California Polytechnic State University

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

California Polytechnic State University
Motto:	Discere Faciendo (Latin for "To Learn by Doing")
Established:	March 8, 1901
Type:	Public Land-Grant University
Endowment:	US$166.1 million (2008)[1]
President:	Warren J. Baker
Faculty:	1,203
Students:	19,777
Undergraduates:	17,488
Postgraduates:	987
Location:	San Luis Obispo, California
Campus:	Suburban, 9,678 acres (39.17 km2)
Colors:	Green and Gold
Nickname:	Mustang
Mascot:	Musty the Mustang
Affiliations:	California State University Big West Conference Pac-10 Conference Great West Conference
Website:	www.calpoly.edu
See Cal Poly's quickfacts [2]

California Polytechnic State University, also officially recognized as Cal Poly,^[3] is a public university located in San Luis Obispo, California, USA. Cal Poly is one of the 23 general purpose campuses of the California State University system (CSU) and is the second largest land-holding university in California.^[2]

Comprising seven distinct colleges, Cal Poly offers a full spectrum of degrees. Specifically, the university's engineering, architecture, and agriculture colleges consistently place at the top of United States national academic rankings. In U.S. News & World Report's 2008 America's Best Colleges report, Cal Poly ranked as the #1 Public Master's University in the Western United States for the 15th consecutive year. Many students apply for admission to Cal Poly, yielding in 2009 a freshman acceptance rate of 36%. Cal Poly has over 117,000 living alumni and, in fall 2007, 19,777 students currently enrolled.^[2][4]

Cal Poly is a member of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) and the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges. Cal Poly is known (as its motto suggests) for its "learn by doing" philosophy. Cal Poly is one of four California State Universities that participate in the Big West Conference in athletics.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Name 1.2 Overview 1.3 Relationship with Cal Poly Pomona 1.4 1960 Football team plane crash 1.5 Female admissions 2 Organization 2.1 Cal Poly Corporation 3 Campus 3.1 Expansion 3.1.1 Proposed Expansion 3.1.2 Current construction 3.2 Commuting 4 Academics 4.1 Colleges 4.2 Ranking 4.3 Admissions 4.4 Tuition 4.5 Endowment 5 Student life 5.1 Residence halls 5.2 Greek life 6 Athletics 6.1 Notable athletes 7 See also 8 Notes 9 External links

[edit] History

[edit] Name

The university's full, official name is California Polytechnic State University. In common with many other polytechnic institutions, however, the university has also sanctioned an elided version of its full name for official use: "Cal Poly" (or the lengthier "Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo" when it is necessary to make a distinction between Cal Poly on the Central Coast and its similarly-named, sister CSU campus in Pomona). The athletic department is also officially sanctioned to use the initials "CP." Unauthorized names that are not recognized by the University or the NCAA include "Cal Poly SLO," "Poly," "CPSU,".^[5] While Cal Poly is part of the California State University, it is improper to refer to the campus with names such as "CSU San Luis Obispo"^[6] or "Cal State SLO",^[7][8] because Cal Poly officially retains the name it held before its acquisition by the CSU system (see also CSU Campus Naming Conventions).

[edit] Overview

Cal Poly was established in 1901 when Governor Henry T. Gage signed the California Polytechnic School Bill. The California Polytechnic School was built adjacent to San Luis Obispo and held its first classes on September 30, 1903, offering secondary (high school) courses of study. The first incoming class was 20 students. The school continued to grow steadily, except during a period from the mid 1910s to the early 1920s when World War I led to drops in enrollment and drastic budget cuts forced fewer class offerings.

In 1924, Cal Poly was placed under the control of the California State Board of Education. In 1933, the Board of Education changed Cal Poly into a two year technical and vocational school. The institution began to offer Bachelor of Arts degrees in 1940 and was renamed the California State Polytechnic College in 1947 to better reflect its higher education offerings. In 1960, control of Cal Poly and all other state colleges was transferred from the State Board of Education to an independent Board of Trustees, which later became the California State University system.

The college was authorized to offer Master of Science degrees in 1967. From 1967 to 1970, the school’s curriculum was reorganized into different units (such as the School of Science and Math, the School of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and the School of Architecture, which was created in 1968). Cal Poly's FM radio station, KCPR, also began as a senior project in 1968. The state legislature changed the school’s official name again in 1971 to California Polytechnic State University. Since the 1970s, the university has seen steady enrollment growth and the construction of many significant buildings on campus. Cal Poly celebrated its centennial in 2001, and kicked off a $225 million fundraising campaign, the largest fund raising effort ever undertaken in CSU history. The Centennial Campaign raised over $264 million dollars from over 81,000 donors, more than tripling the university’s endowment from $43 million to $140 million. Cal Poly’s endowment is in the top 10% of higher education endowments nationwide. Cal Poly was ranked 268 out of 746 colleges and universities ranked in the Chronicle of Higher Education's endowment rankings of 2005.

