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Alumni
See
the Cal Poly Rose Float Photos
The
Cal Poly Rose Float sailed through the rain and down
Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena Jan. 2 at the annual
Tournament of Roses Parade. This year's float theme
was "Enchanted Reverie." Two teams of approximately
20 students each -- one from Cal Poly and one from
Pomona" continued the tradition of working together
to build the Cal Poly float. The students worked with
hundreds of alumni and parent volunteers to add flowers
and final touches to the float the weekend before
the parade. Check back soon for more photos as they
arrive.
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Alumni
In the News
Cal Poly Alumni are in the
news again this month. One has been named the president
of Pierce College in Seattle. Another is a promising
'Winemaker of the Year.' A third has discovered the
largest prime number.
Read
more about them
Oct.
6 Reunion To Highlight 60 Years of Graphic Communication
The
year 2006 marks the 60th anniversary of Cal Poly’s
Graphic Communication Department, and several celebrations
are in the making. A highlight will be the Reunion
of the Decades on Oct. 6 and 7. The event will reunite
friends, colleagues, faculty and industry partners
from 60 years of printing and graphic communication
education at the university, said Harvey Levenson,
department head. “These are the people who made
the department what it is today."
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University
News
Cal
Poly Receives Highest Number of Applicants Ever
For
the 12th year in a row, Cal Poly has received a record
number of undergraduate applications. For the 2006
fall quarter the university received a total of 30,786
applications, up 12 percent from 27,520 in 2005. Of
the more than 30,000 applications, 2,200 were submitted
as early decision applications, or applications for
students who made Cal Poly their first choice.
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Cal
Poly Again Tops List of Best Campuses for Hispanic
Students
Cal
Poly has again been named to the national "Publisher's
Picks" list by the magazine Hispanic Outlook
in Higher Education.
Cal Poly is among 19 California State University campuses
to make the annual list, issued by the magazine in
late November. The 'Publisher's Picks' list recognizes
universities which "are doing a commendable job
of recruiting, retaining, educating and graduating
Hispanics," according to the magazine. "It
is an honor to be recognized, but it's our Hispanic
students who really deserve the most recognition,"
said Interim Provost Robert Detweiler.
More
January
Events Show How to ‘Change Your World’
through Sustainability
Cal
Poly is asking students, faculty, staff and the community
to make sustainability a top New Year’s Resolution
for 2006. The campus will host a series of events
throughout January on the theme “Sustainability:
Resolve to Change Your World.” Cal Poly is home
to growing support for sustainable development and
is one of many universities endorsing the international
Talloires Declaration (www.ulsf.org).
In addition to highlighting sustainability as a priority
for the new year, January also marks the start of
the California State University system’s landmark
sustainability policy. All CSU campuses are being
encouraged to increase energy conservation, renewable
power generation, and sustainable building practices.
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Cal
Poly Organic Farm Featured
on January KCET Broadcasts
Cal
Poly's Organic Farm will be the subject of an upcoming
episode of the PBS series, "California's Green,"
hosted by Huell Howser. The show aired Jan. 8 and
will be rebroadcast Wednesday, Jan. 25 at
6 p.m. Howser interviewed Cal Poly Organic
Farm Manager Terry Hooker and Cal Poly students working
on the 11-acre farm, focusing on its Community Supported
Agriculture program. For a fee, CSA subscribers get
a weekly box of freshly picked vegetables, fruit,
eggs, flowers and herbs from the organic farm. The
CSA program served 180 members in 2005.
More
Today's
Students
Mustangs'
Gocong is Best in Defense in NCAA's Division I-AA
Football
Cal
Poly senior defensive end Chris Gocong is the winner
of the 2005 Buck Buchanan Award presented by The Sports
Network to the nation's defensive player of the year
in Division I-AA. Gocong received the award at the
19th Annual Division I-AA College Football Awards,
held in December at the Sheraton Read House Hotel
in Chattanooga, Tenn. Gocong is the second Cal Poly
player in as many years to win the award. Linebacker
Jordan Beck, a third-round draft choice of the Atlanta
Falcons last April, won the 2004 Buck Buchanan Award.
