Recent News
Cal Poly University Art Gallery to Exhibit ‘Mixtape’ by Collective of Los Angeles-Based Artists
Sep 29, 2022
Show opens Oct. 6; gallery reception and artist talk set for Oct. 20
SAN LUIS OBISPO — Cal Poly’s University Art Gallery presents “Mixtape,” an exhibition featuring 11 artists from the L.A. chapter of Tiger Strikes Asteroid, from Oct. 6-28. A gallery reception will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Oct. 20, with an artist talk at 6 p.m.
“Mixtape” is a group exhibition composed of members from the Los Angeles chapter of Tiger Strikes Asteroid, an artist-run collective of five spaces in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia and Greenville, South Carolina.
Cal Poly Receives $2.89 Million Grant for Undergraduate Regenerative Medicine Program
Sep 28, 2022
SAN LUIS OBISPO — Cal Poly will receive $2.89 million from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) to fund an undergraduate program focused on regenerative medicine.
The initiative is part of CIRM’s statewide Creating Opportunities through Mentorship and Partnership Across Stem Cell Science, or COMPASS program. CIRM’s mission is to accelerate world-class science to deliver transformative regenerative medicine treatments in an equitable manner to a diverse California and world. Its governing board has approved more than $46 million to help fund COMPASS programs throughout the Golden State.
Regenerative medicine seeks to develop any sort of medical treatment — drugs, engineered stem cells and devices — to help people regenerate parts of their bodies. Cell and biologic therapies represent the future of medicine, and after years of promise, the field is starting to realize its potential, as evidenced by the growth in the biotech sector and the large number of clinical trials currently ongoing for cell and tissue-engineered therapies in the nation.
Cal Poly Music Faculty Showcase Set for Oct. 21 During Mustang Family Weekend
Sep 22, 2022
SAN LUIS OBISPO — Cal Poly music faculty will present a showcase recital at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 21, in Room 218 of the Davidson Music Center (No. 45) on campus.
The event is part of Cal Poly’s Mustang Family Weekend and will feature several of the Music Department’s applied faculty, who are recognized across the region for their expertise in solo and chamber ensemble performance. They will present intimate works that highlight their artistic achievements.
Faculty performing solos include guitarist James Bachman, who will play “Retrato Brasileiro” by Baden Powell; Keith Waibel, who will perform a movement from Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Suite No. 2 in D Minor” on bass clarinet; and W. Terrence Spiller, who will play Frédéric Chopin’s “Ballade in A-flat major,” Op. 47.
Cal Poly Music Department to Host andPlay duo for ‘Collaborating with Technology’ Presentation on Oct. 20
Sep 22, 2022
SAN LUIS OBISPO — The Music Department will host andPlay duo — Maya Bennardo, violin, and Hannah Levinson, viola — for a talk and concert at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 20, in Room 218 of the Davidson Music Center.
Titled “Collaborating with Technology,” the presentation will feature pieces the duo commissioned by Bethany Younge, Lester St. Louis and David Bird, which showcase three different ways of incorporating technology into performance.
Based in New York City, Bennardo and Levinson first played to an eager crowd on Fire Island in the summer of 2012 and have since commissioned more than 40 works.
Cal Poly Study on Mothers’ Mobile Device Use and Infant Development During First-Year Postpartum Receives $2.7M Grant
Sep 21, 2022
SAN LUIS OBISPO — A $2.7 million grant-funded study — awarded to a research team led by Cal Poly Kinesiology and Public Health Professor Alison Ventura — aims to better understand how mothers’ use of technology may impact development during an infant’s first year.
The federal funding from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (one of the National Institutes of Health) will support a five-year study involving four university staff and about 20 undergraduate students. The study will begin this fall.
“Maternal Technology Use During Feeding and Infant Self-Regulation and Growth” will look at current uses of digital devices such as cell phones, tablets, computers and video streaming platforms and whether a mother’s use of them influences feeding interactions, emotional and social behavior, growth outcomes, and other areas of child development.
Cal Poly Adds Two Outdoor Community Spaces to Enhance Campus Experience
Sep 19, 2022
SAN LUIS OBISPO — Cal Poly has completed two new outdoor community spaces, along with its first commissioned outdoor mural, to help beautify the campus and create places for campus community members and visitors to enjoy.
