Cal Poly Update - December 2008
Alumni News
The Perfect Gift for Art and Nature Lovers
The Cal Poly Alumni Association has sponsored a limited print run of a gorgeous, full-color glossy hardbound book fill of the works of noted artist and retired Cal Poly art professor Robert Reynolds. “Quiet Journey,” is a collaboration between Reynolds and well-known Journalism Professor Emeritus James Hayes. It showcases 178 of Reynolds’ paintings of scenes from Central Coast and the California Sierras, alongside written musings by both Hayes and Reynolds. A portion of proceeds from the book will benefit the Cal Poly Alumni Association.
Details on the Book
Alumni In the News:
Delta Alumna Flies High,
WVit Alums Toast Success, Astronaut Alum Gets Grounded, and More
Cal Poly Business Alumna Joanne Smith made this year's Wall Street Journal list of "50 to Women to Watch" for her success in restyling Delta Airlines into profitability.
She'll be speaking on campus in April. Also in the news this month: June 2008 wine & vit graduates Andrew Macaluso and Nicole Chamberlain, for commercially launching their senior project invention: a bottled beverage designed to help wine tasters cleanse palates. The duo won a 2008 Cal Poly Innovation Quest Award -- and some financial backing -- for their " SanTásti" drink and it's already on sale in Napa's tony Oakville Grocery. And astronaut Greg Chamitoff finally came back down to earth, thanks to a ride from the Space Shuttle Endeavor. Which other alumni were in the news this month? Find out.
Read about more alumni in the news
Cal Poly Gives Thanks:
See the 2008 University Holiday Card
With Music by the Mustang Band
As the holiday season begins, Cal Poly gives thanks for its strong network of alumni, friends, parents and students. We hope you will take a moment to enjoy the 2008 Cal Poly photo card, with music by the Mustang Band. Click on the photo or link below it to view the card. No login is required, but you will need a Flash player to view the card.
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View the 2008 Cal Poly Holiday Card
Warriors vs. Clippers Basketball: See it with Cal Poly Alumni
The Cal Poly Alumni Association invites alumni, parents and friends to catch the Golden State Warriors game at the Oracle Arena in Oakland -- friends and children welcome! Get up close and personal with the players during warm-ups and meet Warriors President and Cal Poly alumnus Robert Rowell. The CPAA event tickets include a pre-game Q&A with Rowell, courtside time to watch the players shoot warm-ups, game seats in Club 200 Sections 204 and 213, food and beverages. The game is Jan. 25; ticket purchase deadline is Jan. 11.
Click here for details and ticket purchase on PolyLink (no login required)
PolyLink Photo of the Month: NRM Grad on Mt. Whitney
Jennifer Arrowsmith (B.S., Forestry and Natural Resources, '02), is the December PolyLink Photo of the Month winner for this 2005 shot of her on the way back down from the summit of Mt. Whitney in California -- the highest peak in the lower 48 states. It is 14,500 feet tall and it's a 22 mile trek to the summit and back. Arrowsmith currently manages the Fire Monitoring Program for the Student Conservation Association, the nation's largest natural resource conservation organization. She and her husband live in Boise, and she's just one of the 10,090 alumni in PolyLink, Cal Poly's free, private online community for alumni. Do you know any of them? Alumni can find out at www.calpolylink.com on the 'Locate Classmate' search page. Non-alumni can see more Photo of the Month winners anytime on the PolyLink University Photos gallery - no sign in needed.
Just for Alumni: The PolyLink Job Boards
PolyLink is offering something new: job boards. Searching for a job? Head there to check out the job postings from alumni across California - and the U.S. There are 28 mid-career job 
openings posted on the job boards right now. Got a job opening at your firm? In this economy, help carry on the university's strong tradition of hiring Cal Poly alumni and Cal Poly grads who can get the job done. If you're an alum (or someone in your firm is a Cal Poly alum), you can log into PolyLink and use the job boards. As of December, there are now 10,090 alumni in PolyLink - and 10,000 of them check in to the free, private online network for Mustang alumni every month after getting Update.
