Jordan College congratulates Glim on 100th birthday

(September 22, 2015) – The Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology would like to recognize former Fresno State agricultural economics professor and assistant dean Bob Glim on another milestone birthday as he turns 100 on Sunday, November 22.

Glim served as a long-time professor at Fresno State from 1948 to 1978 and was one of the ’12 Disciples’ in the agriculture department that were hired by then-dean Gene Egan and ultimately laid the foundation for the college’s current success.

In his 30-year Fresno State career, Glim initially taught animal science and later agricultural economics that drew on his experience from his family’s raisin farm in Kerman. He also was a production manager for the college feed mill, advisor for the rodeo club, and a key faculty member that helped host campus FFA field days. He was a long-time Bulldog football and basketball season ticket holder and track meet official.

Today, he is still a part of the college as an Ag One Foundation advisor and endowed scholarship contributor

He is also known recently for fostering the relationship with Hanabul “Bud” Jordan, his wife, Dee, and his brother, Lowell, that led to a $29.4-million donation to construct the Jordan Agricultural Research Center. Glim and wife met the Jordan family at a GMC motorhome rally and shared Fresno State’s farm-grown products as a testament to its array of agricultural offerings. The campfire gathering also included a request for financial help that led to scholarships and eventually the largest donation in CSU system history.

Moving to Kerman at the age of seven, Glim and the family moved to Templeton, then returned to Kerman where he attended high school. He attended Fresno State his first two years as an undergraduate before transferring and graduating from the University of California. He then started the Woodlake High School vocational agriculture department and taught there for eight years while he earned his master’s degree and teaching credential from UC Davis.

In 1948, he became a Fresno State professor and helped it expand its agriculture program with a new campus farm unit at Hammer Field Air Force Base.

“Bob was an excellent professor and always very popular with his students,” said Dr. Vincent Petrucci, a 50-year member of the Fresno State plant science department and director emeritus of the viticulture and enology research center. “He was a mild-mannered, unassuming gentleman and knew his subject well. He gave the students practical knowledge that would be valuable in their careers. I never heard any complaints about his teaching in my 50 years - there isn’t any other campus professor that I can say that about, including myself.”

Glim’s area agricultural roots date back to his father, Olaf, who purchased a 20-acre raisin vineyard in the Kerman area in 1906 while still a Lutheran minister in the Midwest. Olaf became a charter member of the Sun-Maid cooperative that started in 1912 and the family owned the same vineyard until 1983. In 1921, Olaf and his wife, Ingeborg, and family moved to California.

Glim will celebrate his birthday with his five children - Alice Kirchner, Margaret Keiweg, Roberta Rhode, David Glim and Mary Glim - his wife Dorothy, and her son Len Schwartz.

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