The awards recognize individuals who have distinguished themselves in service or career achievement since leaving campus.

The honorees are celebrated at the Top Dog Alumni Awards Gala held each fall in the Save Mart Center during Homecoming Week. The date of the 2012 event awaits completion of the Bulldog football schedule as Fresno State moves into the Mountain West Conference during the 2012-13 academic year.

Fourteen awards in three categories will be presented at the Gala:

• The Distinguished Alumni Award, the highest honor given to a Fresno State alumnus/alumna. It is based on scholarship, leadership and service to the university, the region and the state. Last year’s recipient is Dr. Diana Meehan, the educator and documentarian who co-founded the Archer School for Girls in Los Angeles.

• Outstanding Alumni Awards, recognizing university alumni/alumnae from each of the university’s eight academic schools and colleges, and from the Division of Student Affairs, Department of Athletics, Division of Graduate Studies and the Henry Madden Library. Honorees have accomplished careers and are examples for current students of exceptional achievement. Past recipients include the late Air Force Col. Rick Husband, commander of the space shuttle Columbia; James Kardach, an inventor of Bluetooth; three-time Olympic gold medalist softball player Laura Berg; former Secretary of the Treasury Paul O’Neill; Oscar, Emmy and Clio awards winner Brad Lewis; and Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin.

• The Arthur Safstrom Service Award, presented to an alumnus/alumna or friend of Fresno State who has given outstanding service to the Alumni Association or the university. Last year’s recipient was Peter Robertson, who joined such past awardees as Muriel and Earl Smittcamp, Robert Duncan, Pat and Vinci Ricchiuti and Sister Ruth Marie Nickerson.

For a nomination form click here.

Nominations must be received in the Alumni Association office, by March 5. For additional information, call 559.278.2586.

Related link

• Alumni Association

It was the first of several activities to drum up support from students, faculty, staff and others in the university community for the 2012 March of Dimes – March for Babies on April 14 at Woodward Park

Fresno State President John D. Welty chairs the annual event, which draws marchers from across the central San Joaquin Valley. The April march is cosponsored by Community Medical Centers, Ruiz Foods and Fresno State.

The money raised helps fund research and programs that help babies begin healthy lives.

The Fresno State March for Babies planning committee has been organizing faculty, staff and student groups since fall to participate as teams in the walk. Campus organizers hope to have at least 200 university participants walking in April, said Michelle Melikian, the Fresno State effort’s coordinator.

The “Leaders for Lives” student team organized the first of what Melikian said would be several campus activities promoting the march.

For more information, volunteers may contact Melikian at mmelikian@csufresno.edu or www.facebook.com/FresnoMarchforBabies.

[Show as slideshow]

Hosted by the university’s Arnold and Dianne Gazarian Real Estate Center, the free, public seminar is sponsored by Manco Abbott, a Fresno-based real estate management company.

With experience in strategic planning and performance improvement within the real estate industry, Lee is an expert in real estate development, land-use economics, investment planning, mergers and acquisitions and performance benchmarking. His CEL & Associates is based in Los Angeles.

The Gazarian Real Estate Center serves as a hub for research by faculty and graduate students and provides undergraduate students a chance to apply their academic knowledge to real-world projects.

Free parking will be available on the University Business Center parking lot east of the Peters Business Building.

For more information or to register, contact Caty Perez at 559.278.8243 or catyp@csufresno.edu.

(Copy by University Communications student news assistant Nicole Maul.)

Related link:

• Gazarian Real Estate Center

The show is organized and run by students in the university’s Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology.

The California Junior Livestock Association-sanctioned show starts with steer showmanship at 9 a.m. Feb. 11, followed by lamb and goat showmanship at 10 a.m.

After lamb and goat showmanship, the Fresno State lamb and goat futurities class will take place and then jackpot classes will start.

The Fresno State Steer Futurity class will start at noon, followed by the market beef show at 1 p.m.  The California Club Calf Association will select a supreme champion steer and choose the champion and reserve champion steer.

The show continues at 9 a.m. Feb. 12 with heifer showmanship, then heifer breed shows. At 10 a.m., hog showmanship begins, followed by jackpot hog classes.

The show is sponsored by Farmers’ Best Feed of Keyes.

For more information, contact animal science professors Dr. Randy Perry at 599.278.4793 – randyp@csufresno.edu or John Cordeiro at 559.285.7758 – johnc@csufresno.edu.

(Copy by University Communications student news assistant Nicole Maul.)

Related link:

• Red Wave Classic

Created in 2005 by Winter Wildlands Alliance, a national organization for human-powered snow sport enthusiasts and conservationists, the annual festival travels around the world raising thousands of dollars to help efforts to preserve winter environment. This will be the first Fresno festival.

The Fresno State stop is presented by University Student Union Productions; REI, the national outdoor gear retailer, and the Fresno State Recreation Association. Admission is $3 general and $2 for Fresno State students or REI members

Those who attend will be entered in a drawing to win prizes such as a Kings River rafting trip, lift tickets for skiing at China Peak and REI gear.

Proceeds from the event will benefit the Recreation Association’s recreational and professional opportunities for Fresno State students.

For more information, contact Shawna Blair, USU program and events coordinator, at 559.278.2741 or shblair@csufresno.edu.

