Alumni News

Get Your Homecoming Tickets Now for the Big Weekend Oct. 29-30

Cal Poly's Homecoming 2010 is set for Friday and Saturday, Oct. 29-30, and alumni, parents, students, faculty, staff and the community are all invited. The Cal Poly Honored Alumni awards and banquet will be held on Friday in Chumash Auditorium. On Saturday the Cal Poly Mustangs football team will face the Saint Francis Red Flash in Spanos Stadium. Enjoy the annual Homecoming Tailgate Barbecue and Wine Tasting on the O'Neill Green before the game. Get tickets early -- both events sell out in advance ofHomecoming Weekend every year. Tickets for the game, barbecue and wine tasting are available now; tickets to the Honored Alumni Awards will be available soon.
Get details, tickets and more on the Homecoming Web site

Ready for a Reunion? Plenty Happening On Campus During Homecoming Weekend

The Kennedy Library, architecture and engineering are just a few of the colleges and programs on campus hosting reunion receptions for alumni around campus and San Luis Obispo during Homecoming Weekend. Kennedy Library is hosting its first-ever annual reunion for student library assistants (and their friends and families), complete with refreshments, tours and a meeting with Dean Michael D. Miller at 1 p.m. Oct. 30.
Details and registration for the Kennedy Library student reunion

Architect Named Director of Cal Poly Alumni Relations Office, Alumni Association

Tracee de Hahn has been appointed Cal Poly's director of Alumni Relations. She comes to the office after serving as the assistant director of advancement for Cal Poly’s College of Architecture and Environmental Design. De Hahn will now lead and direct the work of alumni relations and university events planning staff. She will also serve as executive director of the Cal Poly Alumni Association. She started her career as a practicing architect in Lexington, Ky. Before coming to Cal Poly, de Hahn served as executive director of The Blue Grass Trust for Historic Preservation, where she was responsible for major event planning, strategic planning and fundraising.
More on de Hahn

Alumni in the News:
Pro Basketball in Italy, The High Road in Politics and More

Cal Poly grad Ryan Darling (B.S., Business Admin, '10), just got a job in Germany -- playing pro basketball there. He was a walk-on in tryouts for the Mustang Men's Basketball Team, didn't make it at first, served as the team's student manager and eventually worked his way into the Mustangs' starting lineup. Darling played in 26 games as a senior. The 6' 8 alum from Tehachepi, who already had a job as an auditor with a consulting firm, now has a one-year basketball contract. He's not the only Cal Poly alum in the news this month -- read on to find out who else made headlines.
Alumni in the News: October

Nine Alumni, President Emeritus Baker to Be Honored in October

Cal Poly will honor six distinguished alumni and President Emeritus Warren J. Baker during Homecoming on Oct. 29. The university's 2010 Honored Alumni are Kenneth Q. Volk III (B.S., Fruit Science, '83), James E. Grant (B.S., Construction Management, '80), George Famalett (B.S., Business Administration, '86), Ronald S. Smith (B.S., Electronic Engineering, '83), Hiroki Asai (B.A., Applied Art and Design, '92), and John T. McDevitt (B.S., Chemistry, '82). On Oct. 22, during Parents Weekend, three alumni and President Emeritus Baker will be inducted to the Mustang Athletics Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame alumni honorees are shot-putter and discus thrower Stephanie Brown Trafton (B.S., Industrial Engineering, '04); an Olympic gold medalist at the Beijing Games in 2008, hammer thrower Tom Pagani (B.S., Physical Education, '62); and fullback/linebacker Dick Mannini (B.S., Physical Education, '59, M.A., Physical Education, '61).
More on the 2010 Hall of Fame inductees

Alumni Photo of the Year Competition: A Look at the Contenders

Love the Alumni Photo Competition? You're not alone. Every month, editors choose one of the the best shots uploaded by more than 15,000 alumni in PolyLink, the university's free online alumni directory. Every year since 2008, alumni have chosen the Photo of the Year winner from among the 12 Alumni Photo of the Month winners. Monthly winners receive a "Cal Poly Alumni" window decal and a spot in the Alumni Photo of the Year competition. Photo of the Year winners receive gift certificates for Cal Poly Gear -- available on the El Corral Web site. This year, to align the competition with the calendar year, the Alumni Photo of the Year vote will take place in January. It will include monthly winners from September 2009 through September 2010. Vote for the Photo of the Year winner in January - and submit your photos now to be considered for the 2011 Alumni Photo competition! Photos must be submitted through PolyLink (www.calpolylink.com).
View the 2009-10 Alumni Photo of the Month Gallery | View the 2008-09 Gallery | View the 2007-08 Gallery

