The Fresno Bee
By Robert Rodriguez
brodriguez@fresnobee.com
Jim and Michelle Marderosian, owners of Bee Sweet Citrus in Fowler, have pledged $1.5 million to Cal Poly’s new J.G. Boswell Agricultural Technology Center.
The Marderosians are longtime supporters of Cal Poly’s College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences and wanted to further their commitment to the university by funding a new plant-pathology lab. The lab will be used to diagnose and explore plant diseases and disease-control strategies.
“The plant-pathology lab in the J.G. Boswell Agricultural Technology Center will give Cal Poly students the ability to research different environmental effects, diseases and agricultural pest issues to compete with the ever-changing world conditions,” Jim Marderosian said. “When students graduate, they will be prepared to handle the industry challenges happening now and in the future.”
Bee Sweet Citrus, founded in 1987, is a packer and shipper of California citrus and has become an industry leader, shipping navel and Valencia oranges, lemons, grapefruit and mandarins throughout the United States and overseas through export.
The Applied Sciences Innovation Labs within the J.G. Boswell Agricultural Technology Center, expected to be complete in 2021, will feature 11 labs, each dedicated to an important emerging issue in agriculture, nutrition and the food industry.
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Above: Cal Poly’s College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences Dean Andrew Thulin, left, with Jim and Michelle Marderosian as they sign the gift agreement pledging $1.5 million to the college’s new J.G. Boswell Agricultural Technology Center. Bee Sweet Citrus Special to the Bee.