U.S. President John F. Kennedy once said, “nothing compares to the simple pleasure of riding a bike.” Cal Poly Pomona helped make this pleasure a reality for five local families at the Pomona CommUNITY Pull Up.   The special event took place on Sept. 6 at Cal Poly Pomona’s Office of Outreach, Recruitment, & Educational Partnerships booth, where President Soraya M. Coley and members of the university’s senior leadership team gifted the bikes to five children.  “It’s so special to see the community come together and share its resources in support of one another,” said Maricela Gonzalez, who smiled as her 10-year-old daughter, Yasaira, selected her bike. “It means a lot …

Diverse: Issues in Higher Education has again recognized Cal Poly Pomona among the nation’s “Top Producers of Hispanic Graduates.” In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, the magazine’s Sept. 29 issue highlighted schools with a high level of undergraduate student success in several disciplines. Cal Poly Pomona was among the top 25 institutions for Latino/a/x graduates nationally as well as the highest ranked polytechnic institution for the following majors:No. 3 in business administration, management and operations  No. 4 in engineering No. 13 in social sciences  No. 25 in communications, journalism and related programs In the magazine’s 2021 Top 100 listing of schools with the most Latino/a/x student graduates in …

Cal Poly Pomona will serve as a partner in  the new #CaliforniansForAll CollegeCorps program. Gov. Gavin Newsom and the leaders of California’s college and university systems recently announced the partnership at a press conference. A replay of the press conference will be streamed at an open watch party on Friday, Oct. 7 in Building 1, room109 from noon to 1 p.m. CPP is one of only 45 campus communities partnering with a statewide initiative aimed at bolstering service and civic engagement. Students from all backgrounds will be engaged in a common purpose through CollegeCorps, which specifically creates opportunities for Assembly Bill 540-eligible Dreamers to participate. The Center …

Mary Ann Villareal, the inaugural vice president for equity, diversity and inclusion at the University of Utah, offered some sage advice to the Cal Poly Pomona community in its search for a chief diversity officer. Select a candidate who can help the university build community, be willing to listen and learn, and exercise patience in making sure that the intentions around equity align with the actions. That was the essence of Villareal’s talk and Q&A with the campus community on Sept. 27 in Ursa Minor, and also via livestream. The search committee tasked with fielding candidates for the presidential associate for inclusion and chief diversity officer (CDO) invited Villareal, …

As a sapling, John Hiatt always had colorful gardens and fruit trees to explore and harvest. Watching his father tend to those gardens unconsciously planted a passion for horticulture in him. It’s a passion that has blossomed into a career as Cal Poly Pomona’s gardener specialist. Hiatt (’85, ornamental horticulture) oversees a wide variety of plants that inhabit campus. With a deep understanding of the intricacies of plant life, he is the go-to guy in Landscape Services for all hard-to-manage species. Hiatt’s dedication goes beyond a career in the care and cultivation of plants. He occasionally teaches classes in his community about rose gardening. Hiatt also likes to explore new …

Allen Christensen, who served as dean of the College of Agriculture from 1980 to 1994 and helped develop the California Agricultural Leadership Program, died Sept. 8. He was 87. Christensen was hired as an assistant professor to teach animal science in the then-School of Agriculture in 1964. He had previously taught at UC Davis, Brigham Young University, and in White Pine County schools in Nevada. At the time, the Pomona campus was still the southern branch of the California Polytechnic University, based in San Luis Obispo. Women had just begun enrolling three years earlier. “There were 4,400 students enrolled … budgets were short and salaries low. I made less the …

Over 40 students and staff volunteered to pack meal kits for those in need during this year’s Day of Service event, facilitated by the Cal Poly Pomona Center for Community Engagement (CCE). Bryant Fairley, the interim director for CCE, reported that volunteers packed over 250,000 meal kits during the event, held on September 11. According to the CCE website, “The September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance (9/11 Day), is a chance to help others in tribute to those killed and injured on September 11, 2001, first responders, and the countless others who serve to defend the nation’s freedom at home and around the globe.” The service project …

Cal Poly Pomona’s annual Pumpkin Fest returns Oct. 1-30. A Southern California tradition for 29 years, the family-friendly event will feature 30,000 university-grown pumpkins, live entertainment and a variety of activities.Families can celebrate fall with the return of the gigantic pumpkin patch. Each weekend’s activities will include hay rides, corn mazes, petting farm, the Moo Moo Cow Train pulled by an antique tractor, the Children’s Garden, sunflower patch and a colorful new PumpkinLand. Visitors can wander through the pumpkin patch to find just the right pumpkin. There is a special area of smaller pumpkins next to the children’s maze. Pumpkin prices range from $5 to $8 in the …

In college, especially at a university like Cal Poly Pomona where a learn-by-doing philosophy is emphasized, internships are critical in preparing students to achieve success in their future careers. Internships have a plethora of benefits: students can apply their classroom learning in professional environments, gain hands-on work experience in career fields they are interested in, and establish critical connections through networking. Meet a few Broncos from the Kellogg Honors College who spent their summer making their passion for business, technology and science work for them.                                                                                                 Megan Shadrick Passionate about business and leadership, Megan Shadrick knew the 2022 Summer Institute for Emerging Managers and Leaders (SIEML) at UCLA Anderson’s School …