Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

US Olympic Officials Bar Transgender Women From Women’s Competitions

17 hours ago

Gabbard Releases New Documents Targeting Obama Administration

18 hours ago

US Existing Home Sales Fall More Than Expected in June

19 hours ago

Trump Strikes Tariff Deal With Japan, Auto Stocks Surge

19 hours ago

Storyland Will Sparkle for All Visitors With $1 Million City of Fresno Grant

1 day ago

Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath’s Bat-Biting Frontman, Dies at 76, BBC Reports

2 days ago

Fresno County Authorities Seek Help Locating Missing Woman and Infant

2 days ago

US Justice Dept. Asks Epstein Associate Maxwell to Speak to Prosecutors

2 days ago
Shields Family Gives $500K to Help Low-Income Students Study Abroad
GV-Wire-1
By gvwire
Published 6 years ago on
October 22, 2019

Share

By BoNhia Lee
fresnostatenews.com
Elizabeth “Liz” Shields, and her late husband, John, loved to travel the world to meet people and see places that showed them what life was like in other parts of the globe.
The couple met in Botswana after the southern African country received its independence in 1966. John Shields, professor emeritus at Fresno State, was a Peace Corps volunteer, and Elizabeth Shields, who was a Fresno State lecturer, was a volunteer from Britain.


Listen to this article:


“We would just like to give students, especially those who may not have the financial means, an opportunity to go.” — Liz Shields
They married in Turkey and traveled for about five months through Iran, Pakistan, India, and Afghanistan, into southern and central Russia, then to Scandinavia where they ran out of money — but were rich in experiences.

A Lifelong Passion for Travel

That was the beginning of the couple’s global adventures together and the start of a lifelong passion for travel that they would eventually share with Fresno State students who want to study abroad but can’t afford to do so.
The Shields family has established a $500,000 endowment with Fresno State Study Abroad, the program’s largest gift, to build a legacy of helping low-income students experience and appreciate international travel while learning a foreign language, developing cultural competence and independence.
A tree planting and recognition ceremony in honor of the Shields family was held Monday behind the Social Science building.
“The Shields’ impactful and generous gift will fundamentally change our students’ worldviews in positive ways by providing them the opportunity to experience cultures and perspectives often vastly different than their own,” said Fresno State President Joseph I. Castro.
The gift comes almost two years after the passing of John Shields, who was a professor of agricultural economics in the Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology. Before his death, John and Liz Shields established an annual scholarship grant in 2016 that has helped 15 Fresno State students pay for travel costs and program fees to study at University Studies Abroad Consortium sites, including China, Chile, Japan, Italy, South Korea, Spain, Thailand, and Uruguay.

portrait of Joseph Castro
“The Shields’ impactful and generous gift will fundamentally change our students’ worldviews in positive ways by providing them the opportunity to experience cultures and perspectives often vastly different than their own.” — Fresno State President Joseph I. Castro

More Than 600 Fresno State Students Study Abroad

Fresno State is a founding member of the nonprofit consortium of universities in the United States. The universities provide oversight and strategic planning to the consortium and its programs.
“We would just like to give students, especially those who may not have the financial means, an opportunity to go,” said Liz Shields, who was a lecturer of finance in the Craig School of Business.
This allows students the opportunity to travel, to live and to experience a foreign place where they are not comfortable but where they’ll be able to find out how they operate in those environments and what the people are like there, she said.
The Shields’ love of travel and their daughter’s study-abroad experience learning Chinese and calligraphy in Chengdu, China inspired them to give.
“It changed her. It gave her so much more confidence,” Liz Shields said.
Studying abroad is a life-changing experience that allows students to learn beyond the classroom. More than 600 Fresno State students participate in study abroad programs each year. The university has student-exchange partnerships with more than 60 universities worldwide and in the United States, and assists faculty in organizing short-term group tours of selected countries.
“We deeply appreciate the generosity of the Shields family and their proactive engagement to help our students who otherwise would not be able to travel abroad,” said Scott Moore, dean of the Division of Continuing and Global Education at Fresno State. “We know how meaningful these experiences have been for our students. The ability to study abroad is truly transformative and will resonate a lifetime.”

