Fresno State alumna Roberta Kuhlman, a 1980 business administration graduate, left Fresno 44 years ago and hasn’t been back since. But her pride in her alma mater has never wavered, and neither has her commitment to making higher education accessible to all.
This year Kuhlman and her husband, William, gave back to Fresno State by endowing a new scholarship fund, the Roberta (Trogman) Kuhlman ’80 and William B. Kuhlman Jr. Family Scholarship.
A former development director for University of California, Davis and Loyola Marymount University, Roberta Kuhlman has seen firsthand how scholarships can change lives.
“When I was in university development, I saw things that really made me passionate about the work I was doing,” Kuhlman said. “I saw students who got very emotional about strangers supporting their college education. It was a wonderful thing to be able to facilitate. Students would tell me that having a scholarship kept them from taking an unnecessary loan.”
The Kuhlman Scholarship is awarded to students majoring in business administration or economics with a minimum GPA of 3.20 and demonstrated financial need. The first recipient of the scholarship is William Prim, a senior majoring in business administration with an option in data analytics. Prim is also the recipient of a Craig Honors Scholarship.
As a business student, Prim is deeply appreciative of the need to avoid debt, especially this year when he faced the added expenses of getting married and replacing his car.
“I don’t like the idea of getting student loans and having debt,” Prim said. “Debt is scary, especially if you know how interest rates work. The scholarship has really helped, especially this year when I was getting married and I totaled my car. I can’t imagine having student loan debt and a car payment. The scholarship has been a safety net for us, so it’s been a big blessing.”
Helping students like Prim graduate without financial burdens was Kuhlman’s goal in endowing the scholarship.
“I hope this scholarship will help students complete their goals of getting a bachelor’s degree,” Kuhlman said. “A lot of students don’t finish, and whatever I can do to help that would make me very happy.”
From Fresno State to the top of two careers
Kuhlman is grateful to Fresno State for getting her launched into a life of accomplishment that has taken her to the top in two careers. A native of Los Angeles, Kuhlman moved to Fresno in 1976 specifically to attend a good business school that wasn’t in a big city. After graduating in 1980, Kuhlman became a retail executive, working for companies such as Weinstock’s, Saks Fifth Avenue, I. Magnin and Levi’s. Kuhlman also earned an MBA from San Francisco State. In her second career in university advancement, Kuhlman served as director of development for the graduate school of management at UC Davis and executive director of development for Loyola Marymount University’s business school.
Even though she hasn’t lived in Fresno in decades, Kuhlman has fond memories of Fresno in the 1970s, reminiscing study breaks at Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour in Fig Garden Village and watching Steve Martin perform live at the Fresno State amphitheater during Vintage Days.
“Fresno was a very friendly place to be,” Kuhlman said. “I got on the junior varsity volleyball team, and I had instant friends. It was wonderful to live in a city that was completely behind the sports teams at my college. The business school was rigorous, and the professors were accessible.”
When Kuhlman and her husband started thinking about how they could support higher education, they decided they wanted to help students at state universities who face higher economic barriers.
“I’m retired now, and I look back at my life and think about where I want to have an impact,” Kuhlman said. “I believe strongly in having a college education. My husband and I really wanted to make a difference. My adult life started at Fresno State, and I think I should help those students who follow in my footsteps.”
Drawing on her experience as a university development director, it was important to Kuhlman that the scholarship fund is an endowment that will grow and support students for many years to come.
“I hope the scholarship can increase,” Kuhlman said. “It’s an endowment, so it will grow over time. I hope it will support multiple Fresno State business students.”
For Prim, receiving this scholarship is his chance to build his life and career so that he will also have the opportunity to give back to the community. Active in his church and CRU, Prim has worked on service-learning projects for the Shinzen Friendship Garden and the Central Valley Women’s Entrepreneurship Center.
“I definitely want to thank Ms. Kuhlman for this opportunity,” Prim said. “Donors to the university give back so much, and giving back myself is top of mind for me.”
