Born April 13, 1943 in Bell, California, Joe Stasulat graduated from Madera Union High School in 1961. He operated the Madera Angus Ranch there for the next four years while earning a bachelor's degree in agricultural business management from California State Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo.

He then taught vocational agriculture at Wasco Union High School and completed a master's degree in agricultural education and management at Cal Poly. He went on to receive a doctoral degree in agricultural education and applied behavioral sciences at Pennsylvania State University in 1970.

He served two years as assistant director for resident instruction at Penn State before coming to UC Davis as a lecturer and director of the Bixby Work-Learn program, a campus-wide program providing students work experience related to their academic interests.

In addition to his responsibilities in the Internship and Career Center, he was a lecturer in the Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, and Agricultural and Resource Economics, and was actively involved in leadership roles on campus for the
Academic Federation, the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and the Quarter Century Club.

"Joe put the needs of students above everything else," recalled Professor Bob Flocchini, a colleague from Stasulat's home department of Land, Air and Water Resources. "He was concerned that they have real world experiences in addition to classroom learning. The internships that he arranged for thousands of our students were keys to their future success."