Bizzinis

A building at the center of the California State University, Stanislaus, campus -- formerly dubbed the Classroom Building -- has a new name: Dorothy and Bill Bizzini Hall.

The CSU Board of Trustees Tuesday approved naming the 39-year-old building after the Atwater couple who recently pledged $1.35 million to Stanislaus State.

"Bill and I are just very, very happy to be a part of the family," 69-year-old Dorothy Bizzini told the board during a brief presentation Tuesday. "In a small way, our gift is a way of saying thank you."

The Bizzinis are longtime supporters of the university. They each attended a CSU campus, and their daughter earned a teaching credential from Stanislaus State in 2000; she now teaches at Bellevue Elementary School in Atwater.

University President Marvalene Hughes told trustees the Bizzinis have been strong supporters for two decades.

"They've been very involved by giving generously to the arts, nursing and athletics," Hughes said.

She said they also give their time to the university. Recently, she said, they walked precincts, organized phone trees and wrote letters in support of statewide bond measures.

The Bizzinis recently made commitments of $1 million and $350,000, both for the purchase of scientific instruments and equipment.

Hughes said the Bizzinis' gift will "significantly enhance teaching and learning at this university."

She added, "Leaning on these two pillars, CSU Stanislaus stands on a foundation of strength from which it can fulfill its mission."

Atwater residents for 44 years, the Bizzinis own Atwater-based Bizzini Properties, which includes three veterinary hospitals, apartments and single-family residential developments.

A recently retired veterinarian, 69-year-old Bill Bizzini is a graduate of the University of California at Davis. Tuesday, he said he and his wife were the first in their families to earn college degrees. Those who came before, he said, "didn't even graduate from high school."

"We both went to college on scholarships," he said, adding that they have long had a strong interest in helping other people get an education.

"If you've done well in a community, you like to give back to it," he said. "We wouldn't be able to do this if it wasn't for the community supporting us in our business."

Dorothy Bizzini, a retired nurse and graduate of California State University, Sacramento, served as president of the CSU Stanislaus Foundation in 1999-2000. She's been a member of the foundation board of trustees since 1991. She is a past president and District 5220 governor of Rotary International.

Bill Bizzini has taken graduate business classes at Stanislaus State.

The Bizzinis also previously established an endowed chair in biotechnology/biological sciences at the University of California at Merced.

Bee staff writer Melanie Turner can be reached at 578-2366 or mturner@modbee.com.