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A Message from the Provost
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It's hard to believe we are now in March and in the last stretch of the winter quarter! I have spent my first six months learning about the campus' rich traditions, history and values. I've also attended many campus and community events to meet more of you and expand and deepen my knowledge of the excellent programs and good work that define Cal Poly Pomona.
In January, the University Strategic Planning process was launched with the formation of a steering committee; faculty, staff, students and community stakeholders who have been tasked with ensuring that there is broad participation and that diverse perspectives and voices are heard throughout the process. It's my pleasure to co-chair with President Coley the Strategic Planning Committee. There are plans to create a website for strategic planning to keep you and others apprised of upcoming events and ways to get involved.
In February, the town hall on faculty cluster hiring in affinity areas drew over 100 faculty participants. The table discussions elicited useful feedback and suggestions on how to foster interdisciplinary work by identifying and using affinity areas to support the interests and engagement of faculty, including new faculty positions in cluster areas. I look forward to continuing to engage the deans, chairs and faculty in conversations about faculty cluster hiring as our plans continue to develop and move forward. Also, in February, Chancellor Timothy P. White and Loren Blanchard, executive vice chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs, visited the campus and attended several presentations. I can't tell you how proud and impressed I am with the students and faculty who made the chancellor's visit a success! Thank you.
I also want to bring to your attention that we have created an annual fund of $485,000 using lottery funding to improve and enhance academic classroom and instructional spaces in Academic Affairs. In her listening tours, the president heard from several faculty and staff members that there is a critical need to improve instructional classrooms, studios and laboratories on campus. To that end, we will be funding several instructional space improvements in the $50,000 to $100,000 range each year. I've asked the deans to assist me in identifying classrooms for these funds - please stay tuned to learn which classrooms and projects are selected this year!
Sylvia A. Alva
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Highlights in Academic Affairs
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STUDENT SUCCESS
Cal Poly Pomona has embarked on several initiatives to improve student success and close the graduation gaps. Many of these initiatives call for deep and ongoing collaboration between Academic Affairs, Students Affairs and IT. We recently launched Grades First and are preparing for a mid March launch of PS Planner to help advisors create Individual Advising Plans (IAPs) for each of our students, beginning with those students closest to graduation. We will be working closely with departments, colleges, and ASI to roll out information and training workshops and the implementation of the IAP's. We will be launching a peer ambassador program to assist departments interested in adding a component to their advising strategy. For more information about the IAP peer ambassadors, please contact
S. Terri Gomez at stgomez@cpp.edu or Jeanne Almaraz at jaalmaraz@cpp.edu.
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UPWARD BOUND AND TRIO
The Cal Poly Pomona Pre-College TRIO Programs recently celebrated their 20th year of service to local high school students. The program began at Cal Poly Pomona serving 50 students at two local high schools from the Chaffey Joint Union High School District and the
Pomona Unified School District. Most recently, the addition of funding for an Educational Talent Search program expanded services to 500 new students with the newest district partners at Chino Valley Unified School District.
Currently, there are approximately 815 high school students from low-income, first-generation to college backgrounds at nine high schools and three school districts. Together the programs have had a 98% college-going rate for the 2014-2015 academic year. Each of the six Pre-College TRIO Programs operate under U.S. Department of Education grants and have a combined funding of $1,628,355 annually. For more information
visit the Cal Poly Pomona Pre-College TRIO Programs website at: www.cpp.edu/~pre-college.
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FUNDING FOR ACADEMIC EQUIPMENT AND INSTRUCTIONAL SPACES
This year, for the first time, Academic Affairs has designated $485,000 for instructional space improvements using lottery funds. These funds will go towards upgrading our teaching facilities and addressing instructional equipment that needs to be repaired or upgraded. We will work closely with the deans to identify our most pressing needs. Lottery funding for instructional improvement will be a welcome addition to the funds from the Student Success Fees for the Special Projects for Improving the Classroom Experience (SPICE) managed by Academic Affairs (approximately $650,000) and Instructional Technology managed by the Information Technology Committee (approximately $840,000). In addition, approximately $391,000 of the lottery funds go towards the purchase of laptops for new and current faculty. By using this integrated approach, we expect to have a strong impact on the quality of our teaching spaces to further enhance student learning and faculty teaching.
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Important and Timely Announcements
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CALL FOR NOMINATIONS The George P. Hart Award
Nominations are now being accepted for the George P. Hart Award for outstanding faculty leadership. One-page nomination statements may be submitted by any interested person or organization. A complete description of the George P. Hart Award can be found at www.cpp.edu/~hartaward. Nominations are due April 8.
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The call for Kellogg Legacy pre-proposals for the 2016-17 academic year will be announced soon. Pre-proposal applications must be submitted online by April 1. A complete description of the Kellogg Legacy Project Endowment can be found at
www.cpp.edu/kellogglegacy
, along with the pre-proposal application.
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Featured Stories
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Hospitality Uncorked 2016
About 600 friends and supporters joined The Collins College of Hospitality Management for
Hospitality Uncorked 2016
: A Night in Havana on Feb. 27 at the JW Marriott Los Angeles LA Live.
Robert D. Olson
, president and CEO of R.D. Olson Development, was honored with the Robert Mondavi Wine and Food Award and $493,860 was raised for the college. Guests, dressed to the nines in 1950s Cuban attire, celebrated the vibrant hospitality industry by participating in exciting live and silent auctions
and enjoyed Cuban music and gourmet food.
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Amid a backdrop of colorful regalia and academic tradition, Soraya M. Coley was officially conferred as the sixth president of Cal Poly Pomona at a historic
Investiture ceremony.
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CSU Chancellor Timothy P. White got a first-hand look at student inventions, the inner workings of the campus brewery, and mentoring and research efforts during his visit to Cal Poly Pomona.
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Town Hall Meeting Held to Discuss Affinity Hiring in Cluster Areas
In February, faculty came together to discuss faculty hiring in strategic areas, which I will refer to as affinity areas. I was pleased to see over 100 faculty devoting their time and expertise to defining cluster areas and how to implement this strategy on our campus. Some of the cluster areas that were discussed were:
- Biotechnology
- Creativity & Innovation
- Cyber Security
- Global Competence
- Resilient Communities
- Influence of Digital Age
- STEM Education
- Sustainability
- Transportation Logistics Supply
- Water Management
There were many good points that were raised in the small group conversations. Faculty were interested to see how there could be resource sharing of existing space, labs, and curriculum; and bringing in industry professionals to perhaps co-teach courses with faculty. There was also a concern about providing structure but also flexibility so that the concept and practice is allowed to grow on the campus. It was noted that RTP documents should be updated appropriately, and that clear expectations be described in job descriptions. Overall, it seems that cluster hiring would help build upon the strong collaborative spirit we already have on campus. This would help us to better develop our brand as a polytechnic institution and to help faculty and students build a community around cluster areas.
Overall, I was very pleased with this initial conversation with faculty and look forward to building on the information we've collected, continue the conversation, and formulate a plan to move forward with a more strategic approach to faculty hiring.
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Featured Events
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The trio of professors who were honored with the 2014-15 Provost's Awards for Excellence will be the keynote speakers at the
Provost's Awards Symposium today, Wednesday, March 2 at 3 p.m. at the BSC, Ursa Major.
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Join us to thank and acknowledge the career achievements of Dr. Pinter-Lucke, after nearly 30 years of service.
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Join us for an interactive discussion and activities in the overflow rooms from 5-8 p.m. Reserve a seat today.
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Let's Get Loud and Proud!
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While most people were setting up for Super Bowl parties, more than 500 technology enthusiasts gathered at Cal Poly Pomona for Hackpoly, a 24-hour innovation challenge.
Organized by the student club
Poly Founders, Hackpoly brought undergraduate and graduate students from universities across California and tasked them with taking an idea from concept to working prototype in one day.
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Martin Sancho-Madriz, professor and chair of the Department of Human Nutrition & Food Science, recognized as a Foods Systems Leadership Institute (FSLI) Fellow.
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Cal Poly Pomona is joining forces with universities from across the country in an innovative high-tech collaboration: assessing the commercial potential of NASA Technologies.
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The Department of Human Nutrition & Food Science recently celebrated its 50th Anniversary! The department was established in the College of Agriculture in 1965 with one chairman, one full-time instructor and just 17 students. Today, the department has seven tenured and tenure-track faculty members, 14 temporary faculty members in its lecturer pool, and more than 500 students. Happy Anniversary!
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