Recent News
Cal Poly’s Horticultural and Crop Science Department Changes Name to Plant Sciences to Better Reflect the Program’s Academic Mission
May 12, 2022
SAN LUIS OBISPO — Cal Poly’s Horticulture and Crop Science Department has formally changed its name to the Plant Sciences Department. The agricultural and environmental plant sciences major will also be renamed to reflect predominant employment opportunities more accurately for graduates and prospective students.
The department, which was formed in 2002, offers curriculum that is designed to train plant scientists who are ready upon graduation to make informed decisions and recommendations regarding sustainable farming or horticultural practices that maximize plant production and protection while minimizing economic, environmental and social impacts. The name change enables the program to clearly convey its academic mission and broaden recruitment of applicants who may or may not have a background in agriculture and allow them to be successful in robust careers throughout California and beyond.
Cal Poly Journalism Department Granted Full Accreditation Status
May 9, 2022
SAN LUIS OBISPO — The Cal Poly Journalism Department has received full accreditation, joining 117 other programs around the world to receive such validation. The Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC), the agency responsible for the evaluation of professional journalism and mass communications programs in colleges and universities, voted 18-0 at its April 29 meeting in Chicago in favor of the Journalism Department receiving full accreditation.
“This accomplishment represents years of hard work by the faculty and staff to meet the rigorous demands of the accrediting process,” department chair Brady Teufel said. “In recognizing Cal Poly as one of the best universities to learn journalism and public relations, the council affirmed that we’re succeeding in our mission to provide students with an education that covers fundamental skills and concepts along with problem solving, critical thinking and innovation.”
Cal Poly Symphony and Choirs to Perform Groundbreaking Works from Early 20th Century on June 5
May 6, 2022
SAN LUIS OBISPO — The Cal Poly Symphony and Cal Poly Choirs will perform Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “Dona Nobis Pacem” and William Grant Still’s “Afro-American Symphony” at 3 p.m. Sunday, June 5, in Miossi Hall of the Performing Arts Center.
Both momentous works were composed in the 1930s and addressed issues of that time that are equally relevant today. The groups will be joined by guest soloists Amy Goymerac, soprano; and John Buffett, baritone.
Cal Poly Arab Music Ensemble and Zaryab Ensemble to Perform Concert on June
May 6, 2022
SAN LUIS OBISPO — The Cal Poly Arab Music Ensemble will be joined by the Zaryab Ensemble for its spring concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 4, in Spanos Theatre on campus.
The ensembles will perform both separately and as a combined group in the concert.
The Zaryab Ensemble will begin the program with Iranian and Tajik music under the artistic direction of Neema Hekmat. The group, based in the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento metropolitan area, includes internationally acclaimed Nasser Sabouri on vocals, Nariman Assadi on tombak and daff, Azadeh Nemat Gorgani on piano, Maruf Noyoft on robab and vocals, and Hekmat on santur.
Cal Poly’s ‘RSVP XXVII: Multimedia Showcase’ Set for May 31 and June 2
May 3, 2022
SAN LUIS OBISPO — The Cal Poly Music Department’s student production ensemble RSVP will present “RSVP XXVII: Multimedia Showcase” at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday, May 31 and June 2, in the Pavilion of the Performing Arts Center.
Students from the Music Department’s Sound Design classes have been collaborating with members of the Composition Forum Club, a group dedicated to learning about music composition; dancers from the Theatre and Dance Department; and guest visual artists to premiere original interdisciplinary works for fixed and live interactive media.
This year’s production will deliver a multistylistic experience with the theme of “The Myriad.”
Cal Poly Students’ Sustainable Packaging Design for San Luis Obispo Business Wins First Place in National Competition
May 2, 2022
SAN LUIS OBISPO — After a year of research and development, a team of Cal Poly students gained hands-on experience designing new sustainable packaging and labels for a San Luis Obispo-based gourmet cupcake and dessert business — and took first place for its effort.
Seven graphic communications students participated in the Phoenix Challenge, a yearlong project in which students help a local small business rebrand and market itself with materials using the flexographic print process, a technique that uses a flexible plate to print on a variety of materials.
The students, Naomi Furuya, Mandy Ko, Isabel Lao, Kaitlin Sakae, Ashley Rubens, Madeline Wales and Sadie Curdts, won first place at the college-level competition in March against teams from across the U.S. This year’s theme was sustainable packaging for sustainable business, and the students focused on helping a local small business reduce packaging costs and make their brand stand out.
Cal Poly Students Design Innovative Technology Solution to Make School Buildings in Developing Countries Safer in Collaboration with the World Bank
Apr 28, 2022
Team of computer science and software engineering students and faculty design mobile app and data management solution to improve structural integrity in vulnerable school buildings
SAN LUIS OBISPO — The Cal Poly Digital Transformation Hub (DxHub) powered by Amazon Web Services (AWS) and a team of Cal Poly students designed a mobile app for the World Bank to help improve school safety in developing countries, projecting to reduce costs and time by 50%.
Millions of children’s lives and billions of dollars in infrastructure are at stake, since disasters such as earthquakes and cyclones put more than 1 million school buildings in low- and middle-income countries at risk of collapsing. An estimated 875 million children and teachers could be injured or die in damaged school buildings, according to World Bank figures. In addition, when schools close as a result of disasters, there are indirect losses as students are deprived of learning opportunities, further compounding the impacts.
Cal Poly Students Studying Effects of Climate Change Earn Prestigious Research Fellowships
Apr 27, 2022
SAN LUIS OBISPO — Two Cal Poly graduate students in the biological sciences program were awarded National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowships to support their ongoing research on responses to environmental changes to plants and animals in California.
Annie Meeder, a first-year graduate student from Paso Robles, with the support of her faculty advisor, Jenn Yost of the Biological Sciences Department, is studying dynamics of Santa Cruz Island vegetation communities and how these communities have changed in response to certain historical disturbances.
Cal Poly Corporation Holds Open Call for Public Art for Via Carta Mural Project
Apr 27, 2022
Planned Campus Project Will Feature Agricultural Bounty, Beauty of Central Coast
SAN LUIS OBISPO — The Cal Poly Corporation is inviting proposals for the design and creation of a mural to be installed in a soon-to-be-renovated outdoor corridor on Cal Poly’s campus.
The Via Carta Mural Project is seeking artist proposals to transform a divided triptych wall at the intersection of Highland Drive and Via Carta into a vibrant mural that encourages student and community interaction while highlighting the agricultural bounty and beauty of the Central Coast.
Cal Poly Wind Bands’ Season Finale Concert ‘Sounds of Color’ Set for May 27
Apr 27, 2022
SAN LUIS OBISPO — The Cal Poly Wind Bands’ Spring Concert, “Sounds of Color,” will be held at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 27, in Miossi Hall of the Performing Arts Center. It is the season finale of the Wind Ensemble and Wind Orchestra.
The title “Sounds of Color” is inspired by composer Robert Russell Bennett’s “Suite of Old American Dances,” which will be performed by the Wind Orchestra. Bennett’s inspiration was attending an amusement park as a child and hearing the sounds around him. He once said the park was “… a place of magic to us kids. The tricks with big electric signs, the illuminated fountains, the big band concerts, all the different colors and types of sound, the scenic railway, and the big dance hall. One could hear in the dance hall all afternoon and evening the pieces the crowd danced to.”