Fall 2023 Newsletter

Dear alumni, families, and friends of the Smittcamp Family Honors College (SFHC),

Welcome to the Fall 2023 issue of Honorable Times, the semi-annual SFHC Newsletter!

I feel extremely fortunate that the start of my 10th year of service as the SFHC Director has coincided with its 25th anniversary.

Fresno State and the world around it have changed a lot since 1998, but the values that led to the founding of SFHC remain very much in place. Through the years, the principles of innovation, community, integration, and agility—as exemplified by the late Earl and Muriel Smittcamp and their family members—have allowed the SFHC Directors, faculty, staff, and students to create transformative educational experiences that bring the mission of excellence within and outside the classroom across the Fresno State campus. I am proud to have been part of this journey of transformation at Fresno State along with the Honors faculty and staff colleagues as well as our scholars.

The SFHC continues to be one of the most sought-after Honors programs in the Western U.S. We are proud of the fact that the overall quality of applicants has increased despite the consistency in the number of applicants (500-600) over the years, with many of our admitted applicants receiving multiple scholarship offers from UC campuses and some Ivy League schools. The story of Micah Olivas (“From Hanford to Stanford”), featured in this issue’s Alumni Corner, is one such example. We are also proud of the fact that of the more than 400 applicants to whom we were not able to offer admission for the 2023 incoming cohort, over 30% chose to enroll in Fresno State anyway. Students have told us that the process of engaging with the SFHC for admissions convinced them of the value of Fresno State, with many of them applying to department- or college-based honors programs later in their academic path. The overall result is a stronger Fresno State community.

Thank you for your continued support of SFHC — one of the greatest treasures at Fresno State and the Valley.

With gratitude,