Art 60 College of the Redwoods Rate My Preofessor

~ By Lisa Maria Boyles

Arts and Humanities graduates leave Fresno State well-armed for success in the post-college globe.

Several national surveys gave Fresno Country loftier rankings this yr:

• Fresno Country was singled out every bit the nation's All-time Public University in graduation rate functioning in U.S. News and World Study'southward 2017 Best College Rankings.
• Fresno State was ranked No. 25 in the nation past Washington Monthly.
• Coin Magazine ranked Fresno Land No. 43 among the nation's Top 50 All-time Public Colleges. Colleges that earned spots in the ranking were evaluated on their affordability, quality and outcomes of the education students receive.

"To exist evaluated in the aforementioned league as universities like Princeton, Harvard, Yale and Stanford speaks to the assuming level of educational opportunity and quality we offer the students of the Fundamental Valley," said Fresno Country President Joseph I. Castro. "The spring we took into the national rankings is like moving into the bookish equivalent of the top athletic conference. Student success is one of the priorities in our new Strategic Plan, and information technology's clear that academics and athletics are ascent together at Fresno State."

Several alumni and kinesthesia from the College of Arts and Humanities gave us their perspective on these national rankings of Fresno State.

"Our college offers a beautiful assortment of experiential learning opportunities grounded in critical, big-moving-picture show thinking," said Betsy Hays, a professor with the Department of Mass Communications and Journalism. "These are the keys to success in life – and the keys to a productive denizens."

Jeff (pictured filming in a Louisiana swamp for National Geographic Aqueduct) and Andrea Phillips met while they were both Arts and Humanities students at Fresno State. Jeff Phillips, a freelance photographic camera operator who has worked on the Idiot box evidence "Survivor," graduated in 2011 from the MCJ department. Andrea Phillips majored in English (course of 2010) and will start as a teacher librarian at the Reagan Educational Center in Clovis Unified this fall. She is also pursuing her chief's degree in library and information science. Both Jeff and Andrea were in the Smittcamp Family Honors College during their time at Fresno State.

"I recall one of the biggest advantages Fresno Country offered me was affordability. As a member of the Smittcamp Family Honors Higher, I was fortunate enough to receive a full tuition scholarship," Jeff Phillips said. In high school, he had hoped to attend pic school in southern California, but the Smittcamp scholarship opened another – less expensive – door. "I am extremely grateful I received the Smittcamp scholarship to nourish Fresno State. Even if I had been paying full tuition, I would take saved so much coin while still receiving a quality education.  I know a lot of people who work in the moving-picture show and telly manufacture who went to an expensive motion-picture show school and have major debt from student loans."

Phillips' career has given him an opportunity to piece of work on reality boob tube productions and documentaries, productions that air on CBS, NBC, ABC, Discovery Channel, History Channel, National Geographic Channel and the Food Network.

Several of the students interviewed spoke highly of the caliber of their instructors in the Arts and Humanities disciplines.

"The quality of education at Fresno State is excellent," said Cesar Perez-Villegas (pictured). After graduating from the MCJ Department in 2012, Perez now works as a remote truck engineer for CMAC, the Community Media Admission Collaborative. "You will learn not only about the tools you will need to survive but how those tools can piece of work for you. What I appreciated about about our Higher is the people are real. They care for you similar the developed you are. They are leaders, both peers and educators."

Hazel Antaramian-Hofman started and finished her journeying in higher instruction at Fresno Land, with several other stops (and degrees) in between. In 2010, she earned her main'southward degree from the Department of Art and Pattern. She teaches art at Fresno City College, exhibits her artwork at Fig Tree Gallery in downtown Fresno and took office in an international exhibition in Yerevan, Armenia, at the Armenian Center for Gimmicky Experimental Art in July 2016 (pictured below).

"If we just consider the legacy of the Fine art Department with early feminist and abstract painter, Mary Maughelli, who was teaching at Fresno Country many years before the beginning of the national feminist art program by Judy Chicago, then we are but scraping the surface," saidAntaramian-Hofman, "or if we consider the award-winning faculty and alumni of the creative writing program, such equally U.S. Poet Laureate Philip Levine, who was likewise a Pulitzer Prize winner, and distinguished alumni writers, such equally Larry Levis and Gary Soto, nosotros are over again just scraping the surface of the educational quality that has enabled the talents and intelligence of many who have worked or graduated from the College of the Arts and Humanities."