Click here to go to the PolyLink job boards (login required)
Alumni: click here to request your PolyLink first-time login code
University News
Holiday Tradition: Help Build the Cal Poly Rose Float Before Parade
Cal Poly Rose Float Team students are looking for volunteers in Pasadena and San Luis Obispo to help them add flowers and finishing touches to the 61st Cal Poly Rose between Dec. 25 and 31. Parents, alumni and friends are welcome to help the students glue on flowers and add finishing touches to the float in Pasadena during "Deco Week." Can't make it to Pasadena? Come to Cal Poly and help students harvest flowers Saturday, Dec. 27. Cal Poly planted more than 2,000 marigolds and asters to use on the float. The Cal Poly float is the only entry in the annual Tournament of Roses parade that is designed, built, and decorated solely by students and volunteers -- a tradition that dates back to 1949. Cal Poly's 2009 float is titled "Seaside Amusement." When it's done, it will feature a working ferris wheel, a roller coaster and a parachute drop. The 2008 float, "Guardians of Harmony," won the parade's Fantasy Trophy. Be sure to watch the parade broadcast and look for the Cal Poly Float New Year's Day, wherever you are. To volunteer for a shift or two at "Deco Week," contact the current student Rose Float club at rfleaders@asi.calpoly.edu.
Visit the Rose Float Club Web Site for More Details
Read the Mustang Daily story on the 2009 Rose Float
Cal Poly Wines Now On Sale in SLO, Soon on the Web
Cal Poly has released three student-produced wines for sale. The wines are the fruit of 'hands on' labor by students in Cal Poly's Wine and Viticulture program. With more than 150 students, it's now the largest wine program in the state. The WVit students did all the work -- from designing the labels and the new CalPolyWine.com web site to pruning vines, harvest, crush, winemaking, and bottling. The Cal Poly Wines are available at the Cal Poly Downtown store, Taste tasting room in downtown San Luis Obispo, and, coming soon, by mail via the Cal Poly Wine web site.
Read the Mustang Daily story on the wine release
See the Mustang Daily audio slideshow on the wines
Winter Commencement Set for Saturday
Cal Poly's winter commencement ceremonies have been set for Saturday, Dec. 13, at 9 a.m., 1:30 and 3 p.m. in the ASI Recreation Center on campus. December ceremonies last approximately two hours. Immediately following the ceremony, a punch and cookie reception is held in the fitness room, which is located adjacent to the Rec Center. This reception offers graduates and guests the opportunity to visit with faculty and friends. More than 700 students are expected to graduate during Mid-Year Ceremonies.
More on December Commencement
Video Tour: Cal Poly's New Construction Innovations Center
The College of Architecture and Environmental Design opened the $33 million Construction Innovations Center this Fall and broke ground for the new Simpson Strong-Tie Materials Demonstration Lab. At the heart of the Center is a 30,000 square foot facility designed around Construction Management curriculum with 12 project-based labs used for esearch and education by all five majors within the college. If you weren't able to attend the grand opening or take a tour, do it now via video on PolyLink (no login required).
Watch the Construction Innovations Center tour video
University Launches Packaging Research Group
Cal Poly has launched a joint public-private enterprise, The Consortium on Packaging Science and Technology, to advance capabilities in the packaging industry. Twelve companies, including Microsoft and Safeway, will join the consortium as founding members, in conjunction with multidisciplinary teams from the Orfalea College of Business and the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences. Through the consortium, Cal Poly professors and students will work on research projects based on real-world needs of leading companies in the packaging industry.
More on the Cal Poly packaging consortium
Sign Up Now for Organic Winter Veggies
The Cal Poly Organic Farm is accepting new members for the winter season of its Community Supported Agriculture Program, which provides participants with a weekly box of the farm's harvest.
The 12-week season runs from Dec. 15 through mid-March. The Cal Poly Organic Farm is part of the Cal Poly College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences, and is run by university faculty, staff and students. Cal Poly Alumni Association members: you receive a discount on veggie subscriptions.
