Fresno State’s new president worked his way to the top and has big goals for the school

Just a few hours after the announcement that Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval would be Fresno State’s new president, he quietly entered a room on the third floor of the Henry Madden Library, holding hands with his wife, Mariana Anagnostopoulos, his two sons following.

The ninth Fresno State president removed his mask at the podium and dedicated his accomplishment to the residents of the central San Joaquin Valley.

“Having grown up in Fowler, I never imagined that this would be possible,” Jiménez-Sandoval told reporters Wednesday afternoon. “So I dedicate this position, this accomplishment, to the community. We all did it together, and I want to thank you for having us.”

Jiménez-Sandoval follows in the footsteps of his predecessor, Joseph I. Castro, who was the first Central Valley native to lead the university when he was appointed in 2013.

Although Jiménez-Sandoval was born in Mexico, he came to Fowler when he was 10 years old, not speaking “a drop of English,” and worked on his father’s small farm, he said. One of three boys and five girls in his family, Jiménez-Sandoval graduated with honors from Fowler schools before heading off to UC Irvine, where he earned dual bachelor’s degrees in History and Spanish and a master’s and doctorate in Spanish literatures.

“When I went away, my goal was to get a degree, and then return and say to my parents, ‘I dedicate this degree to you. This is for you for everything you’ve done (for) me,’” he said.

He wanted to become a teacher and started in 2000 at Fresno State as a professor of Spanish and Portuguese.

Jiménez-Sandoval’s wife is a member of the Fresno State Philosophy Department faculty, and their two sons are Arion and Leo.

Before taking over as interim president in January, Jiménez-Sandoval was the provost and vice president of Academic Affairs.

His variety of experiences, he said, has opened his eyes to what the university is capable of.

“I visited every single department as provost, which gave me an incredible insight on what research was happening with every department, and where we needed to go from that point on,” he said, “and then when I became interim president, I really got to see the whole impact Fresno State has on our region. I saw the power of athletics on the one hand, and I saw the power of academics on the other hand, and I really began to see how we touch every single facet of our valley life and beyond.”

Goals for Fresno State

Jiménez-Sandoval takes over at a time of transition when some colleges are seeing a decline in enrollment, likely due to the coronavirus pandemic. Although Fresno State saw record enrollment for fall 2020, the 23-campus California State University system had an overall 5% decline.

Jiménez-Sandoval said one of his short-term goals is safely repopulating the campus after the coronavirus pandemic. Fresno State is planning for about 73% of its classes to be face-to-face in the fall. About 5 to 6% of classes will become hybrid, meaning instructors will teach both face-to-face and virtually.

But looking ahead, Jiménez-Sandoval sees collaboration between disciplines as the way forward.

“We are poised as a university with this incredible legacy of agriculture, to really lead the way in technology, to really lead the way in agriculture, and then really marry these two disciplines together,” he said. “We are a world university that is at the foreground of research.

“It is up to us that at this point to really further our research in order to move ahead, and to innovate in the areas with which we are known, and the areas would be agriculture, engineering, business (and) the health sciences.”

He said it’s “important to acknowledge that we have a world-class institution in our backyard,” and he’d like to grow masters and doctorate programs.

“Once our students come to us and become masters or doctoral candidates, what do they do? They go out into the community, and they become these incredible leaders that really uplift the quality of life for everyone.”

Jiménez-Sandoval’s appointment was announced Wednesday morning by the CSU board of trustees. The board approved Jiménez-Sandoval’s salary at $348,423, the same salary Castro earned at Fresno State before he was named chancellor.

He will also receive a $1,000 monthly auto allowance, standard benefits and live at the University House on Van Ness and Holland avenues.

This story was originally published May 19, 2021 at 5:13 PM.