Best Aspects
Top Ten Things That Make Fresno State Unique
- We're a campus community that treasures scholarship and creative thinking. Our four-year-old Smittcamp Family Honors College -- one of the most comprehensive academic honors program at any university in California -- has enrolled 250 students with full scholarships. Only the best students from across California can meet the rigorous intellectual and creative requirements for the college.
- Fresno State operates the only commercial winery at any university in the country. That's only one indication of our unique role in the heart of the world's premier agricultural region. Our College of Ag Sciences and Technology is one of the most highly regarded in the U.S.
- Fresno State just completed construction of the finest public events center at any university on the West Coast -- the Save Mart Center. The $103 million facility was completed in the fall of 2003, and features a 16,500 seat arena. A second phase of the project will add a center for business innovation and a student recreational center. Best of all, the building is being paid for through donations and sponsorships -- not state funds.
- Fresno State boasts some of the best sports programs for both women and men in California, with all major sports facilities paid for entirely with private gifts. The college regularly dominates in sports such as football, women's softball, and basketball. Our 106-member equestrian team is one of the strongest in the United States. Our booster group, the vaunted "Red Wave, " is one of the largest in the country.
- The complete spectrum of education is represented on campus -- from a nationally ranked preschool to doctoral work. The campus includes University High School which uses music as the inspiration for its curriculum. Fresno State got its start as a "teacher's college" -- a tradition we proudly carry-on today as one of California's top campuses for the preparation of new teachers.
- Fresno State is the California campus most associated with the Sierra Nevada. Students can leave the campus and in one hour be skiing or hiking at 7,000 feet in Kings Canyon or Sequoia National Parks. Yosemite National Park is a little over two hours away. State Route 168, which adjoins the campus, links directly to Sierra Summit Ski Resort.
- Research is booming at Fresno State where faculty are attracting a growing amount of support for studies ranging from how to use new technologies to improve the skills of K-12 teachers to groundbreaking experiments in cell genetics. Fresno State has 13 endowed chairs which support top-flight research and teaching.
- Students at Fresno State overwhelmingly approved the Legacy 2000 referendum, paving the way for construction of a huge new on-campus recreational center in the Save Mart Center. Fresno State students are active, involved and willing to make the personal commitment to improve their campus.
- Alumni from Fresno State are setting the pace throughout the country and the state. Among California State University campuses we can boast that our alumni are among the most influential thinkers, business people, artists, explorers and leaders in the U.S.
- Our students truly make Fresno State unique. Central California is one of the most culturally diverse regions in the world. In the past, farming drew people from throughout the world to the San Joaquin Valley -- from Armenia, Mexico, Germany, Cambodia, Sweden and Japan.
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