How to Donate

Donors support where their passions lie, said Paula Castadio, vice president of University Advancement.
“In this case, travel abroad shaped the Shields’ family in significant ways so they aligned their giving to extend this opportunity to others,” Castadio said.
To help grow the Shields Family Study Abroad Fund, contact Katie Adamo Bewarder at katieadamo@csufresno.edu.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Columbia University, Trump Administration Reach $200 Million Deal Over Funding

DON'T MISS

Trump Ally Lindell Wins Appeal in Lawsuit Over $5 Million 2020 Election Contest

DON'T MISS

Broadway’s ‘Gypsy’ Revival, Starring Audra McDonald, Will Close

DON'T MISS

Justice Department to Assess Claims of ‘Alleged Weaponization’ of US Intelligence Community

DON'T MISS

White House Not Denying That Trump’s Name Appears in Epstein Files, Official Says

DON'T MISS

White House Taps Mining Expert to Head National Security Office, Sources Say

DON'T MISS

Protesters in Tel Aviv Call for Israel to End Hunger and Gaza War

DON'T MISS

Karbassi Fears Costco Could Move to Madera After Fresno Project Halted by Court

DON'T MISS

White House Says WSJ Report on Trump Being Told Name in Epstein Files “Fake News”

DON'T MISS

Visalia Police Arrest DUI Driver on Probation After Early Morning Chase

UP NEXT

US Olympic Officials Bar Transgender Women From Women’s Competitions

UP NEXT

US Appeals Court Will Not Lift Limits on Associated Press Access to White House

UP NEXT

NPR’s Top Editor Edith Chapin to Step Down

UP NEXT

Less Than 400 EV Charging Ports Built Under $7.5 Billion US Infrastructure Program

UP NEXT

California Voters Say State Is Off Course. Housing Emerges as Top Concern

UP NEXT

Fresno County Authorities Seek Help Locating Missing Woman and Infant

UP NEXT

Fresno Unified’s Free Immunization Clinics for Students Start in August

UP NEXT

Americans’ Confidence in Institutions Remains Low. Divides by Party Widen

UP NEXT

US Judge Sentences Ex-Police Officer to 33 Months for Violating Civil Rights of Breonna Taylor

UP NEXT

Brother of Army Ranger and NFL Star Pat Tillman Crashes Into Post Office

Justice Department to Assess Claims of ‘Alleged Weaponization’ of US Intelligence Community

11 hours ago

White House Not Denying That Trump’s Name Appears in Epstein Files, Official Says

12 hours ago

White House Taps Mining Expert to Head National Security Office, Sources Say

12 hours ago

Protesters in Tel Aviv Call for Israel to End Hunger and Gaza War

13 hours ago

Karbassi Fears Costco Could Move to Madera After Fresno Project Halted by Court

13 hours ago

White House Says WSJ Report on Trump Being Told Name in Epstein Files “Fake News”

14 hours ago

Visalia Police Arrest DUI Driver on Probation After Early Morning Chase

14 hours ago

Clovis Police to Hold DUI Checkpoint on Friday

14 hours ago

Henry Thompson Did Wonders for Fresno Airport, Leaves ‘Incredibly Big Shoes to Fill’

14 hours ago

Bryan Kohberger Sentenced to Life for Idaho Killings, Declines to Make Statement

14 hours ago

Columbia University, Trump Administration Reach $200 Million Deal Over Funding

WASHINGTON – Columbia University has reached a deal with U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration over federal funding, it s...

10 hours ago

A view of the main campus of Columbia University in New York City, New York, U.S., April 12, 2025. (Reuters File)
10 hours ago

Columbia University, Trump Administration Reach $200 Million Deal Over Funding

My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell gestures as supporters of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump gather outside Capital One Arena, for a rally a day before he is scheduled to be inaugurated for a second term, in Washington, U.S., January 19, 2025. (Reuters File)
10 hours ago

Trump Ally Lindell Wins Appeal in Lawsuit Over $5 Million 2020 Election Contest

Audra McDonald Starring in Broadway Revival of "Gypsy"
11 hours ago

Broadway’s ‘Gypsy’ Revival, Starring Audra McDonald, Will Close

Signage is seen at the United States Department of Justice headquarters in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 29, 2020. (Reuters File)
11 hours ago

Justice Department to Assess Claims of ‘Alleged Weaponization’ of US Intelligence Community

President Donald Trump walks on the South Lawn as he arrives at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 13, 2025. (Reuters File)
12 hours ago

White House Not Denying That Trump’s Name Appears in Epstein Files, Official Says

A general view of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 20, 2025. (Reuters File)
12 hours ago

White House Taps Mining Expert to Head National Security Office, Sources Say

Palestinians gather to receive aid supplies in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip, June 17, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
13 hours ago

Protesters in Tel Aviv Call for Israel to End Hunger and Gaza War

13 hours ago

Karbassi Fears Costco Could Move to Madera After Fresno Project Halted by Court

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend