Recent News
Cal Poly to Host Campus Comeback Sept. 18-28 for Returning Students
Aug 26, 2021
SAN LUIS OBISPO — Cal Poly’s Student Affairs division will host Campus Comeback, a series of campuswide events to be held Sept. 18-28 to help returning students re-engage with the Cal Poly community.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, many students have been away from the Cal Poly campus for more than a year, while others haven’t had the opportunity to experience it at all. Campus Comeback will offer a wide selection of opportunities to help students find their sense of community, get familiar with the physical campus and surrounding area, and connect with faculty, advisors and support services. Students will also have opportunities to learn about and sign up for clubs and organizations, meet classmates, locate key campus resources, and attend in-person social events.
Cal Poly’s Education Talent Search Secures New Five-Year Federal Grant
Aug 19, 2021
Program supports local students seeking to attend college
SAN LUIS OBISPO — Cal Poly’s Educational Talent Search (ETS) program recently received a new five-year federal grant that will serve 500 local junior high and high school students per year.
The federally funded pre-college program supports sixth- through 12th-grade students in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties who want to pursue higher education at a community college or university with counseling, as well as information about college admission requirements, scholarships, college entrance exams, and more.
All told, the five-year grant will award $277,375 to the program on an annual basis through 2026.
Cal Poly’s Swanton Pacific Ranch Receives $4.7 Million Grant to Assist with Post-Fire Recovery Efforts, Increase Fire Resilience Strategies
Aug 19, 2021
SAN LUIS OBISPO — Cal Poly’s Swanton Pacific Ranch was recently awarded a $4.7 million grant from Cal Fire’s Forest Health Program to assist with post-fire recovery efforts.
The grant is the second of two Cal Fire grants, totaling nearly $9 million, recently awarded to further the ranch’s efforts to bring about sustainable, long-term solutions to the management and stewardship of working landscapes.
The grant funding comes one year after the CZU Lightning Complex Fire swept through Swanton Pacific Ranch in Davenport, California, destroying many of the structures and much of the surrounding forest.
Cal Poly Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship is Headed to Paso Robles
Aug 12, 2021
CIE extends two of its flagship programs to North County entrepreneurial facility, THE SANDBOX Paso Robles
SAN LUIS OBISPO — Cal Poly’s Center for Innovation for Entrepreneurship (CIE) is expanding — bringing its Incubator program and Small Business Development Center (SBDC) to THE SANDBOX Paso Robles, a resource center for North County entrepreneurs.
The two programs have been at the forefront of technology, innovation and economic development in San Luis Obispo County. The CIE will host an open house for its new partnership with the facility at 1345 Park St. from 5 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 1. RSVP on Eventbrite at cieopenhouse.eventbrite.com.
Cal Poly Provost Inducted into National Distinguished Service Honor Roll
Aug 10, 2021
SAN LUIS OBISPO — Cynthia Jackson-Elmoore, Cal Poly’s provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs, is one of 16 individuals inducted into the Urban Affairs Association (UAA) Distinguished Service Honor Roll.
The Distinguished Service Honor Roll was established in 2013 to recognize the organizations’ most impactful service leaders. The association recognized Jackson-Elmoore for her over 20 years of service to the Urban Affairs Association. She was elected to the governing board of the UAA, served on the Bylaws Committee and was senior associate editor of the Journal of Urban Affairs for nearly 10 years.
“I am humbled to have been selected for this honor and to be recognized along with my colleagues — with whom I have been proud to serve alongside, and whose collective contributions to the field and the association I truly respect,” Jackson-Elmoore said.
Cal Poly Enology Professor Awarded Prestigious Italian Wine Ambassador Certification
Aug 3, 2021
SAN LUIS OBISPO — Federico Casassa, associate professor of enology in Cal Poly’s Wine and Viticulture Department, was named an Italian Wine Ambassador by Vinitaly International Academy — making him one of only 240 such ambassadors in the world today.
