Ceremony to Officially Name Education School will be Wednesday, April 24, at Fresno State

A ceremony to mark the official naming of the "Benjamin and Marion Kremen School of Education and Human Development" will be held on Wednesday, April 24, at 11 a.m. in front of the education building.

An impressive new sign on the front of the building on Maple Avenue, just north of Shaw Avenue, will be unveiled by Fresno State President John D. Welty, Education Dean Paul Shaker and Dr. Marion Kremen, the Fresno philanthropist whose multimillion-dollar gift resulted in the naming of the school.

Dr. Kremen, an educator and businesswoman, made the gift in honor of her late husband, Dr. Benjamin Kremen, the founder of Fresno State's school counselor education program and a faculty member for over 25 years.

Dr. Kremen said her gift is intended to create a doctoral program in education and to strengthen the school's graduate program.

Fresno State is the first university in the California State University system to have a "named" school of education and one of only seven throughout the nation.

"The Kremen gift will transform the university forever," said Shaker. "It will propel this school to the forefront of leading educational institutions in the state and the nation and secure the most powerful doctoral program for educational leadership."

President Welty said, "Fresno State has a long and rich tradition in teacher and counselor education and this gift will allow us to assume leadership in doctoral work in
education. Mrs. Kremen's generous gift will help us produce the best teachers and educational leaders in the state."

The gift, valued at $4 million, is the second-largest gift to support an academic program at Fresno State.

Contact: Shirley Melikian Armbruster 559-278-2795