More on the Organic Farm's produce program
KCPR Turns 40 with Alt and Indie Tunes, Fundraising Auction
KCPR, Cal Poly's student-run radio station, celebrated its 40th birthday in November. Last year, the KCPR broadcast studios moved from the original second-floor studio in the GRC-Journalism building to a new, state-of-the-art suite on the top of the building. Alumni in the know can still find the second-floor men's room where legend has it KCPR's most famous DJ, 'Weird Al' Yankovic, recorded smash hit 'My Bologna."
Click Here to visit the KCPR Web site and listen live
Click here for the New Times story on KCPR's 40th
GPS Campus Tours Introduced at Cal Poly
Cal Poly is introducing cutting-edge technology into the admissions process with a GPS-enabled, multimedia tour guide device. The GPS led tour will serve as an alternative to the regular morning daily campus tours. Cal Poly is the first university in the nation to offer the GPS Ranger tour guide for campus tours. Student-led tours will continue to be offered.
More on the GPS Guided Tours
Today's Students
CENG Student Receives $14,500 Clinton Grant
for Disaster Relief Water Project
Tricia Compas has dedicated more than 2,000 hours to her civil and environmental engineering thesis project, the Polytech Waterbag. That time and effort paid off: Compas has been awarded a $14,500 grant by the Clinton Global Initiative and the Wal-Mart Foundation. With a team of students and an advisory panel of professors and business professionals, Compas created the Polytech Waterbag, a revolutionary water treatment system for disaster relief zones.
Compas is pictured at far left on the podium with former President Clinton
More on Compas' project and award
Read the SLO Tribune story on Compas' project and award
Cal Poly's Society of Women Engineers
Reclaims Title
as Best in the Nation
Cal Poly's Society of Women Engineers won eight awards at this year's SWE National Convention, including the Gold Award for Outstanding Large Collegiate Section. Recent graduate Kate Van Dellen (AERO '08) and electrical engineering graduate student Jessica Kiefer were named as the nation's Outstanding Undergraduate Member and Outstanding Graduate Member, respectively. More than 5,800 women engineers from around the world met in Baltimore, Md., Nov. 5-9 for the conference.
More on the group's win
Annual Cal Poly Poinsettia Sale Going On Now
Cal Poly's annual poinsettia sale features more than 2,500 plants this year. The student-grown poinsettias are on sale through mid-December at Poly Plant Shop on campus. This year’s poinsettia project is offering traditional reds and whites as well as many novelty colors such as pinks, oranges, marbles, and maroons.
More about poinsettia sale
Cal Poly Hosts Middle School Students for Building an Engineer Day
Cal Poly's Society of Women Engineers will host local middle school students Nov. 22 for the annual Building an Engineer Day. The free event gives youngsters hands-on laboratory experience in architectural engineering, aerospace engineering, biomedical engineering, civil engineering, computer science, materials engineering and mechanical engineering.
More on Building an Engineer Day
Happy Cows, Happy Students Make Cal Poly Holiday Cheese
The historic Cal Poly Creamery is once again offering gift packs of its student-made cheeses for the holidays. The seven varieties for sale are Gouda, Smoked Gouda, Mustang Cheddar, Smoked Cheddar, Chipotle Jack, San Luis Lace and reduced-fat Lace. The Gouda and San Luis Lace are award-winning cheeses. Orders are available only through Dec. 12 on the Cal Poly Creamery Web site, www.calpolycheese.com.
Cal Poly Hosts Top Logging Competition
The Cal Poly Logging Team hosted the 31st annual California Conclave intercollegiate logging competition at the university's Swanton Pacific Ranch, near Santa Cruz. Cal Poly was among five schools from California and Oregon that took part, with a total of 68 individual competitors. Other participants were Humboldt State University, UC Berkeley, Modesto Junior College and Central Oregon Community College.
More on the logging conclave
Architecture Students Design Furniture of the Future
Cal Poly architecture students put their creativity on display in November at the Fifth Annual CAED/Vellum Furniture Competition and Exhibition. The winners were chosen by a jury of design professionals. See photos of the top winners, read about the jurors and find out more about the event on the Vellum/CAED Furniture Competition & Exhibition web page.
