Nov. 13, 2001
Contact: Teresa Hendrix
(805) 756-7266
SAN LUIS OBISPO -- Bank of America is donating $1 million to Cal Poly
to help establish a community development program.
The $1 million gift to the Orfalea College of Business will allow the
college to partner with the university's College of Architecture and
Environmental Design to create a new community development program and
add an endowed community development professorship in the future.
The new program will train students in the latest techniques to plan
and develop healthy communities free from problems such as poverty,
blight, crime and homelessness.
The gift was announced today (Nov. 15) at a statewide conference
currently going on at the university. Titled "Community Development in
the New Century," the conference is examining the latest trends and
practices in community development. Cal Poly is also seeking input from
conference participants on how to set up its new community development
program.
Company officials said Bank of America's support for the Cal Poly
initiative is based on the university's track record in business and
community planning and the potential to create a program that will
benefit the Central Coast as well as the entire state.
"Cal Poly and Bank of America share a vision of how innovative
community development can address critically important needs in our
society," said Greg Bland, the bank's market president for San Luis
Obispo County.
The university has participated in the annual Bank of America
Affordable Housing Challenge, in which student teams from colleges and
universities across California design affordable housing projects for
their communities, noted Irene Yee Riley, regional executive for the
bank's California Community Development Banking Group.
Cal Poly's past teams in the Affordable Housing Challenge have
consisted mainly of students and faculty advisers from the City and
Regional Planning Department in the College of Architecture and
Environmental Design.
"We've seen Cal Poly's strong commitment to community needs," Riley
said. "This is why we're pleased to support the university's exciting
community development effort. Our support is part of our unprecedented
10-year, $350 billion commitment to community development. Bank of
America is the nation's leading commercial bank in its commitment to
the revitalization of distressed neighborhoods."
Cal Poly officials said the gift will enable the university to
strengthen its existing education offerings in community development
and aid California communities.
"This gift from Bank of America represents a significant recognition of
Cal Poly's strengths as a community-oriented institution. And, it's an
important opportunity for the university to increase its activities in
the area of community development," said William Pendergast, dean of
Cal Poly's Orfalea College of Business.
Plans call for students in the new community development program to
work with local Central Coast communities and cities and towns across
California on issues such as affordable housing, economic development,
crime reduction, family-friendly neighborhoods and growth.
The university wants to establish a community development center where
nonprofit agencies, service organizations, cities and towns would be
able to work with students and faculty members on real community
development issues.
"We're looking forward to setting up a community development center at
Cal Poly that's fully responsive to the needs of area organizations,
agencies and residents," said Martin Harms, dean of Cal Poly's College
of Architecture and Environmental Design.
The new program and center "will benefit the region through help with
various planning issues such as low-cost housing, social
entrepreneurship and other activities that strengthen local community
resources," Pendergast explained.
The center would be another facet of Cal Poly's "learn by doing"
tradition, both deans stressed. Students will benefit by doing hands-on
work in local communities, tackling real problems. Explained Harms,
"Cal Poly students in the program will get the chance to learn about
community development through direct contact with ongoing projects as
part of their regular coursework."
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(Note to Editors and Reporters: For more details on the $1 million Bank
of America gift, contact Bank of America spokesman Harvy Radin at (415)
622-6320, Orfalea College of Business Dean William Pendergast at (805)
756-2705 or College of Architecture and Environmental Design Dean
Martin Harms at (805) 756-1311. For more information on the Community
development Conference at Cal Poly, contact Ray Ladd, CAED associate
director of advancement at (805) 756-7432. For the conference schedule
of events visit the conference Web site at
http://www.calpoly.edu/~crp/comdev.html.)