Sandra Witte

Dean Emeritus

Dr. Sandra Witte served the University for 38 years in various capacities before overseeing the Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology as its dean officially from March 2016 to July 1, 2019, and as its interim dean before that (beginning in December 2014).

During her successful tenure as dean, she was credited with increasing industry partnerships, scholarships, career placement opportunities, advisory boards, research support and student recruitment through its highest enrollment totals ever.

The campus also celebrated the opening of the $24 million Jordan Agricultural Research Center in May 2016 and the opening of the Bee Sweet Citrus Fresh Fruit Packing Line in February 2017 - both labs were the first of their kinds nationally on a university campus.

Students, staff and faculty also benefitted from key renovations to the food science and nutrition laboratory and mechanized agriculture laboratory among other facility enhancements.

Witte oversaw the 1,000-acre University Agricultural Laboratory, including the hiring of a farm manager, Gibson Farm Market manager and two winemakers.

She previously held roles in the college as associate dean, dietetic program director and food science and nutrition faculty member and department chair since she started on campus in in 1981. She also previously served in leadership roles as the executive director of Fresno State Programs for Children from 2012 to 2018 and as the interim dean of the Division of Graduate Studies from 2013 to 2014.

Prior to that time, she was a Professor of Nutrition and Chair of the Department of Food Science and Nutrition at California State University, Fresno. She also served as the Program Coordinator for the Didactic Program in Dietetics, a program accredited by the American Dietetic Association for preparation of Registered Dietitians.

She has been a Registered Dietitian since 1975 and had more than 15 years of dietetics practice experience primarily in medical nutrition therapy before coming to Fresno State. Her areas of expertise include applied nutrition and medical nutrition therapy.

She holds a Certificate in Adult Weight Management and a Certificate in Child and Adolescent Weight Management from the Commission on Dietetic Registration of the American Dietetic Association.

She had been a site visitor for the Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education since 1988 and also served as a Program Representative and chair of the Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education board.  

Dr. Witte completed her Bachelor of Science: Foods and Nutrition at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, in 1973; her Dietetic Internship at the University of California Hospitals and Clinics, San Francisco, California, in 1974; her Master of Science: Home Economics, Nutrition and Dietetics Option at California State University, Fresno, in 1981; and her Doctor of Philosophy, Major: Food Systems Management and Minors: Nutrition and Education, Department of Nutrition and Food Management, Oregon State University, Corvallis, in 1992.

With WItte's retirement as dean, Dennis Nef, the University’s vice provost, accepted an initial, two-year appointment as the new Jordan College dean starting July 1, 2019, that ultimately ran through July 2022.