[edit] Relationship with Cal Poly Pomona

Cal Poly Pomona began as a satellite campus of Cal Poly in 1938 when a completely equipped school and farm were donated by Charles Voorhis and his son Jerry Voorhis of Pasadena, California. The satellite campus was initially called the Voorhis Unit. The W.K. Kellogg Foundation then donated an 812 acre (3.3 km²) horse ranch in Pomona, California to Cal Poly in 1949. Located about one mile (1.6 km) from the Voorhis campus, the two became known as the Kellogg-Voorhis unit. The Kellogg-Voorhis unit broke off in 1966, becoming the fully independent university, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Since 1949, the San Luis Obispo and Pomona universities have cooperated on creating a float for the Rose Parade. Today, the long-running float program still boasts floats designed and constructed entirely by students year-round on both campuses.

[edit] 1960 Football team plane crash

On October 29, 1960, a chartered plane carrying the Cal Poly football team, hours after a loss to Bowling Green State University, crashed on takeoff at the Toledo Express Airport in Toledo, Ohio. 22 of the 48 people on board were killed, including sixteen players. Former Cal Poly football player John Madden knew many of the players and coaches on board the aircraft.

[edit] Female admissions

In 1904, Cal Poly opened as a coeducational school with 40 new male students and 12 new female students. In 1930, Cal Poly barred females from the entire school until 1956 (27 years later) when Cal Poly once again began admitting female students. The university remains coeducational today.

[edit] Organization

As of 2008, the president of Cal Poly is Warren J. Baker who first became president in 1979.^[9] Its vice president is Robert D. Koob, who rejoined the University in 2008. Koob was Cal Poly's vice president from 1990 until 1995, but left to become president of University of Northern Iowa from 1995–2006.

[edit] Cal Poly Corporation

The Cal Poly Corporation is a separate non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation operating in concert with the university. Its primary role is to furnish non-academic services for the university such as eateries, the bookstore, and endowment administration. This arrangement is relatively common at many of California's public universities. The corporation was founded in 1941 and was known as the Cal Poly Foundation until February 1, 2006.

[edit] Campus

Cal Poly owns more land than any other California university. There are 9,678 acres (39 km²) in total. The lands are used for student education, mainly agricultural education. The lands include the main campus, two nearby agricultural lands and two properties in Santa Cruz County.

Part of the Cal Poly property is the Swanton Pacific Ranch, a 3,200-acre (13 km²) ranch located in Santa Cruz County, California, outside the town of Davenport. The ranch provides educational and research opportunities, encompasses rangeland, livestock, and forestry operations for the College of Agriculture, Food, and Environmental sciences, and fosters Cal Poly’s teaching philosophy of “Learn by Doing” with emphasis on sustainable management of agricultural practices.

[edit] Expansion

The Cal Poly Master Plan calls to increase student population from approximately 17,000 students to 20,000 students by the year 2020–2021. To maintain the university's "Learn by Doing" philosophy and low class sizes, the master plan calls for an increase in classrooms, laboratories, and professors.

[edit] Proposed Expansion

The Center for Science and Mathematics 

Will replace aging "spider" Science Building 52 with a new 250,000-square-foot (23,000 m²) structure. It will add new laboratories, classrooms, and studios to support the expanding population of the university. It is planned to be the largest and most technologically advanced structure in Cal Poly once constructed. In addition a Centennial Park will be constructed adjacent to the structure.

Recreation Center Expansion 

Will expand the Recreation center and triple its usable size. Two new gym rooms, additional leisure pool, synthetic turf for sports complete fields, triple the size of exercise and weight training rooms (from 7,000 sq ft (650 m²) to 21,000 sq ft), and a multi-activity center are planned additions to the recreation center. (Student Vote passed on 28 Feb 08. Construction begins Fall 2008)

[edit] Current construction

Poly Canyon Village 

The largest single housing project on any campus in America. They are apartments which will double the amount of students living on-campus, lower price of surrounding housing, and decrease automobile traffic in Cal Poly. The project also aims to include retail space and become the "hub" of Cal Poly. This on-campus housing is designed for second year students. First phase of housing will be open in Fall of 2008.

Engineering/Architecture Renovation and Replacement 

Include a new building which will provide 46,000 square feet (4,300 m²) of space of classrooms, laboratories, and rooms for student related needs/activities.^[10]

[edit] Commuting

Campus parking is limited. In its most recent survey of available parking spaces on campus, the Cal Poly University Police reported 2,615 general purpose parking spaces, 1,635 dorm resident spaces, and 6,621 total spaces.^[11] In its facilities Master Plan, the university admits that while more parking spots will be added, the actual ratio of parking to students will decrease since enrollment is expected to increase sharply.^[12] To resolve the disparity, the Master Plan calls on the university to reduce the demand for individual vehicle parking. As part of that plan, the university has constructed additional dorms and has tried to make campus life more enjoyable. However, many students would prefer not to live on campus for a variety of reasons, including the campus-wide ban on alcohol and mandatory meal plan for Freshmen. Recently, the school launched a public information campaign called "Options", which seeks to educate students on commuting alternatives, though it is not clear that the campaign has had any effect. Recent increases in parking costs and gas prices has caused a massive increase in the use of bicycles and buses.

