A Letter From the President

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Helping To Make CSU, Chico Better

Very few people knew better than Fred Zannon the value of education. The 1930 Chico State alumnus, son of immigrants, was the only one of nine brothers and sisters growing up in Roseville, Calif., to receive a college degree. Before his death in 1985, he taught and advised thousands of young people during one of the most distinguished careers in education of any Chico graduate.

In December 1999, the Dr. Fred Zannon Student Incentive Awards were established at CSU, Chico with a $100,000 gift from the Boyd Foundation, established with monies from the estates of two of Dr. Zannon's sisters, Bernyce and Kathryn. Foundation board members include Mary Ann Zannon Peoples, Dr. Zannon's daughter, and Gene Zannon, Dr. Zannon's son.

The awards, to be given in Dr. Zannon's honor, are part of an innovative, 30-year-old financial aid program that assists needy students to attend CSU, Chico. If high-school students in Chico's service region-an area roughly from Redding to Yuba City-have a financial need and a minimum of a 2.75 grade point average, they can begin to build up a scholarship to Chico when they are ninth-graders. Their financial aid account accrues at $300 for each year of high school, totaling $1,200 when they are ready to graduate. If they enroll at Chico, they receive the scholarship when school starts.

Currently, CSU, Chico has 131 students enrolled who received incentive grants. Since 1990, 58 students who received incentive grants have graduated, with an average GPA over 3.0. The program was launched in 1970 by former financial aid director Jack Otto as a way for faculty and staff to increase access to Chico State for needy students in northeastern California. The program has grown since its early days; between 1970 and 1981, $31,000 in financial aid was allocated, but $47,000 was spent in 1998-99. With the Boyd Foundation gift in hand, more scholarship money is forthcoming.

"Our board was enthusiastic about the fact that these incentive grants would reach out to those young people who came from families who had never gone to college," said Peoples. "As we looked at different scholarship programs, this one was in keeping with the kind of things that we think about and want to accomplish."

Peoples maintains strong ties to Chico; her son, Jim, is a 1990 graduate in political science, and her daughter-in-law, Julie, is a 1993 liberal studies graduate. She and her brother, Gene, felt the importance of a college degree early on through their father's drive and success. "My father was the only one of his siblings who went to college," said Peoples. "The board felt that this was the kind of grant that would have enabled some of his brothers and sisters to go to college."

Dr. Zannon was a teacher and principal in schools in Roseville and Santa Rosa before becoming a district administrator for school districts in Kern County and Santa Monica. He completed his professional career as dean of graduate studies at then-Dominguez Hills State University. He earned an M.A. and Ed.D at Stanford University.

"My father gave his life to educate kids," Peoples said. "When he was assistant superintendent in Santa Monica, he fought some battles to get the highest quality teachers in the classroom. He believed everybody deserved a good teacher."