Fresno State News

Dr. Xuanning Fu has been named Fresno State’s new provost and vice president for Academic Affairs, effective immediately. He has served as interim provost since January 2021.

Fresno State President Dr. Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval announced Fu’s appointment on Wednesday. The provost is the university’s chief academic officer and serves as its leader when the president is away from campus.

“Since his interim appointment, Dr. Fu has worked closely with members of the faculty, leadership and students across our campus to ensure that Fresno State remains a competitive leader in academic excellence,” Jiménez-Sandoval said. “I’m grateful for Dr. Fu’s focused and heartfelt efforts during the pandemic. His expertise, careful and steady vision for Academic Affairs and his collaborative and consultative approach has provided the division with clear direction and solid leadership.”

Fu came to the United States as an international student and worked at Brigham Young University-Hawaii and University of California, Merced, before beginning his career at Fresno State as a faculty member in the Department of Sociology in 2003.

Previous Jobs at Fresno State

Fu previously served as associate dean of the College of Social Sciences, dean of Undergraduate Studies, and vice provost before his appointment as interim provost.

“I’m humbled and honored by the trust the faculty, staff, the search committee and President Jiménez-Sandoval have placed in me, and appreciate the support of campus and community members,” Fu said. “I am determined and energized to further advance student success and faculty/staff excellence, empowering all I work with to prepare and educate the next generation of leaders in the Valley and the world.”

When Fresno State activated an emergency operations committee in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with representatives from all areas of campus, Fu represented campus academic interests through the first 15 months of the crisis. In addition, Fu was co-chair of the COVID planning task force, helping to guide decisions about campus repopulation and safety protocols.

Helped Obtain Grants

Fu was instrumental in helping Fresno State receive two recent grants — a $1.26 million grant from the Department of Education to increase Asian American-Pacific Islander representation in criminal and civil justice careers, and a $1.25 million grant from the National Science Foundation to increase the representation of women engineering faculty in the CSU.

“As chair of the Academic Senate I am delighted to hear that Dr. Fu will be our new provost,” said Dr. Raymond Hall, a physics professor at Fresno State. “His list of accomplishments at Fresno State is impressive, especially in the areas of student success and faculty support, and I look forward to continuing our fruitful collaboration with him in this new capacity.”

Fu earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in China and taught at Ocean University of China as an assistant professor of English before he came to the United States in 1989 to further his education. He obtained his doctorate degree in sociology in 1994 from Brigham Young University.

In his spare time, Fu enjoys nature photography and editing photographs with Photoshop, as well as travel and reading about history.