Related links

• Fresno State Recreation Association
• Winter Wildlands Alliance
• USU Productions – Fresno State

Rivera Marín will discuss growing up in Mexico with her father, whom she describes as a larger-than-life figure who created unforgettable images of working people, industrial machines and life in Mexico. Diego Rivera (1886-1957) is best known for his bold murals, his leftist political commitment and his marriages to artist Frida Kahlo.

Rivera-Marin will share her children’s book “My Papá Diego and Me: Memories of My Father and His Art.” The bilingual presentation will be illustrated with rare family portraits and 14 reproductions of her father’s artistry that hold a special place in her memory, while offering readers snapshots of her childhood.

The free public event is scheduled at the Satellite Student Union at Fresno State (south of Barstow Avenue on Maple Avenue. A book signing will follow the presentation. Copies of Rivera Marín’s books will be available for purchase.

Sponsored by Wells Fargo, the presentation is part of the Center for Creativity and the Arts’ year-long series examining Immigration, migration and labor from various artistic perspectives.

Dr. Vida Samiian, dean of the College of Arts and Humanities, said Rivera Marín’s visit helps fulfill a Center for Creativity and the Arts’ objective to ”engage diverse communities in artistic and intellectual discovery to understand, transform and inspire.”

For more information contact Lee Ann Jansen, the college’s director of development, at 559.278.1877 or ljansen@csufresno.edu.

(Copy by student news assistant Reganie Smith-Love.)

Related links

• Center for Creativity and the Arts
• Samiian’s Fresno Bee column on the center

The event, sponsored by Fresno State’s University Center to Advance Manufacturing, is free for manufacturers, food processors and industrial firms and $35 for other individuals.

Dye’s forum-opening topic is “Slow Headway Through Shifting Winds.”

At 5:30 p.m., Ron Flaherty, president of Flaherty Capital Markets, will discuss “Capital: What the Investment & Finance Markets Look for in a Company and Why You Need to Know.” He founded Cybus Capital Markets and is a former managing director of First National’s Investment Banking Division.

“We hope that this forum will be yet another successful meeting that links the university with the local business and industrial community,” said Don Austin, a professor in the Department of Industrial Technology.

The center provides research, workforce development and networking in manufacturing.

It promotes using resources throughout the San Joaquin Valley in partnership with the Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Lyles College of Engineering and Craig School of Business at Fresno State. .

“Our plan is to provide expanded educational and networking opportunities for our students and for safety, quality and production managers in the Valley,” Austin said.

For more information or to pre-register, contact Austin at 559.278.6494 or daustin@csufresno.edu.

Copy by University Communications news student assistant Nicole Maul.

Related link:

• Center to Advance Manufacturing: University Center to Advance Manufacturing

Tight end Bear Pascoe, who caught a touchdown pass in the NFC championship game against San Francisco, and backup quarterback David Carr, the top player picked in the 2002 National Football League draft, play for the Giants

All-Pro left guard Logan Mankins and fellow offensive lineman Ryan Wendell must protect Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady and clear the way for runners. They’ll be supported as they were during their time at Fresno State by Patriots assistant strength and conditioning coach Moses Cabrera, a Bulldog football graduate assistant (2002-03) and assistant strength coach (2003-10).

It’s the first Super Bowl for Pascoe, Carr, Wendell and Cabrera and the second for Mankins.

Read more at Go Buldogs:  Bulldogs Headed to Super Bowl and Cabrera Reaches Super Bowl with Pats.

The former Fresno State icons are:

• Alumna Nicole Giordano Ashjian and her husband Nicky Ashjian are highlighted as “The Couple.” They own and operate Buckles Meow!, a belt buckle company, and Plush Events, a wedding and events planning firm.
• Reza Assemi, an alumnus, is featured as “The Visionary” for his work with Granville Homes and GV Urban in transforming downtown Fresno with new buildings for business and living.
• Alumna Shannon Ashley DeYoung, lead singer in the band Ashes and director of social media for DeYoung Properties, is HIS “Musician” icon.
• Alumnus Chance James is highlighted as “The Artist” for his painting and photography.
• Matthew Mazzei, an alumnus and graduate student, is “The Activist.” He founded the Rainbow Delegation, which has distributed more than 100,000 rainbow wristbands worldwide to promote acceptance of gay, lesbian, transgender and bisexual people.
• Rob Saroyan, who was a lead fundraiser to build the Save Mart Center on campus, is “The Legacy” icon.
• Blair Smittcamp, student director of the 2011 Vintage Days on campus, is featured as part of “The Family.” At Fresno State, her family’s generosity is recognized in the Smittcamp Alumni House and Smittcamp Family Honors College.

The Fresno State connections with HIS don’t stop there: Both Chris Pacheco, the magazine’s managing partner and publisher, and David James Manning, the editor in chief, are alumni.

“We’re proud of and pleased for all of these icons,” said Jacquelyn Glasener, executive director of the Fresno State Alumni Association.

“Our alumni are making positive differences, worldwide, each and every day. It’s so nice to hear about the wonderful things that local alumni are doing to shape the past, present and future of Central California, too,” added Glasener.

View the icons issue at: http://issuu.com/netricks/docs/janfeb2012/68.

That catalyst for artistic focus and exploration is the new Center for Creativity and the Arts, which this academic year is examining immigration, migration and labor issues through debate, readings, screenings, lectures and art exhibitions on campus and in the community.

In her column, Samiian notes the need for artistic perspective to fuel imagination, understanding and hope, especially in difficult times.

Read the full Fresno Bee article.