University News

Graduation Rates, Retention Rates and Freshman Class GPAs Continue to Climb

Cal Poly's graduation rate continues to climb. Among the new students who began in fall 2004, three out of four have graduated. "That’s the best ever for Cal Poly and the best by far in the California State University system.  We’re not satisfied yet with our number," Interim President Robert Glidden told students, faculty and staff at the start of the academic year Sept. 14. Other highlights from Glidden's remarks: This is Cal Poly's fifth consecutive year of improvement in graduation rates.  "We’ve gone from 68.6 percent graduation five years ago to 74.7 percent this year, and we’re still climbing," Glidden said. Cal Poly's first- to second-year retention rate is now 91.5 percent. "Most institutions around the country are very happy with 75 percent retention first to second year -- and if an institution reaches 80 or 85 percent, they consider themselves really excellent.  We’re at 91.5 percent and we’re still climbing."
Read the full text of Interim President Glidden's Remarks | Read the Cal Poly Magazine Interview with Glidden

NASA Signs Cal Poly as Picosatellite Deployer - a Learn-by-Doing Bonanza for Students

NASA has signed a $5 million contract designating Cal Poly as the provider for a broad range mini-satellite services for NASA’s CubeSat program.The contract will ensure out-of-this-world, hands-on opportunities for Cal Poly students, who will be involved in actual launch campaigns working with launch providers, the NASA launch team and all other universities developing CubeSats. Cal Poly has pioneered research, development and launches of the mini-satellites, used in science missions.
More on the NASA contract

Mustang Football Heads to Big Sky Conference

Cal Poly's football team is heading to the Big Sky Conference. The Mustangs, along with UC Davis, will begin competition in the expanded NCAA Football Championship Subdivision conference, likely beginning with the 2012 season. The Mustangs and the Aggies have accepted invitations from the Big Sky Conference to become affiliate members in the sport of football only.
More on the Big Sky move

University Union Plaza Has a New Look -- See it on the Cal Poly Flickr Gallery

The UU Plaza has a new look - grass, a covered performance area, new seating, outdoor tables, more access points and a pedestrian plaza where the street used to be. Alumni: the original clock is still there in all of its orange and green splendor. See photos of the new look in the UU, the first spirit rally there and scenes from Dexter Lawn in the Cal Poly News Flickr Gallery. No passwords required. (Once on Flickr, click on the large image to view all as a slideshow).
See the 'Campus Scenes' photo slideshow | See all the Cal Poly News Flickr Gallery Sets

Cal Poly, UCSB Team on Student Printing, Design and Communications Services

Cal Poly’s Graphic Communication Department has teamed with UC Santa Barbara’s Associated Students Department to provide communication and print services in a learn-by-doing venture. The endeavor pairs student-run programs at each campus: UCSB Associated Students’ marketing and advertising agency and the full-service University Graphic Systems (UGS),
More on the joint effort

Real World, Real Press, Real Digital, Real Powerful:
The Students Behind University Graphic Systems

Students in Cal Poly's University Graphic Systems (UGS) are ahead of the curve. Through UGS, students run a real-world printing enterprise, with state-of-the-art services including graphic design, database management and variable data printing. Thanks to new technology, the latest equipment and industry partners, UGS can create mass print communication runs with a section in each personalized for individual recipients - even down to their name and a photo. The UGS students are getting hands-on experience implementing leading-edge technologies blending print, digital design and the power of the Web. UGS is a part of Cal Poly's nationally recognized Graphic Communication Department. Take two minutes to watch a video interviewing today's students about their learn-by-doing experience.
Watch the video on Cal Poly's YouTube Channel

