Feb. 20, 2002

Contact: Michael B. Barr
(805)-756-2933

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Record Year for Donations to Cal Poly College of Agriculture
Brings New Equipment, Programs

A new Dairy Cattle and Applied Research and Technology program, new professors in plant biotechnology and poultry science, more scholarship money for students, technology supporting
precision agriculture teaching and research and an Integrated Pest Management center available to California farmers, vintners and ranchers are just some of the expansions made possible thanks to a
record year of donations to Cal Poly's College of Agriculture.

Individuals, corporations and foundations gave more than $9.7 million
to the college in 2001. That brings the total raised by the college
since the start of the Cal Poly Centennial Campaign to more than $28
million. The college is well on its way to meeting its goal of raising
$40 million by the end of 2004 as part of the university-wide
Centennial Campaign, which seeks to raise $225 million for Cal Poly by
Dec. 31, 2004. As of January 2002, the university had raised $153.7
million towards that goal.

 The money and equipment donated in 2001 are important, explained
Interim Dean of Agriculture David J. Wehner, because the state funding
available for Cal Poly and for all of the California State University
campuses has decreased substantially over the past decade.  A
successful fund-raising campaign is needed to enable Cal Poly's College
of Agriculture to continue to offer one of California's premier
teaching and applied research programs through the next century, Wehner
said.

In consulting with alumni and representatives from agriculture before
publicly launching the Centennial Campaign in 2001, "We asked a very
simple two-part question: What does a great college of agriculture look
like, and what does it do for students?" Wehner said. "Not only did we
receive their input, but they backed it up with investments. The
response from alumni, friends and agricultural industries has been
phenomenal."

Foundations and individuals giving more than $1 million to the Cal Poly
College of Agriculture to date as part of the Centennial Campaign
include: The J.G. Boswell Foundation, to create a professorship in
plant biotechnology; Susan and Robert Brown, to create two visiting
professorships as well as student scholarships; Omer and Claudia King,
to support and develop laboratories and scholarships; Lorenzo and
Judith McOmie, to support faculty development, applied research and
scholarships; and Daisy J. Hudson, for student scholarships.

Corporations and individuals investing $250,000 or more include: Foster
Farms, to create a professorship in poultry science; E & J Gallo
Winery, development of a state-of-the-art teaching and research
vineyard; Monsanto, to create the Dairy Cattle and Applied Research and
Technology program; Format International, a donation of software for
the Animal Nutrition program; Ken and Gay Gerlack, to support
environmental horticultural science; Charles R. Peebles III, for
student scholarships; and Frank W. Pinkert, for student scholarships.

Corporations investing $100,000 or more include: the Agricultural
Education Foundation, an unrestricted donation; the California Milk
Advisory Board, in support of the Dairy Science Department; the Dairy
Institute of California, in support of the Dairy Products Technology
Center; Dow AgroSciences, for a new senior staff position coordinating
integrated pest management and to strengthen the enterprise project
program; the William Randolph Hearst Foundation, to fund a Cal Poly
Scholar in the College of Agriculture; the Magellan Corp., equipment in
support of precision agriculture through GIS mapping technology.

Individuals investing $100,000 or more include: Carol Andrews, to
underwrite and recognize the best senior projects and capstone projects
in BioResource and Agricultural Engineering; Phillip and Jeanette
Armstrong, in support of international agricultural development;
Margaret Baylis, in support of the Leaning Pine Arboretum and student
scholarships; Harlan W. Beck, an unrestricted donation; Dorothy S.
Brown,
in support of the Animal Science Department; Jack and Phoebe Cook, in
support of rodeo scholarships and programs; Glenn and Debbie Drake, in
support of the equine program; Woody and Adele Frey, in support of the
Leaning Pine Arboretum; Bill and Jean Lane, in support of the Leaning
Pine Arboretum and new gardens; Gary Leslie, a donation in support of
the equine program; John and Sara Merriam, in support of flexible
irrigation; Yaichiro Minami, field equipment for the Crop Science
Department;  Burt and Virginia Polin, in support of scholarships and
farm operations; and the Joseph Shinoda Memorial Scholarship Fund, for
student scholarships.

The initial success of the fund-raising drive shows a high level of
support for Cal Poly's College of Agriculture, Wehner said.

"Success is not always measured by how much money is donated, but who
the donors are and how they invest. When J.G. Boswell Company,
Monsanto, Dow AgroSciences, Foster Farms, Gallo, the Hearst Foundation
and other great leaders in industry and the community stand with you,
you know you're doing something right," Wehner stressed.
"We believe that 'something right' is Cal Poly's 'learn by doing'
philosophy - something we take to heart in the College of Agriculture,"
Wehner emphasized.

Cal Poly has a little less than three years remaining in its Centennial
Campaign, and its College of Agriculture is working hard to raise the
remaining $12 million needed to meet its goals.

"We're going to keep on educating and fund-raising like there is no
tomorrow," Wehner stressed. "We owe that to the next generation of
young men and women who want a top-notch Cal Poly education."
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