Excellence

Student Yarely Contreras sits with one foot up on a tree retaining wall made of bricks as she looks onto into the distance.

Chico State Program Encourages Students to Give Back Home

Chico State's Giving Back Home program offers support and resources to students looking to make a difference in their hometowns.

Stylish photo of Haley Willis next to words that say 2023 Distinguished Alumni Honoree

Distinguished Alum and Owner of Advantage Therapy Services Haley Willis

Haley Willis, CEO and founder of Advantage Therapy Services in Chico, is helping advance the field of speech-language pathology. She is being honored as the 2023 Distinguished Alumni of the College of Communications and Education.

Stylish photo of Rick Callender next to words that say 2023 Distinguished Alumni Honoree

Distinguished Alum and Valley Water District CEO Rick Callender

Rick Callender (Industrial Technology, ’94) is being honored by Chico State with this year's Distinguished Alumni Service Award.

Low-lying clouds hover over a green valley amid a sunrise in Sri Lanka

‘Beauty in the Chaos’: Fulbright Scholar’s Focus on Gemstone Trade in Sri Lanka

Anthropology faculty Brian Brazeal navigated the global pandemic and political unrest as he went to Sri Lanka to document the country's gemstone trade as part of his Fulbright Scholar Award.

A brass plaque is affixed to a brick pillar with a building and trees in the background.

University Faculty Awarded Prestigious Lantis Endowments

Chico State faculty shine as three professors are celebrated for their achievements in research and contributions to their fields.

A footbridge crosses a creek which is surrounded by trees in full fall foliage

Worth Sharing: Student-Athletes Shine in the Classroom

A listing of professional achievements by Chico State faculty, staff, and students.

Cole Schmitt, a white cisgender male student, is perched on a log in the creek that runs through Chico State campus.

Biology Student Among First to Research Fish’s Unusual Schooling Pattern

Cole Schmitt has been working with the National Systemics Laboratory and the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, studying the vertical schooling behavior of the cutlassfish.

A college journalist is working with a notepad in front of him and in front of a computer screen.

The Orion Honored by the Associated Collegiate Press

The Orion, Chico State’s student news organization, was recognized as one of the top 100 student publications in the nation by Associated Collegiate Press.

Provost Debra Larson stands in front of a microphone in regalia

Chico State Provost Inducted into Michigan Tech’s Academy for Engineering Education Leadership

Chico State's Debra Larson has been inducted into Michigan Tech's Academy for Engineering Education Leadership.

A sky is filled with clouds during a late afternoon sunset above a glass-facade academic building.

Worth Sharing: Nenadal Explores Community Post-Camp Fire

A listing of professional achievements by Chico State faculty, staff, and students.

A valley oak tree spreads its branches as the sunlight filters through

The Princeton Review Honors Chico State as One of its Green Colleges

The Princeton Review recently listed Chico State on its 2023 Guide to Green Colleges.

Hands adjust the positioning of a roof on a small wooden model of a home, with the view cast toward the front entrance with a covered porch flanked by large windows.

Interior Architecture Students Design Free Floor Plans for Wildfire Survivors

Under the guidance of interior architecture professor Rouben Mohiuddin, 30 design students have worked on floor plans that have now been used to build more than a dozen homes in the Camp Fire footprint.

Farhan Rehman and Esteban Teran adjust the lasers that work to cool the atoms.

Ultracold Atom Lab Attempting to Cross ‘Unreachable’ Threshold

With the ultra-high vacuum chamber up and running, the University's ultracold atom chamber is ready to cool atoms to near absolute zero so they display their true quantum nature.

Nicholas Esparza looks through the high vacuum chamber in the ultracold lab.

Student Researchers Share Insight into Summer Projects

CSC² has supported nearly 300 students in undergraduate research projects across the three colleges.

A grid of diamond-shaped images shows students engaging in various kinds of research, from looking through a vaccum chamber to attaching wildlife cams to trees to working with mushrooms, to looking through a container filled with zebrafish.

Multimillion-Dollar Grants Provide Undergraduate Research Opportunities to Underserved Students in STEM

Since 2016, the Chico STEM Connections Collaborative has provided academic and other support services to historically underserved students in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and agriculture.

An academic building called Kendall Hall

President Gayle E. Hutchinson Announces Retirement Planned for End of 2022–23 Academic Year

After 33 years of invaluable service to higher education and nearly three decades at Chico State, President Gayle E. Hutchinson announced her decision Tuesday to retire at the end of the 2022-23 academic year.

Chico State Provost Debra Larson and Mechoopda Chairman Dennis Ramirez sign documents at a table at the Butte Creek Ecological Preserve

Ancestral Land in Butte Creek Canyon Returned to the Mechoopda Tribe

In the first agreement of its kind in the state, ownership and management of the 93-acre Butte Creek Ecological Preserve has been transferred from Chico State Enterprises to the Mechoopda Indian Tribe.

Chico State Earns Coveted Top Spot in Prestigious AASHE Sustainability Rankings

The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education recognized Chico State for its environmental practices, honoring it as the top performer in its Master’s Institutions category.

A crape myrtle flowers in front of an academic building.

Chico State Among Nation’s Elite in Recent Washington Monthly Rankings

In its “2022 College Guide and Rankings,” Washington Monthly listed Chico State in the top 15 in the “Best Bang for the Buck Rankings: West” and “Master’s University Rankings.”