Cal Poly Hosting Dairy Producer Symposium Oct. 15-16

Cal Poly’s Dairy Science Department and the Cal Poly Dairy Farm Advisory Team will host the Third Annual Cal Poly Fall Dairy Producer Symposium and Symposium Sale Oct. 15 and 16 at the Embassy Suites Hotel in San Luis Obispo. The theme of this year’s symposium is “Future of Milk Price.” The event kicks off Friday night with a barbeque at the Cal Poly Dairy from 5 to 7 p.m.
Details on the Dairy Producer Symposium

A Sweet Career, 101 McPhees, Nose Tackle Dreams
- it's all in Cal Poly Magazine's Fall 2010 Edition, and Only Online

The Fall 2010 edition of Cal Poly Magazine is now online. Click and read about a business student with a sweet career already underway; a Mustang nose tackle on track to be a neurosurgeon; a family gathering of 101 McPhees on campus to reconnect and remember the late, pivotal Cal Poly president; an alum who's bringing the whole tech world to your hands; and an interview with Interim President Robert Glidden -- the first new president on campus in 31 years. Plus a story on Cal Poly's innovative technology that improves life for the disabled. It's all here and only online.
Fall 2010 Cal Poly Magazine Online | Cal Poly Magazine Archives

Today's Students

His Childhood Friends are in Prison, and He's Graduating: Meet Cal Poly's 2010 Hearst Scholar

Cal Poly architectural engineering student Pablo Ramos, a young father who grew up in Santa Maria, has been named a 2010 Hearst Scholar. Ramos grew up in a single-parent home in a tough part of town. An internship at his community college helped him discover a passion that would propel him to higher education -- and Cal Poly. Ramos told the Mustang Daily that many of his childhood friends are now in prison -- and he's on his way to grad school, thanks to Cal Poly.
Read more about Ramos | Read the Mustang Daily interview with Ramos

Top Guns Again:
Cal Poly Students Win AIAA Design Competition

For the eighth time in nine years, Cal Poly aerospace seniors soared above the competitors at the national Undergraduate Team Aircraft Design competition, taking both first and second places at the contest sponsored by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Foundation (AIAA). Designing “Alternate Fuels and Environmentally Friendly Aircraft Systems,” 34 teams from 12 universities competed in the 2010 contest. Cal Poly’s “Much Better Planes Introduces the Bearodactyl” won the $2,500 first place award, while Cal Poly’s “GFX-50” won the $1,500 award for second place.
More on the Cal Poly winners

Physics Student Honored for Research Los Alamos National Laboratory

Cal Poly physics student Dana Duke spent the summer at Los Alamos National Laboratory working on the Neutron Induced Fission Fragment Tracking Experiment (NIFFTE). The experiment will measure the fission probabilities of radioactive isotopes using a detector called a Time Projection Chamber. The experiment should improve current understanding of fission dynamics and ultimately lead to better efficiency and minimized waste from nuclear reactors at power plants. Duke participated in the assembly and testing of the gas handling system for the detector and helped collect the very first data from the experiment this summer at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center.

Faculty & Staff

Mustang Athletics Director Alison Cone
Announces She Will Retire in December

Alison Cone, Cal Poly’s director of athletics since 2004, will retire in December after 16 years at Cal Poly. “This is the right time to move on,” Cone said. “We have great coaches in place, and they have the right focus on developing our student-athletes for success on the field, in the classroom and in their professional lives." Interim President Robert Glidden said a national search will be conducted over the next few months and timed so the next Cal Poly president can select Cone’s successor.
Read more on GoPoly.com

Art Professor Sky Bergman Takes First in Juried Exhibition

Professor Sky Bergman, chair of the Art & Design Department, was awarded first place in an exhibition juried by Karen Moss, curator of the Orange County Museum of Art. More than 2,100 pieces were submitted by 607 applicants - only 64 pieces were selected for the exhibition.
Read a review about the reception, including art images

President's Office Chief of Staff Dan Howard-Greene to Retire

Dan Howard-Greene, chief of staff for the president’s office and well known by many on campus and Cal Poly advisory boards, is retiring Dec. 31 after 16 years with the university. “It has been an honor and privilege to serve such a fine university and to have the opportunity to work with outstanding presidential leadership and an extraordinary university community of dedicated faculty, staff, students, alumni, donors and volunteers,” Howard-Green said. Interim President Robert Glidden praised Howard-Greene for his service. “We will miss the thoughtfulness, sensitivity and intellectual rigor that Dan brought to bear on so many issues,” Glidden said.