The two outdoor spaces, one in front of the Performing Arts Center (PAC) and the other outside Campus Market in the Via Carta corridor, as well as the mural were commissioned and created by the Cal Poly Corporation.
“These new outdoor spaces provide a real sense of community,” third-year business administration student Emmanuel Rivera said. “The great additions really help improve the campus. We really are so blessed as students to live on such a beautiful campus like Cal Poly.”
Cal Poly Rose Float Reveals its 2023 Float Design: The Road to Reclamation
Sep 16, 2022
The entry by students from Cal Poly and from California State Polytechnic University in Pomona will feature a colorful forest floor of giant snails, mushrooms and fungi upon a fallen tree branch to illustrate next year’s parade theme of ‘Turning the Corner’
SAN LUIS OBISPO — Cal Poly students have shifted their sights from the heavens to a forest world of gigantic snails, mushrooms and colorful fungi for their 74th entry in the upcoming Pasadena Rose Parade.®
The 2023 Tournament of Roses theme is “Turning the Corner,” which symbolizes the positive change and unlimited potential that each new year can bring. The Cal Poly float, “Road to Reclamation,” will demonstrate that through these vibrant revitalizers a new start can come from unlikely places — by transforming a dead tree branch into a catalyst for new life.
For students, it also represents their efforts to fully reclaim the Learn by Doing education that is the hallmark of Cal Poly, as well as the seven-decade partnership with California State Polytechnic University in Pomona, representing their schools in the 134th annual Pasadena classic.
Mechanical engineering student Benjamino Cruz, a four-year member of the Cal Poly team, submitted the original concept for “Road to Reclamation.” Cruz is the team’s construction chair.
The 23-foot-tall float features an enormous purple snail scanning paradegoers from its perch atop a 16-foot red-capped mushroom at the end of the float. Another mega-snail watches baby snails playing chase, while a third snail, its 6-foot-tall, coiled shell in shades of brown and gold, scouts the route at the front of the float.
Two Cal Poly Students Awarded Pre-Doctoral Fellowships Aimed at Preparing Future CSU Faculty Members
Sep 14, 2022
SAN LUIS OBISPO — Two Cal Poly students have been selected as Sally Casanova Scholars through the California State University’s Pre-Doctoral Program, designed to increase the pool of potential CSU faculty.
Third-year graduate student Jacob Campbell in the higher education counseling and student affairs program and Jennifer Luevano, a second-year graduate student in the nutrition program, were admitted to the program.
“This is an excellent opportunity for upper-division and graduate students to explore a doctoral program,” said Amanda Lathrop, interim dean for Graduate Education at Cal Poly. “Jacob and Jennifer will be supported by a faculty mentor who will help them prepare for the next steps in their academic careers.”
Cal Poly Extends Mustang Shuttle Hours
Sep 14, 2022
SAN LUIS OBISPO — Cal Poly community members will have an easier time getting around campus during the day this fall, thanks to a new campus partnership.
Starting with the 2022-23 academic year, Mustang Shuttle, a free shuttle service for students and employees, will run from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. in addition to its current evening hours from 7 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. The daytime shuttle will run Monday through Friday; the evening shuttle runs seven days a week.
Mustang Shuttle’s extended hours will increase convenience and help enhance accessibility across campus. The shuttle is accessible to those with disabilities.
Cal Poly to Debut Outdoor ‘Generosity’ Mural with Artist’s Talk, Ribbon-Cutting Sept. 30
Sep 13, 2022
SAN LUIS OBISPO — Cal Poly will debut its first commissioned outdoor mural, titled “Generosity,” with an artist’s talk and ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday, Sept. 30, on campus.
Central Coast-based artist Oscar Pearson painted the mural, located in the newly renovated Via Carta Plaza adjacent to Campus Market. He will give a talk at 11:10 a.m. Sept. 30 in Room No. 0001 in the Advanced Technology Laboratories Building (No. 7). The ribbon-cutting will follow the talk at 12:10 p.m. near the Campus Market on Via Carta. All are welcome to the talk and ribbon-cutting.
To help beautify, inspire and grow the collection of campus public art, the Cal Poly Corporation commissioned the mural following a thorough proposal process that included a selection committee comprised of Cal Poly students, faculty and staff and a member of the community.