Joseph Castro, the former chancellor of California State University and president of Fresno State University, died on Sunday, Aug. 24, his family announced.

He was 58.

“His warmth, generosity, and conviction in the power of education to change lives touched his family most deeply and extended to students, colleagues, and communities across California and beyond,” his family wrote in a memoriam published online.

Appointed as the eighth chancellor of California State University in 2020, Castro was praised by the Cal State Student Association for how his story reflected the story of many CSU students.

“CSSA recognizes Chancellor-Select Castro’s story as the grandson of immigrants from Mexico, son of a single mother, and the first in his family to graduate from college; a story that rese

See Full Page