Joseph Castro’s CSU promotion leaves another hole in Fresno’s heart: Mary Castro’s legacy
Francine Oputa can’t help herself. Every time the longtime director of Fresno State’s Cross Cultural and Gender Center sees Joseph and Mary Castro together at a campus function, she needles the outgoing president about his place on the marquee.
As in, below his wife.
“The students just adore Mary — they adore her,” Oputa said. “I tease Dr. Castro all the time at events when they’re both there: ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah, the president’s here. But Mary is here.’ ”
With that, the newly retired Oputa breaks into uproarious laughter.
How does Dr. Castro react to being made fun of in this manner?
“He loves it! He absolutely loves it when I do that,” Oputa said, pausing for more laughter. “I do it all the time to him. ‘The president’s here. But Mary, she’s the one.’”
None of this is meant as a slight to Joseph I. Castro, whose new duties as California State University chancellor become official Monday. But this “rock star” (Gov. Gavin Newsom’s description) is no solo act. In fact, his seven-year tenure at Fresno State cannot be gauged without an appreciation for Mary Castro’s co-starring role.
Together, the Castros formed an effective partnership that will continue to benefit students and the surrounding community long after they’re ensconced in Long Beach.
Unlike a university president, there’s no job description for a president’s spouse. Each shapes the role as they see fit. Mary Castro, from the moment she returned to the central San Joaquin Valley, used her platform to become a tireless advocate for student success and the less fortunate. She is a caring, visible presence, that rare person in a position of authority always willing to lend an ear, share a tear or extend a hug, as thousands of newly minted graduates can attest.
“She’s at so many events, front and center. The support she gives her husband is phenomenal,” said Debbie Young, director of Fresno State’s Career Development Center.
“It’s not easy to be first lady. I was a pastor’s wife for 30 years, and you live in a fishbowl. It’s not an easy job, and she’s handled it with grace and compassion.”
“The community’s going to miss Joe, obviously, but there are just as many people as are going to miss Mary — if not more,” said John Alkire, former CEO of the Big Fresno Fair.
“She touched the community, the grassroots of the community, while Joe was skimming along the top. It’s a big loss.”
Satisfying students’ basic needs
Students can’t succeed without food, clothing and shelter. Satisfying those basic needs form a core commitment that Joseph and Mary Castro share.
In response to a faculty member’s survey that showed 31% of Fresno State students lacked access to sufficient, affordable food, the Castros spearheaded a nationally recognized Food Security Project that included the Student Cupboard.
What began in a small closet has since expanded to a 2,200-square foot space lined with shelves stocked with donated food and hygiene products. It’s like a normal grocery store, except that “shoppers” (i.e. students) don’t have to pay. (Things have changed slightly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Items are prepackaged and distributed at the entrance.)
Since launching in November 2014, the Student Cupboard has been visited 244,852 times by 17,792 different students. What role does Mary Castro play? She’s the cupboard’s “No. 1 advocate and champion,” as described by Janell Morillo, Fresno State’s associate VP of student health, counseling and wellness.
Yes, that means using her connections to drum up donor support. The most recent March Match Up, a Student Cupboard fundraiser, took in $327,275 from 434 individuals and local businesses. But Mary Castro does more than lend her name. She’s on the front lines, even if that means stocking shelves.
“She has no problems rolling up her sleeves, getting in there and doing the work to make sure the cupboard was ready to serve our students,” Morillo said.
During the annual Feed the Need food drive, a partnership between Fresno State and the Big Fresno Fair, Mary Castro is personally on hand at the Bulldog Stadium Red Lot to greet donors as they drive up to exchange canned goods for football tickets.
Not just for a couple hours or long enough for a local news hit, either. She’ll devote her entire day, dawn to dusk.
“She wants to personally hand out every ticket, and she does that from the minute we open,” Alkire said. “She stands out there for 10 or 11 hours. It’s unbelievable.”
Advocacy extends beyond campus
Mary Castro is equally dedicated to the Clothing Closet, which provides Fresno State students with professional attire they need for interviews, job fairs and marketing events. During the 2019-20 academic year, 2,000 of them took advantage.
“She’s like your mom. She’s going to make sure you’re well fed and well dressed,” said Young, the Career Development Center director who came up with the idea. “Students need a suit to go to the career fair or they can’t go, and she gets that.”
Much like the Student Cupboard, Mary Castro serves as the Clothing Closet’s primary evangelist. During speaking engagements and functions, she seldom fails to mention the need for donations.
And like the cupboard, Mary’s involvement runs far deeper than ceremonial.
“She personally has had people drop off donations at her house,” Young said. “She’ll call me and say, ‘Hey, Debbie, I’ve got a bunch of donations. I’m coming in.’ And she would come in with boxes and boxes and boxes of stuff. …
“She really is the one who got the community to embrace the closet as a personal project of hers, along with the cupboard.”
While Mary Castro’s support for Fresno State students is well-known, her involvement extended beyond campus.
Appointed to the Fresno County Housing Authority Board in 2017, she rose to vice chair of the executive board before stepping down in November.
“We hated to see her go,” said Preston Prince, the Fresno Housing Authority CEO. “She was in line to become chair if Joe didn’t make this move.”
Befitting her childhood in the small farming community of Laton, Castro advocated for rural residents getting their share of federal housing funds as well as kids-centered programs and partnerships that helped bridge the digital divide.
“She is present. She is there. She cares,” Prince said. “And she speaks her mind in a way that’s always supportive and inspiring.”
Graduating with a warm hug
Present, caring, supportive and inspiring. Four words that describe Mary Castro in any setting and explain why this unpaid advocate and mother of three is held in such high esteem.
Oputa, a close friend, recalled a meeting at the Cross Cultural and Gender Center in which a Fresno State student shared a painful experience that occurred in a classroom.
“When the student had finished, Mary asked, ‘Can I say something?’ ” Oputa said. “And the very first words out of her mouth were, ‘I am so sorry that happened to you.’ Which is what I train people to say.
“That’s being an ally. Just saying ‘I’m sorry you had that experience’ as tears were streaming down her face. That’s why the students love Mary. It’s because she’s so genuine and when the students are before her they have her full attention and they have her full heart.”
That full heart is never more on display than during graduation season. After each student walks across the stage to receive their diploma, they get a handshake from President Castro and a hug from Mary. Neither has missed a commencement ceremony.
Thousands of students go through commencement at Fresno State. That’s a lot of hugs by the university’s first lady.
“She is so invested in wanting these students to know how much she supports them and just genuinely cares about their success,” Morillo said.
While most students eagerly accept Mary Castro’s embrace, there are always a few who would rather not be touched. Naturally, she’s respectful of their wishes. That’s who she is.
“She has mentioned to me there are few who come through that don’t want to be hugged,” Oputa said, “but I haven’t seen it with my own eyes.”
Who would refuse a hug from someone as kind and caring as Mary Castro? Must’ve been raised by porcupines.
This story was originally published December 31, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