Athletics
Mustangs Stomp Davis Aggies to Win Third Straight Horseshoe Trophy
Cal Poly defeated rival UC Davis 51-28 in front of 11,075 fans in Alex G. Spanos Stadium in November. The win was Cal Poly’s seventh straight. Senior quarterback Jonathan Dally rushed for 173 yards and one touchdown and passed for two more scores as No. 3 Cal Poly won the Golden Horseshoe Classic for the third straight year and captured its third Great West Conference championship in the last five years. The Mustangs finished the season by making the first round of the Division I NCAA championships. Cal Poly hosted Weber State in its first home playoff game ever, but lost after an action-packed game Nov. 29.
Read the whole Davis game story on the Cal Poly Sports Web, GoPoly.com
See the Mustang Daily Audio Slideshow on the Davis game fans
Faculty & Staff
Architecture Prof Receives Cal Poly International Educator Award
Cal Poly Architecture Professor Don Swearingen is the recipient of the 2008 Cal Poly International Educator Award. The annual honor, sponsored by the International Education and Programs Council, recognizes a faculty member who has significantly contributed to international education at Cal Poly. Swearingen has been a faculty member in the Architecture Department at Cal Poly since 1974.
More on Professor Swearingen
Coming Up
SLO Civic Ballet Presents 30th Annual 'Nutcracker' Dec. 13 & 14 at the PAC
The Civic Ballet presents the classic holiday tradition, "The Nutcracker," Dec. 13 and 14 at the Performing Arts Center. Audiences of all ages will marvel at the magic and wonder of this spectacular, professional production that has delighted the Central Coast for more than 30 years. Both matinee and evening performances available.
More on the Nutcracker
Sing Holiday Favorites Dec. 21
with the Forbes Pipe Organ
Cal Poly Arts presents a traditional holiday show with an interactive twist. Featuring memorable performances by the Vocal Arts Ensemble and the Central Coast Children's Choir. Also featuring University Organist Paul Woodring on the magnificent Forbes Pipe Organ playing a collection of holiday carols while audience members sing along. The event benefits the Youth Outreach for the Performing Arts Center.
More on the benefit concert
'Jesus Christ, Superstar' Coming to the PAC Jan. 6
"Jesus Christ Superstar," the first Broadway masterpiece from the legendary writing team of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, exploded onto the scene in 1971 changing the world of musical theatre forever. With a score of amazing songs, like “I Don’t Know How to Love Him,” “Hosanna,” “Everything’s Alright,” “What’s the Buzz,” “Superstar,” and “Heaven on Their Minds,” this original ground-breaking production starring Ted Neeley – who starred in the film version – in the title role and Living Colour’s Corey Glover as Judas, is as relevant and timeless as ever.
More on 'Superstar'
Music Department's Professor Spiller in Piano Recital Jan. 9
On Friday, Jan. 9, hear Music Professor W. Terrence Spiller in a Faculty Piano Recital at 8 p.m. in the Spanos Theatre. A concert pianist and chair of the Music Department, Spiller will perform works by Mozart, Ravel, Bartok, and Liszt. Tickets are $10 general, $6 seniors and students.
Order Tickets
National Acrobats of China Here Jan. 15
Since 1956, the National Acrobats of China have been one of the most influential large-scale acrobatic troupes in the world. The colorful costumes and traditional music of China augment the 35 members who perform thrilling circus acts, precise martial artistry, mesmerizing illusions, and breathtaking stunts - such as daring cycling, bench juggling, plate spinning, and chair balancing. Curtain time is 7 p.m.
More on the acrobats
More Events & Entertainment Listings
CPAA Information on Services, Options
The Cal Poly Alumni Association works with select business or “affinity” partners to offer products and services to alumni, including group health, dental, vision and auto insurance policies and the Cal Poly Alumni credit card. Alumni participation in the services offered by affinity partners provides funding supporting alumni programs, events and communications. Alumni can control what information CPAA shares its affinity partners.
Visit the Cal Poly Alumni Association Web site for more details