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On Valley Edition: Fresno State President Joseph Castro

Fresno State

One of the biggest challenges facing Central California is in the area of education. The San Joaquin Valley routinely ranks at or near the bottom of the state when it comes to education attainment. Only 16 percent of adults in the valley have a bachelors degree. Compare that with the statewide number of 30 percent, or that of the Bay Area, where 41 percent of residents have a degree and the numbers become even more clear. 

A key to improving those numbers lies with institutions like UC Merced, Fresno State and CSU Bakersfield. At Fresno State around two-thirds of undergraduate students are the first in the family to attend college, and nearly 90 percent are from the San Joaquin Valley. In this interview Valley Edition Host Joe Moore speaks with Fresno State President Joseph Castro about his goals for boosting graduation rates, and more. 

Joe Moore is the President and General Manager of KVPR / Valley Public Radio. He has led the station through major programming changes, the launch of KVPR Classical and the COVID-19 pandemic. Under his leadership the station was named California Non-Profit of the Year by Senator Melissa Hurtado (2019), and won a National Edward R. Murrow Award for investigative reporting (2022).
Ezra David Romero is an award-winning radio reporter and producer. His stories have run on Morning Edition, Morning Edition Saturday, Morning Edition Sunday, All Things Considered, Here & Now, The Salt, Latino USA, KQED, KALW, Harvest Public Radio, etc.
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