February 27, 2023: A new dedication sign has been placed at the State Highway Route 168 interchange at Fowler Avenue.
The interchange has been declared a memorial to Dr. Fareed Wade Nader, professor emeritus of geomatics at Fresno State University.
Dr. Nader passed away in August of 2021.
The interchange dedication was celebrated on Saturday, February 18th at a luncheon attended by family, friends, neighbors, colleagues, and former students of Dr. Nader and his wife, Rosemarie Bezerra-Nader.
Also in attendance was Assemblyman Jim Patterson, who presented the Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 142– the bill that designated the new name of the interchange.
“Dr. Nader was responsible for the engineering design which simply and cost-effectively connected Route 168 with the Northeast [Clovis] community, which Fareed and his wife called home for 38 years,” Patterson said.
Most notably, the interchange design did not require drastic changes to the neighborhoods near the interchange and helped to maintain the steady flow of traffic.
Dr. Nader was the second Chairman of the CSUF Department of Geomatics and was awarded Instructor of the Year in Surveying in 1991.
He was a committed educator who is remembered fondly by his students. He and his wife were often honored with wedding invitations, birth announcements, and updates on their achievements.
“Fareed’s students became our extended family,” Rosemarie Bezerra-Nader said at the luncheon, “We enjoyed hosting star-gazing potlucks and graduation parties at our home for students, their families, and engineering faculty. We always looked forward to reconnecting with former students at more than 35 annual geomatics conferences and award banquets.”
“The Assembly recognizes the many accomplishments throughout Dr.Nader’s Life. He was not only known for his successful academic career, but for his love of his community and his family.,” Patterson added, “This dedication seeks to honor the life of an educator, a husband, a brother, and a friend who made a lasting impact on the lives of all who knew him. He was a well-respected member of the Clovis community and his legacy will live on with those who loved him, and in the Dr. Fareed W. Nader Memorial Interchange on Route 168.”