Architecture Professor Receives Fulbright Award -
Is Teaching, Researching in Italy

Cal Poly Architecture Professor Jonathan Reich has been awarded a Fulbright Scholar grant for a teaching and research position in Italy. Reich will serve at the Facoltà di Architettura - Sede Collegata di Ascoli Piceno of the Università degli Studi di Camerino (UniCam) in Italy during the 2010-2011 academic year. He will teach an upper division/graduate student seminar called "Sustainable Environments: An American Perspective."
More on Reich

Coming Up

It's Apple Time in the Cal Poly Orchards

Fresh this month at the Cal Poly Orchards: apples and pears. Taste the difference every Wednesday afternoon and Saturday morning.

See Hal Holbrook in Signature ‘Mark Twain’ Performance Oct. 15 at the PAC

This living, breathing American masterpiece is, quite simply, one of the most acclaimed and enduring performances in the history of theatre. Nearly 50 years ago, a young actor took the stage in a tiny off-Broadway theatre and introduced the world to a man they’d never forget. The actor was Hal Holbrook. The man was Mark Twain. The one-man Emmy and Tony Award-winning show is the celebrated “Mark Twain Tonight!” Showtime is 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 15, in the Cohan Center.
Details on Holbrook

Taj Mahal Brings World Music Concert Oct. 20

In a blazing fusion of sizzling world music and cool dynamic blues, the Grammy Award-winning roots legend Taj Mahal pairs up with rising star Vieux Farka Touré from Mali. The two perform in a collaboration of multi-instrumental mastery and vocal brilliance. Showtime is 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 20, in the Cohan Center.
Details on Taj Mahal

Cal Poly Music Department's Fall Concert Opener is Oct. 22

All four Cal Poly student music ensembles will perform on stage in Harman Hall on Oct. 22. Music Department Chair W. Terrence Spiller will emcee the extravaganza at 8 p.m. in the Cohan Center. Tickets are $13-$15 general admission, $12-$14 for seniors and $8 for students. Performing groups include PolyPhonics and The University Singers, the Arab Music Ensemble, University Jazz Band I, Symphony and Wind Ensemble. More on the Fall Concert

Cal Poly Hosts Second Annual HANDs on Health Event Oct. 22

Cal Poly’s STRIDE and the Center for Sustainability are co-hosting the second annual HANDs on Health event Friday, Oct. 22. The four-part lecture symposium, “Nurturing Healthy Children and Healthy Families: Why Is It So Complicated Today?” focuses on obesity issues in the individual, built environment, state and national arenas. The free public event takes place in the Performing Arts Center Pavilion (Room 124) on campus.
More on the health event

Imago Theatre Stages ‘ZooZoo’ Nov. 4

Defying classification, the Imago Theatre has populated international stages with characters and beings as diverse as comedic amphibians, animated paper bags, insomniac hippos, mischievous penguins and metamorphosing humans. Imago returns to Cal Poly with 'ZooZoo' on Thursday, Nov. 4, at 7:30 p.m. in the Christopher Cohan Center. Students receive a 50 percent discount on tickets.
Details on Imago’s ZooZoo

Hear Bandfest 2010 Perform
A 'Garden of Dreams' Nov. 20

Since its founding in 1901, Cal Poly has been a place where dreams are both discovered and fulfilled. Join the Cal Poly Music Department as it celebrates these dreams and aspirations through a dazzling performance during Bandfest 2010 on Nov. 10. Student performing groups include the "Pride of the Pacific" Mustang Band, Wind Orchestra and Wind Ensemble. Enter this "Garden of Dreams" on Saturday, Nov. 20 at 8 p.m. at the Cohan Center. Tickets are $16 and $19 for general admission, $13 and $15 for seniors and $8 and $11 for students. Just added: Interim President Robert Glidden will serve as guest conductor for the evening.
More on Bandfest 2010

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