Gocong finished second in the balloting for the 2004
award. "Both Gocong and Beck came in together,
and Chris, Jordan and their classmates oversaw this
renaissance of Cal Poly football. Winning back-to-back
Buchanan Awards is an exclamation point on what this
entire class accomplished," said Cal Poly head
coach Rich Ellerson, who has guided the Mustangs to
three consecutive winning seasons and 26 wins in their
last 36 games.
More
Eight
Student-Athletes Named to All-Academic Teams
The Big West Conference has named eight Cal Poly student
athletes to its All-Academic Teams for fall sports.
Athletes named to the Big West's All-Academic teams
must maintain at least a 3.2 GPA, be a sophomore,
junior or senior, and participate in at least half
of their team's contests. Cal Poly athletes honored
were Sierra Simmons (kinesiology) of Cal Poly's Women's
Soccer Team; Nikhil Erlebach (journalism), K.J. Lenehan
(biology) and Matthew Robinson (mathematics) of the
Men's Soccer Team; Kristin Jackson (rec administration)
and Kayla Mulder (kinesiology) of the Women's Volleyball
Team; and Julie Hancock (kinesiology) and Andy Coughlin
(civil engineering) of the Cal Poly cross country
teams.
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Faculty
& Staff
Ethnic
Studies Professor Zulfacar to be Profiled on NPR
Jan. 13
Cal
Poly Ethnic Studies Professor Maliha Zulfacar is making
headlines again for her work in Afghanistan. Zulfacar,
a native of Afghanistan and former professor at Kabul
University, fled the country after the Soviet invasion
in 1979. Since the U.S. entry and occupation of Afghanistan,
she's been spending summers and vacations in that
country, working to rebuild the nation's higher education
system and encourage women to return to Kabul University.
She's also coordinated a number of fund-raising drives,
and is now working on an oral history project, recording
Kabul residents' memories of that city. Zulfacar and
her work in Afghanistan will be featured in an NPR
news radio broadcast Jan. 13.
Find
Details on the NPR Web site (scroll down to final
web story segment)
Read
the Cal Poly Magazine story about Professor Zulfacar
Two
Cal Poly Faculty Members Awarded Fulbright Scholar
Grants
Cal Poly faculty members John
A. McKinstry and Elizabeth Dixon Whitaker, both in
the Social Sciences Department, have been awarded
2005-2006 Fulbright Scholar grants. Professor McKinstry
and lecturer Whitaker are among about 850 individuals
who will travel to some 150 countries this year to
lecture or conduct research as part of the Fulbright
Scholar Program. Both McKinstry and Whitaker have
received two previous Fulbright awards. McKinstry
will teach at Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski,
in Bulgaria, from February through June. His classes
will focus on the “Analysis of Social Life in
the United States.” Whitaker will present lectures
on “Linking Anthropology and History: Theory,
Method and Case Studies” at the University of
Bologna in Italy, from February through June.
More
New
AVP for University Advancement Announced
Cal
Poly has named Robert D. Stets to the new position
of associate vice president for operations and finance
for University Advancement. Before coming to Cal Poly,
Stets most recently served as special assistant to
the senior vice president for finance and business
at Pennsylvania State University. Prior to that, he
was vice president and general counsel for the Milton
Hershey School in Hershey, Pa., the world’s
largest K-12 residential school with a $7 billion
endowment and 9,000 acres of land. Stets will lead
the Cal Poly Fund and Advancement Services departments
and will oversee investment management for the new
Cal Poly philanthropic foundation.
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Coming
Up
Cal
Poly Arts Brings Indigo Girls
to Cohan Center in Concert Jan. 19
The acoustic pop duo Indigo Girls have built a large,
passionately loyal following over the course of a
20-year career by focusing on their strengths: gorgeous
melodies, insightful lyrics, and the cascading interplay
of their voices. That they managed to top the charts,
earn two Gold records, and win a Grammy without bending
to fashion or musical trends is all the more remarkable.
