Lecture Series, which draws support from students, faculty, and the community.

Dr. Joseph I. Castro, the eighth president of Fresno State, began his tenure on August 1, 2013, succeeding Dr. John Welty. Dr. Castro is the former vice chancellor, student academic affairs of the University of California, San Francisco.

“It is incredibly humbling that the CSU Trustees appointed me as the president of Fresno State and I truly appreciate this honor,” said Castro. “Dr. Welty was successful in leading Fresno State over 22 years. I look forward to working alongside the faculty, staff and students at the university and with alumni and friends throughout the Central Valley and beyond to build on this strong foundation to guide Fresno State to new heights of success.”

Castro joined Fresno State after holding several leadership positions at University of California campuses, most recently serving as vice chancellor, student academic affairs at UC San Francisco since 2010.

Prior to his appointment as vice chancellor, Castro served as vice provost (2008-10), associate vice chancellor for student academic affairs (2006-08) and as interim graduate dean at UCSF from October 2011 to March 2012. He was the recipient of the 2010 Martin Luther King Jr. Award at UCSF and the 2010 University of California Student Association’s Administrator of the Year Award.

During his 23-year career, Castro served in leadership positions within the UC system at the Berkeley, Davis, Merced, and Santa Barbara campuses and at the Office of the President. Castro earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and master’s degree in public policy from the University of California, Berkeley and a doctorate in higher education policy and leadership from Stanford University.

A native of Hanford, Castro is the first member of his family to attend college. He and his wife Mary, who is also a Valley native, have three children.