Isaiah Henderson poses in front of a brick wall

Kinesiology Grad Student and Former Marine Honored with CSU Trustees’ Award

Isaiah Henderson, a kinesiology grad student and veteran, will receive the 2022-23 CSU Trustees’ Award for Outstanding Achievement.

An architectural breezeway filters light through as college students walk on a campus

Chico State Moves Up in Multiple National and Regional Best Colleges Rankings

Chico State moved up on several national and regional Best Colleges Rankings from US News & World Report for the 2022-23 academic year.

The brick facade of an academic building with three arches in the front

Chico State Awards President’s Scholarships to Five Incoming Freshmen

Chico State has awarded five first-year students $30,000 through its President's Scholarships.

Karina Haddad walks through the woods in fall with a drip torch and shovel to conduct a prescribed burn.

Innovative Program Strives to Protect the Wildlands of the West

The first of its kind in the CSU, the interdisciplinary master's degree in wildland management is graduating students from its inaugural cohort.

An academic building at night with the words California State University Chico are lit up

Chico State Students Graduate with Lowest Federal Debt of Any Public College in California

According to a recent report, Chico State students amass the lowest amount of total federal debt upon graduating of all public higher ed institutions in California.

Yellow and red roses bloom in the foreground with academic buildings in the background.

Staff Awards Recognize Exemplary Employees

Staff Council honors five employees for their customer service, safety dedication, Wildcat spirit, and overall awesomeness.

Rose bushes in the foreground with academic buildings on a college campus in the background

Chico State Honors Diversity and Inclusion on Campus

Nine faculty, staff, and students are honored with the 14th Annual Conversations on Diversity and Inclusion Awards.

David Hassenzahl stands behind a dais speaking into a microphone

College of Natural Sciences Dean Recognized with Environmental Lifetime Achievement Award

The Association for Environmental Studies and Sciences has recognized College of Natural Sciences Dean David Hassenzahl with its William R. Freudenburg Lifetime Achievement Award.

Chico State Alum Luke Barker Poses on a baseball field in his Milwaukee Brewers uniform

Chico State Alum Barker is a Big Leaguer!

Former Chico State All-American baseball player Luke Barker has been called up to the major leagues by the Milwaukee Brewers.

Bright yellow leaves of fall adorn a tree on a college campus.

Five Faculty Receive Professional Achievement Honors

Recipients of these annual awards are honored for exemplary teacher-scholar achievement at Chico State.

Arbor Day Foundation Recognizes Chico State Once Again with Tree Campus USA Honor

For the fourth consecutive year, the Arbor Day Foundation honored Chico State with 2021 Tree Campus Higher Education recognition for its commitment to effective urban forest management.

A sign reading California State University, Chico sits in front of a brick academic building

Money Magazine Ranks Chico State Among Nation’s Top Colleges and Universities

In its listing of “2022 Best Colleges in America, Ranked by Value,” Money magazine ranked Chico State within the top 8 percent of all higher education institutions around the country.

Jaime Lopez pops up from underwater wearing a snorkel mask and holding a bag of sea specimens

Coral Connections Lead Student-Researcher Toward His Dream

Jaime Lopez has impressed his faculty with an endless passion for sea anemones and corals, with a dream of using research to save them from the effects of climate change.

Business Double Major Embraces Role of Mentor

College of Business outstanding senior Nathaniel Nevels overcomes tragedy to thrive at Chico State.

Aubrey Miller holds a handful of tootbrush fibers in her hand in the concrete lab.

Students Set the Future in Concrete

Just one of five programs of its kind in the United States, our Concrete Industry Management Program is creating the workforce for a $200 billion industry. With a 100 percent job-placement rate and a cross-disciplinary approach that ensures our graduates can lead in the boardroom and at the job site, CIM students are solving some of the industry’s greatest challenges.

Benito Gutierrez stands among campus sculpture in his Class of 2022 shirt.

From Gang Life to College Graduate: Humanities Major Aspires to Help Incarcerated Students

Incarcerated for most of his adult life until age 42, Benny Gutierrez is proud to be graduating with a degree in humanities and having founded a program for formerly incarcerated and system-impacted students.

Psychology Major Defies the Odds

After battling depression, an eating disorder, and drug dependency, Leo Simpson finds hope at the end of their college journey.

Portrait of Angel Bliss and her 17-month-old son

Political Science Major Fulfills Her Potential

Leaving home at age 15 was a decision that perhaps saved Angel Bliss's life—today, the single mother continues the pursuit of her college degree.

Psychology Major Makes the Most of a Second Chance

After a life-altering choice landed him in legal trouble, Sal Hernandez Rodriguez is firmly on the road to earning a college degree.

Asian Studies and Business Administration Major Reflects on a Promise Kept

A college degree was something that Rodaisha James' mother talked to her and her sister about before she passed away—now Rodaisha will graduate from Chico State with two degrees.

Photo collage of the four students featured in the story.

Promoting Achievement Through Hope

More than 23,000 children age out of the nation’s foster system annually—less than 3 percent of whom will earn a college degree in their lifetime. Every year, students in the University’s Promoting Achievement Through Hope Scholars program are reversing that narrative with the support of staff and their peers.