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Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval image by Fresno State

published on April 5, 2019 - 11:14 AM
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Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval, a veteran academic administrator with extensive ties to the Central Valley, is Fresno State’s new provost and vice president for academic affairs.

Fresno State President Joseph Castro announced on Friday Jiménez-Sandoval would be appointed to the position as the university’s chief academic officer. It’s a post previously filled by Lynette Zelezny before she left in June 2018 to take a job as president for CSU Bakersfield. Robert Harper, dean for the Craig School of Business, filled in on an interim basis while Fresno State searched for a permanent replacement.

Jiménez-Sandoval joined the Fresno State Faculty in 2000. During his 19 years at the university, he has served as professor of Spanish and Portuguese, coordinator of the Spanish Master of Arts program, chair of the Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures and interim associate dean of the College of Arts and Humanities, later promoted to dean of the college.

“Dr. Jiménez-Sandoval is a dynamic scholar and administrator with an unwavering passion for our university’s mission to boldly educate and empower students for success,” Castro said. “I am excited to work with him to guide Fresno State to even greater heights of academic distinction, which will help to elevate the entire Central Valley.”

Jiménez-Sandoval serves in a leadership role on a number of councils that nurture cultural ties, collaboration and fundraising opportunities, including: President’s Commission for the Future of Arts and Humanities; President’s Jewish Leadership Council; President’s Latino Leadership Community Group; President’s Portuguese Leadership Council; President’s Armenian Council; SE Asian Community Task Force; and the University High School Board.

“I’m humbled and honored by the trust President Castro and the search committee have placed in me, and reinvigorated by the support of campus and community members,” Jiménez-Sandoval said. I’m excited to get to work on promoting student excellence, empowering faculty to inspire the next generation of leaders, and advancing strategic academic, artistic and economic innovation that will positively impact the quality of life in our Valley.”

Jiménez-Sandoval will start his new position on July 22.

According to The Collegian, Fresno State’s campus newspaper, other candidates for the position included: Abbey Zink, dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas; Britt Rios-Ellis, founding dean of the College of Health Sciences and Human Services at CSU Long Beach and; S.K. Ramesh, professor and former dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science at CSU Northridge.


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