A Partnership of Valley Universities
On August 16th 2019, The Kenneth L. Maddy Institute signed a ground-breaking agreement with the San Joaquin Valley’s four public universities (California State University campuses – Fresno, Bakersfield and Stanislaus – and University of California, Merced) to:
…create a working partnership…to advance public understanding of public policy issues impacting the San Joaquin Valley, as well as to support the development of student skills and experience to help develop the next generation of government and civic leaders in California’s eight-county (Kern, Kings, Tulare, Fresno, Madera, Stanislaus, Merced and San Joaquin Counties) San Joaquin Valley.
From Memorandum of Understanding signed by CSU Bakersfield President Lynnette Zelezny, Fresno State President Joseph I. Castro, Stanislaus State President Ellen Junn and UC Merced Interim Chancellor Nathan.
This first-of-its-kind collaboration among four universities to share the same public policy/public affairs institute marks a major advancement in The Maddy Institute’s ability to better serve the residents of the San Joaquin Valley by enhancing the public-policy and public-affairs impact of all four campuses on the region.
This alliance allows the Valley to harness the intellectual capital of four universities to address regional and State issues. In so doing, it allows access to, and the application of, university research its address the region’s challenges. University faculty from the four campuses, for example, has now more opportunities to collaborate on public-policy issues unique to the Valley, and share their findings with Valley residents through the Institute’s various public-affairs media platforms (e.g., Maddy Report and El Informe Maddy TV programs, its Valley Views radio and podcast, and its daily news aggregator, The Maddy Daily).
In addition, this partnership provides Valley students on the four campuses greater access to legislative internships in Washington, D.C., Sacramento, and legislative offices throughout the Valley, as well as the Institute’s $56,000 Wonderful Public Service Graduate Fellowships.
Finally, this new collaboration provides federal and state officials with a central organization that can provide access to region’s the top universities and media markets in the eight-county, 250-mile San Joaquin Valley that is home to more than four million Californians.