Recent News
Cal Poly Architecture Faculty Member and Alumni Named Fellows by the American Institute of Architects
May 29, 2019
SAN LUIS OBISPO — A Cal Poly faculty member and two alumni have been named fellows by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) for their contributions to the architecture profession and to society.
Architecture Professor Thomas Fowler was selected to join the AIA College of Fellows, the organization’s highest membership honor. Fowler, who has helped shape Cal Poly’s top-ranked public architecture program for more than 23 years, teaches undergraduate and graduate students and is the director of the College of Architecture and Environmental Design’s (CAED) graduate program in architecture. He was also recognized this year with Cal Poly’s Distinguished Teaching Award and the prestigious Wang Family Excellence Award by the California State University.
Cal Poly Professor Receives $500,000 for Innovative LGBTQ+ Mental Health Training Program
May 21, 2019
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Cal Poly psychology Professor Jay Bettergarcia and the QCARES program have received a $519,700 grant to support the SLO ACCEPTance Project, a mental health training program in San Luis Obispo County that aims to address a long-identified need for mental health services for local lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning (LGBTQ+) community members.
Through a nine-month intensive program, the SLO ACCEPTance (Affirming Cultural Competence Education and Provider Training) Project will train mental health professionals to provide affirming services for the local LGBTQ+ community. The project will be funded for four years by San Luis Obispo County’s Mental Health Services Act.
Cal Poly English Major Wins Academy of American Poets Prize
May 21, 2019
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — English major Katherine Flitsch of San Luis Obispo, California, recently won Cal Poly’s Academy of American Poets Contest for her poem “Howl for the Piedly Pious,” which investigates faith in 21st century America through a poem inspired by Allen Ginsberg’s poem, “Howl.”
Flitsch will receive a $100 award from the Academy of American Poets, and her poem will be considered for the $1,000 Aliki Perroti and Seth Frank Most Promising Young Poet Award.
Cal Poly Graduating College of Architecture and Environmental Design Students Invite Public to View Exhibits
May 14, 2019
Exhibitions Slated for May 24 and 25 and June 7
SAN LUIS OBISPO — Cal Poly fifth-year architecture and landscape architecture students will cap off a year of intensive research and design work by showcasing about 190 thesis projects to the public in late May and early June.
The showcase — one of California’s largest student design and architecture exhibitions — is produced by graduating seniors in the College of Architecture and Environmental Design. The college is host to the No. 1 ranked architecture and landscape architecture programs on the West Coast, according to the most recent DesignIntelligence survey.
Cal Poly to Present ‘All That Brass’ Concert at SLO United Methodist Church on June 7
May 14, 2019
SAN LUIS OBISPO — The Cal Poly Brass Ensembles will present “All That Brass” at 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 7, at the San Luis Obispo United Methodist Church.
In addition to the large brass ensembles and brass quintets, the Cal Poly Trombone Choir and a trio of faculty musicians will also perform. The trio consists of Christopher J. Woodruff, trumpet; Jennifer Dodson Galvan, horn; and Mark Miller, trombone.
Cal Poly Wind Bands Concert to Feature Saxophone Soloist on June 9
May 14, 2019
Laura M. Kramer, a Cal Poly lecturer, to Perform on ‘Möbius Trip’
SAN LUIS OBISPO — Cal Poly’s Spring Band Concert will feature the 50-member Wind Ensemble and 55-member Wind Orchestra at 3 p.m. Sunday, June 9, in Harold J. Miossi Hall of the Performing Arts Center’s Christopher Cohan Center.
The concert — the third in the bands’ season series — is titled “Color of Sound.”
Four Student Entrepreneur Teams Split More Than $30,000 in Cal Poly’s Innovation Quest
May 13, 2019
The 2018-19 campuswide competition that is led by Cal Poly’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship seeks to help budding students blossom into entrepreneurs
SAN LUIS OBISPO — Buteo, a student innovation project that is developing a bird detection and deterrent technology for berry crop farmers, took first place at Cal Poly Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship’s (CIE) 14th annual Innovation Quest (iQ) competition.
The team of six Cal Poly students received the Innovation Award and $15,000 for technology that uses autonomous fixed-wing drones to help vineyard managers and berry farmers protect their crops from birds and gain quantifiable feedback on the health of their vines.
Cal Poly Symphony Concludes Season with Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4 and Café Musique on June 8
May 8, 2019
SAN LUIS OBISPO — The Cal Poly Symphony will pair the art of tango with personal struggles against fate in its Spring Concert at 8 p.m. Saturday, June 8, in Harold J. Miossi Hall in the Performing Arts Center’s Christopher Cohan Center.
For the first half of the program, the orchestra will be joined by guest ensemble Café Musique for performances of two tangos — Jacob Gade’s “Jalousie” and Carlos Gardel’s “Por una Cabeza,” the latter that was featured in the 1994 film “True Lies” — both arranged by Tim Simonec, a notable film score composer.
Cal Poly’s Polyrhythmics to Perform on Campus June 4
May 8, 2019
SAN LUIS OBISPO — Polyrhythmics, Cal Poly’s percussion ensemble, will give its annual concert at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 4, in the Pavilion of the Performing Arts Center's Christopher Cohan Center.
“This year’s concert is a mallet percussion extravaganza and will include quartets, quintets and sextets that run the gamut of expressiveness and creativity,” said music faculty member John Astaire, director of Polyrhythmics.
The concert will also feature a Stomp-like number that puts to musical use waste management items — including a kitchen sink.
Cal Poly Named a Top Producer of 2018-19 Fulbright U.S. Scholars
May 8, 2019
SAN LUIS OBISPO — Cal Poly has again been named a top producer of U.S. Fulbright scholars by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The distinction was in the Master’s Colleges and Universities category for the 2018-19 academic year.
Cal Poly’s latest Fulbright scholars are Nayree Barnett and Erica Jorgenson, both staff members in the university’s International Center, and Professor Peggy Papathakis of the Food Science and Nutrition Department in the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences.