Jan. 30, 2002

Contact: Jeff Bliss
(805) 756-1511

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Cal Poly is CSU System's Top Fund-Raiser, Thanks to Supporters

Cal Poly raised more than $43.2 million in gifts from individuals, corporations and foundations during fiscal year 2000-2001, the largest amount ever received by any California State University Campus in a single year.

Gifts received included $1.5 million to the College of Agriculture from
Omer and Claudia King. Bert and Candace Forbes gave $3 million to the
College of Engineering, and Paul and Sandra Bonderson gave $2 million
to the College of Engineering. The largest single gift to Cal Poly in
fiscal year 2000-01 came from Kinko's founder Paul Orfalea and his wife
Natalie, who donated some $16 million for the Orfalea College of
Business and the Orfalea Family and Associated Students Inc. Children's
Center.

System-wide, CSUs spent an average 17 cents on fund raising per dollar
raised. Cal Poly's cost to raise each dollar was less than half the CSU
average.

Like other public universities across the nation, Cal Poly devotes
significant effort to fund raising in order to finance improvements and
acquire technology needed to continue to attract top faculty and
students.

State funding for higher education has decreased during the past
decade. This drop, coupled with Cal Poly's polytechnic programs and
emphasis on expensive "hands-on" laboratory-intensive forms of learning
makes private donations increasingly vital to the university.

Cal Poly launched the public phase of its Centennial Campaign,
"Strengthening Our Advantage," in 2001. The Centennial Campaign's goal
is to raise $225 million by the end of 2004. As of Dec. 31, 2001, the
Centennial Campaign has raised a total of  $151 million.

 "One of the most critical new efforts under way at Cal Poly is the
Centennial Campaign. The success of our campaign is essential if we are
to strengthen the many advantages we already offer students, and
continue our tradition of excellence. This is a vote of confidence in the mission
 of the university and further serves to recognize the dedication and quality of our faculty," 
stressed Cal Poly President Warren J. Baker.

"Every single donation from our alumni and friends is important in
helping us strengthen and further develop our academic programs to meet
the challenge of a new century," Baker said. "We would like to thank
and commend our supporters for their generosity."

Since the close of the fiscal year in July, the university has received
numerous additional gifts and pledges. The largest is the historic
Unocal Pier in Avila Beach. Unocal donated the $18 million pier to Cal
Poly's College of Science and Mathematics, along with a $3.5 million
endowment for operations and maintenance. As a result of Unocal's
support, the university now operates a Marine Science Education and
Research Center - one of the few in the nation focusing on
undergraduate marine science education. Unocal has donated a total of
$25 million to Cal Poly since the start of its Centennial Campaign.

Other recent gifts and pledges not included in the CSU figures were a
$1 million pledge from an anonymous donor to the College of Liberal
Arts and a $500,000 gift to the college's Music Department from James
and Martha Michel. Paul and Sandra Bonderson have given and pledged an
additional $4 million to the College of Engineering. The J.G. Boswell
Foundation gave and pledged a total of $1.2 million to the College of
Agriculture to create an endowed professorship in plant biotechnology.
Cal Poly Athletics received a $2.2 million pledge from Richard O'Neill
toward the Memorial Stadium renovation project.

For more information on Cal Poly's Centennial Campaign, visit the
campaign Web site at http://giving.calpoly.edu/.

For more information on fund-raising in the CSU system, a news release from the Chancellor's Office is available on-line at  http://www.calstate.edu/pa/news/Support2000.shtml.
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