Merced Rancher Leaves $1 Million to Fresno State Agriculture, Business Programs

A $1 million gift to California State University, Fresno - to be split equally by the Ag One Foundation to benefit the College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, and the Craig School of Business - was announced today (Oct. 28).

The announcement was made by Fresno State President John D. Welty at the Agribusiness Management Conference, co-sponsored by the campus' Center for Agricultural Business and Bank of America.

The $1 million gift is a bequest from the late Elmo Martin Giampaoli of LeGrand, who died July 1. A lifelong resident of Merced County, he graduated from Fresno State in 1958 with a degree in business and farmed tomatoes, cotton and bell peppers in Merced County.

He served on the board of Minturn Almonds for 19 years and on the board for Athlone Water District.

The College of Agriculture will use the funds to establish the Elmo Giampaoli Visiting Scholar fund to support the Bill Jones Leadership Development Program and bring high-profile speakers to the campus.

The Craig School will use the funds to establish and endow the Elmo Giampaoli Business Lab of Excellence, a state-of-the-art classroom to serve students in the departments of Finance, Management and Information Systems and Decision Sciences.

For more information, contact Alcidia Freitas Gomes at (559) 278-4266.

Media Contact: Shirley Melikian Armbruster, (559) 278-2795 or (559) 593-1815