Another important gene is existence able to take classes that are non impacted and overcrowded, both in the relationship that develops between kinesthesia and students besides as allowing students to graduate on fourth dimension. Maggie Srmayan, a double major – theatre arts blueprint/tech and fine arts painting, is now working on the ABC Tv show "American Housewife" later graduating in 2015.

"I enjoyed being in a department that was not overcrowded," said Srmayan (pictured). "I could go into the classes that I wanted hands, and I had the opportunity to blueprint shows and aggrandize my inventiveness with the full support of dedicated faculty and staff. I got to know my mentors and professors individually who helped me tremendously throughout my 5 years equally a student."

Hands-on experiences in the area y'all plan to pursue is an invaluable office of the higher experience. Students in CAH departments go enough during their education at Fresno State.

Robert Thissen (pictured) is an editor and filmmaker in Hollywood.

Robert Thissen, now an editor and filmmaker in Hollywood, receive a available'due south in 1997 and a master's in 2002 from the Section of Mass Communications and Journalism in the expanse of television product.

"Fresno State gave students the liberty to learn and experiment in all aspects of production," said Thissen, who has worked for 20th Century Fox, Universal, Paramount and Disney. "During my undergraduate studies, students produced diverse projects which included live talk shows much similar the format of 'The Tonight Show.' The shows aired on local television, which gave students the opportunity to work together as a team in a existent-world environs and gain chore experience."

Class sizes also factor into the educatee experience and success, said Faith Sidlow, an banana professor in broadcast journalism:

"The form sizes [in College of Arts and Humanities classes] are pocket-sized, different some of the larger public CSUs and UCs, and that allows for more than interaction between the educatee and professor."

Abiam Alvarez (pictured) was an art major (emphasis in ceramics and sculpture) who graduaged in 2010. He now teaches ceramics and fine art at Sobrato High School in Morgan Loma.

"I experience that I was able to get some expert quality education in the art department at Fresno State, because classes were pocket-sized and professors were able to offer i-on-i attending to students, working closely with the states and helping y'all develop as an artist. "

Sidlow as well pointed out the opportunities the Higher of Arts and Humanities gives to students who might not otherwise pursue a higher degree.

"In the College of Arts and Humanities, students from the Primal Valley are learning from world-renowned professors, whether it's music, theater, philosophy, language or journalism, and they're able to do this without leaving home, making college affordable and attainable. A large percentage of our students come from low-income families. If Fresno Land wasn't available to them, many of these students would not be able to higher."

Two alumni who received Masters of Fine Arts through the English Section mentioned how much they value the experience they gained working on The Normal School literary magazine.

"Having The Normal Schoolhouse literary magazine on campus and working as an editorial assistant for three years gave me publishing feel that has been invaluable," said Brandi Spaethe, a 2013 graduate (pictured). Spaethe now works as the programme associate for the California office of Poets & Writers, and besides teaches composition at CSU Los Angeles.

"The opportunities we had at Fresno State's literary mag, The Normal School, let us all be creative, brainstorm to work on projects, contact writers and artists, and come across projects through from commencement to end," said Jeffrey Gleaves, a 2015 graduate now working as the digital manager for The Paris Review in New York. "This early hands-on feel in publishing and editing began to requite me the tools that I still employ today in my job."

Both Spaethe and Gleaves also credited the opportunities they had in the Fresno State MFA program to travel and attend writing conferences equally contributing to their professional success.

"Fresno State offered funding to attend the [Association of Writers and Writing Programs] Conference every year, where I met and networked with people from all over the country," Spaethe said. "Funding was offered to attend summertime writing retreats and conferences, which enhanced my contacts. Having those connections is invaluable in the literary globe, and I wouldn't have been able to go without the funding provided past Fresno Land."

Gleaves said: "The higher was very good most giving united states of america travel grants to professional conferences, writing conferences and other gatherings of like-minded people — it enabled united states to see what was possible in the world, meet famous artists and writers in our fields, and brand professional connections with peers in the national community, as well every bit put Fresno State on the map as a place that values this kind of national community of academics, writers, publishers and artists."