Casassa, who has taught winemaking since his arrival at the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences in 2015, sought the certification to broaden his knowledge of the diversity of Italian wines. His scholarly research, which is assisted by his undergraduate and graduate students, focuses on wine chemistry and biochemistry and on the chemical and sensory aspects of winemaking, particularly in red wines.
Cal Poly Researchers Studying Food Challenges in San Luis Obispo County
Jul 22, 2021
Team Aims to Create Data-driven Food Policy for California
SAN LUIS OBISPO — An interdisciplinary team of Cal Poly faculty members is working to create a coherent, coordinated approach to food policy to replace outdated and uncoordinated policies currently governing food systems and nutrition education.
With a goal to address human and environmental health and address 21st century food system challenges including food insecurity, obesity, sustainable food production, and more, the student and faculty researchers have been working with the SLO Food System Coalition to help organize four roundtables to discuss local food system challenges. The group also started a food policy working group within the coalition.
Cal Poly Study Reveals Morro Bay Seagrass Loss Causes Shift in Fish Populations
Jul 9, 2021
New research highlights biological changes within Central Coast estuary when a primary eelgrass habitat is lost
SAN LUIS OBISPO — The loss of seagrass habitat caused a dramatic shift in fish species in Morro Bay, according to a recently published paper by Cal Poly researchers. Areas of the bay once covered with lush eelgrass meadows and unique fish species are now home to muddy-seafloor-loving flatfish.
Seagrass meadows were previously common throughout the Morro Bay estuary, according to the study, “Effects of Estuary-Wide Seagrass Loss on Fish Populations,” which was published this spring in the journal Estuaries and Coasts.
“Seagrass, like the eelgrass in Morro Bay, is important because it supports a range of marine life,” said Jennifer O’Leary, who led the research as a California Sea Grant extension specialist based at Cal Poly. “It’s like the trees in a forest — these underwater plants provide food, structure and shelter to many of the marine animals that live in the bay.”
Cal Poly Political Science Student Accepted to Panetta Institute Congressional Internship Program
Jul 6, 2021
SAN LUIS OBISPO — Desiree Nunes, a third-year political science major from Fremont, California, will serve as Cal Poly’s 2021 representative to the Panetta Institute Congressional Internship Program.
After a two-week training period at the Panetta Institute at CSU Monterey Bay, she will work in the capitol office of a California congressional representative in Washington, D.C., for 11 weeks in the fall.
"Ultimately, I know that I want to work in the intersection of law and government, and I can't think of any better way to gain experience toward this goal than learning from the leaders in Congress themselves through the Panetta Institute," said Nunes. "I've appreciated my previous education about the effects of legislation through my courses and work experience, and I am thrilled and grateful for the opportunity to see these policies develop at the federal level."
Cal Poly Rodeo Team Advances to National Final
Jun 29, 2021
Livermore resident Grant Peterson places second in steer wrestling
SAN LUIS OBISPO — Eleven members of Cal Poly’s Rodeo Team qualified to compete in the 72nd annual College National Finals Rodeo held June 11-19 in Casper, Wyoming, where one student-athlete came away with a second-place win: Grant Peterson, a second-year agricultural systems management major, placed second in the steer wrestling event.
Student-athletes who advanced to the finals are: Peterson, of Livermore, California, and regional champion Ethan Usher of Santa Ynez, California, in steer wrestling; Maggie Usher of Santa Ynez, California, and Hannah Steagall of Sanger, California, in goat tying; Karson Mebane of Bakersfield, California, and Quintin McWhorter of San Luis Obispo in saddle bronc riding; Cole Tart of San Luis Obispo in bareback riding; Kathryn Varian of Parkfield, California, and Kelsey Cadwell of Oakdale, California, in barrel racing; Jason Andersen of Salinas, California, in tie-down roping; and Tyree Cochrane of San Luis Obispo in team roping.