An engaging blend of vulnerability and strength, the
Indigo Girls draw upon cherished favorites and their
latest collection of songs, "All That We Let
In," for their long-awaited Central Coast concert.
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Pioneer
Glass Artist to Exhibit
at University Art Gallery Jan. 19-Feb. 18
The
public is invited to see the world through an artist's
eyes at the Cal Poly University Art Gallery's next
exhibition, "Marvin Lipofsky: A Journey in Glass,"
showing from Jan. 19-Feb. 18. "A splash of spring
color twists among deep blue ocean swaths; a red fire
climbs toward the black sky," said art gallery
coordinator Christine Kuper in describing "the
spectacular exhibition of works spanning more than
three decades by seminal glass artist Lipofsky."
Lipofsky will open the exhibition with a slide presentation
at 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 19, in Philips Hall in the
Cohan Center. An opening reception will follow at
the University Art Gallery until 8 p.m. Both events
are free and open to the public.
More
'Tribute
to Ella Fitzgerald' at the PAC Jan. 20
The good time, big band zest of the Hollywood Jazz
Orchestra - featuring some of LA's hottest session
musicians - combines with the sparkling sounds of
renowned vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater in a rousing
musical tribute to legendary singer Ella Fitzgerald.
A Tony winner for The Wiz and a double Grammy winner
for her wildly popular album tribute to Ella Fitzgerald,
"Dear Ella," diva Bridgewater calls upon
her peerless voice and four years of touring with
the Ella songbook to bring the incomparable First
Lady of Song to life.
More
Hearst
'40 Below' Lecture Series Starts Jan. 20
The
Cal Poly College of Architecture and Environmental
Design’s Hearst Lecture Series continues this
winter with “40 below,” a series of talks
on campus that will focus on young design professionals.
All of the free public lectures will highlight designers
in their 40s and younger and will take place in the
Rotunda of the Business Building. The winter series
kicks off Jan. 20 at 4 p.m. with a presentation about
Cal Poly’s award-winning entry in last fall’s
Solar Decathlon Competition. Architecture professors
Rob Pena and Sandy Stannard will be joined by Solar
CalPoly student team members Nicholas Holmes, Robert
Johnson and Austin Quig-Hartman, who will talk about
the solar home they designed and built and the challenge
of moving it 2,394 miles to the National Mall in Washington,
D.C.
More
University
Jazz Band Swing Dance Concert Set for Jan. 20
University Jazz Band will perform a swing dance concert
at 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 20, in Chumash Auditorium.
This dance concert features original swing-era tunes
played by the Cal Poly University Jazz Band No. 1.
The dance will be from 8 to 11 p.m. in Chumash Auditorium
at Cal Poly. Free swing dance lessons will be given
at 7 p.m. The University Jazz Band will perform authentic
big-band classics, suitable for dancing or listening.
OCOB
Brings WorldCom 'Whistle Blower'
Cynthia Cooper to Speak On Campus Jan. 27
Cal Poly's Orfalea College of Business will co-sponsor
a presentation by Cynthia Cooper on ethical issues
facing corporate America. Cooper is most well-known
for her role in uncovering the corporate fraud at
WorldCom. The presentation begins at 4 p.m., Friday,
Jan. 27, in Harman Hall in the Cohan Center and is
free and open to the public.
More
Orchesis
Dance Troupe Presents 'Metamorphosis' Jan. 27-29
Join Cal Poly's Orchesis Dance Company for an eclectic
evening of dance! Metamorphosis, the company's 35th
anniversary concert, will present works in various
styles, including ballet, jazz, modern, hip hop, Mexican
Folkloric dance and tap. Original works by Lisa Deyo,
Dennon and Sayhber Rawles and Diana Stanton and other
popular professional choreographers will be featured,
with the work of selected student choreographers rounding
out the show. Tickets are $9 for students, $12 general
admission, with evening and matinee showtimes.
More
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