Another key element of a higher education is that what students are learning must be relevant to today's job market.

The MCJ Department offers programs at the forefront of today'south nigh pop jobs, said Professor Betsy Hays. Public relations and digital media, in particular, are consistently noted as among the fastest growing professions in the nation and world.

"We railroad train journalists to navigate through the changing world of news, as well as advertising professionals who are congenital to succeed in today'south converged marketing surroundings," Hays said. "The future is media, and that is what we teach!"

Erika Castanon, a current MCJ student who hopes to graduate in May, agrees.

"I can't believe all the different directions I can go in with a major in public relations," Castanon said. "Sports, nonprofit, education, government."

Carlos Perez – a 2011 MCJ graduate with an accent in PR – at present works as an account manager at Jeffrey Scott Bureau, a Fresno marketing and advertising firm.

Perez said the Fresno customs, equally a whole, offers an advantage over other cities or states.

"The public relations program was exceptional, teaching me existent-life lessons and using live examples in the classroom," Perez said, "so the transition from school to the real earth was a much smoother one."

He too benefitted from his CAH professors' ties to the customs beyond the campus.

"The professors in the College of Art and Humanities were all so well connected that my networking base of operations during my time at Fresno Land and afterward grew quicker and stronger than it would have been, coming to Fresno from a different schoolhouse," said Perez. "Making those connections, which many professors in the College helped facilitate, really proved to be a benefit that I don't know I would have reaped from another schoolhouse"

Joshua Stein (pictured) was a 2012 graduate of the Philosophy Department and a runner upwards for the College of Arts and Humanities Dean's Medal that yr. He said he values different things with several years of perspective than he did when he was a student here:

"Originally, I was motivated by the class construction and opportunity to work closely with professors, something that I took enormous reward of while I was a student in the Philosophy Department. In retrospect, 1 of the almost impactful things about the University was the commitment to serving the firsthand customs. While I was an undergraduate, I had the opportunity to work on interfaith issues in the customs, and to interact on a regular basis with people who were passionate almost service to their community. I have come to recognize that is not the instance everywhere, and I appreciate all the more."

Ranking well in comparing to other colleges is an important win for Fresno Land, "extremely important," said Ryan Dirlam, a 2011 graduate of the music education program.

"In the education profession, we have the unique ability to help students brand the decision on where to nourish higher," said Dirlam, who is in his fifth year teaching music in the Firebaugh-Las Deltas Unified Schoolhouse Commune. "I oft take my students to Fresno Land music events, receive clinics from the Music Department Professors, and tell stories most all of my positive experiences in the Bulldog Marching Band. Information technology is a redeeming moment to tell your students nigh how wonderful Fresno State is and then have National documentation to dorsum you upwardly."

Information technology isn't just a win on campus, Hays added: "It's too expert for the community of Fresno to feel proud near its hometown university."

"When we are ranked well, our students, kinesthesia and staff experience increased pride," Betsy Hays said. "When folks feel proud, they are more than loyal, which helps with memory … Externally, rankings can help with recruiting, and can sometimes make a difference for people who are comparing Fresno State to somewhere else.

Working in his chosen field in our customs with CMAC, Cesar Perez-Villegas says, "The education I received helped to mold me into the person I am today. … My schooling was the top of my success. I had good foundations from which to build in my career thank you to my education."

Dirlam was recently named Teacher of the Twelvemonth for the Firebaugh School District, and is a nominee for Fresno Canton Teacher of the Year: "Every pupil has access to a high quality instruction when attention Fresno State. The faculty on campus are more often than not prominent members in their respective fields," he said. "I accept heard many positive comments over the years about the educational opportunities offered to the educatee trunk."

As a new fellow member of the College of Arts and Humanities Advisory Board, Hazel Antaramian-Hofman is excited about what it still ahead for the College:

"The enthusiasm and delivery exhibited by our Dean, Dr. Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval, and Associate Dean, Dr. Honora Howell Chapman, make all things seem possible. … As a pupil, for me it was more about the globe opening up; now, as a member of the AHAB, for me information technology is near the giving back and igniting the wonder in the hearts and minds of students in the College of Arts and Humanities."

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Source: https://fresnostatecah.com/2016/08/02/studying-arts-humanities-arms-students-for-success/

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