Alumni Advocates of the Year

Gary Griswold
California State University, Chico

Gary Griswold, a 1965 CSU Chico agribusiness graduate, has been a long-time advocate for both the university and the CSU system. A former member of the CSU Chico College of Agriculture Advisory Board, Griswold has worked, now, with four different deans of the college.

In the early 1990s, Griswold was a major force in the founding of Superior Ag, a group of College of Agriculture alumni who were instrumental in lobbying to prevent the elimination of the agriculture program at CSU Chico. Today, Superior Ag raises more than $40,000 per year to fund college scholarships, support student organizations, support field days at the University Farm, provide instructional support and build an endowment.

Griswold has served on the CSU Chico Alumni Association Board of Directors, chaired the governmental affairs committee and was the alumni representative to the CSU Alumni Council. A nut farmer for more than 30 years, Griswold has recently retired from a 39-year career in banking, but remains active in advocating for agriculture and CSU Chico.