Bicycle racks are available throughout the campus, but the off-campus student population is mostly centered in areas either close enough to walk or areas judged to be too far to ride a bicycle. The city's SLO Transit bus system provides service to and from campus. Since the buses are partially subsidized by student tuition, Cal Poly students can ride for free. Bus service throughout the county is provided by SLO Regional Transit Authority. Discounted passes are available to the Cal Poly community.

[edit] Academics

[edit] Colleges

The university currently offers bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, and one doctorate in seven colleges:

• College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences
• College of Architecture and Environmental Design
• College of Business
• College of Education
• College of Engineering
• College of Liberal Arts
• College of Science and Mathematics

In addition to the degrees offered by the seven colleges, in 2006 Cal Poly began offering a Bachelor of Arts degree in Interdisciplinary Studies (IS) through their Continuing Education Adult Degree Program.

[edit] Ranking

According to U.S. News & World Report's 2009 America's Best Colleges report, Cal Poly is ranked #1 in the Western United States for public schools whose highest degree is a Master's for the 16th straight year.^[13] The College of Engineering was ranked the #1 public undergraduate engineering school, while ranking #4 overall, in the US whose highest degree is a Master's. The engineering college had edged out other elite public institutions (U.S. Military Academy, U.S. Naval Academy, U.S. Air Force Academy) to earn this ranking.^[14]

Demographics of student body^{[citation needed]}

	Undergraduate
African American	1.1%
Asian American	11.1%
White American	65.2%
Hispanic American	11.4%
Native American	0.8%
International	1.2%
Ethnicity unreported/unknown	9.3%

Among public schools whose highest degree is a master's, specific engineering programs were ranked:

• Electrical Engineering: #1 (#2 overall)^[15]
• Computer Engineering: #1 (#2 overall)^[16]
• Mechanical Engineering: #1 (#2 overall)^[17]
• Industrial Engineering: #1 overall^[18]
• Aerospace Engineering: #3 (#5 overall))^[19]
• Civil Engineering: #1 (Tied #2 overall)^[20]

In the 2006 edition of "America's Best Architecture & Design Schools" published by the leading architecture and design journal DesignIntelligence, Cal Poly was voted the number three architecture school in the nation. The landscape architecture program was ranked in the top 10.^[21][22]

Cal Poly’s graduate program in City and Regional Planning ranked #1 in the Planetizen 2009 Guide to Graduate Urban Planning Programs, in the US whose highest degree is a Master's.^[23]

Alumni of Cal Poly average the third-highest salaries of all public university graduates in the United States according to a Forbes.com ranking.^[24] Cal Poly outperformed all public universities in the nation other than U.C. Berkeley and the University of Virginia. The median annual earnings for Cal Poly graduates with 10–20 years career experience is $101,000, with the top ten percent earning more than $178,000. The U.C Berkeley and University of Virginia median/top 10% performances are $112,000/$201,000 and $103,000/$215,000 respectively. When U.C Berkeley's $26,586 annual cost [1] and the University of Virginia's $20,513 annual cost [2] are compared against Cal Poly's $19,125 annual cost [3], it could be argued that Cal Poly provides the best value of any public university in the nation.

[edit] Admissions

Cal Poly's admissions process is highly selective. For fall 2009, Cal Poly accepted 11,602 freshman applicants out of a total 31,488 freshman applicants, yielding a 36% freshman acceptance rate.^[25] Accepted freshman applicants had an average high school GPA of 3.89 and an average SAT Reasoning Test score of 1276 (out of a possible 1600, based only on reading and math scores).^[25]

Cal Poly requires students to declare a major when applying for admission, and the university then admits the most competitive applicants within each major. Because of this, certain Cal Poly majors set higher admission standards than do other majors. To prevent students from applying for an easy-to-get-into major and transferring to another major, Cal Poly makes it difficult to change majors. In some cases, students wishing to change majors completely transfer to other universities.

[edit] Tuition

The winter 2008 fees for the average student were $1,681 per quarter.^[26] The spring 2002 fees for the average student were $760 per quarter.

[edit] Endowment

Cal Poly’s endowment more than tripled during its Centennial Campaign from US$43.1 million to US$140.1 million. It is now the largest in the CSU system, representing one-fifth of all endowed funds in the 23-campus system. Growth is attributed to gifts and prudent stewardship.

[edit] Student life

[edit] Residence halls

There are four styles of residence halls on the Cal Poly campus. The five North Mountain halls are the oldest on campus and were constructed during the 1950s. The Sierra Madre and Yosemite halls were finished by 1968, the six Red Bricks were built in the 1960s, and Cerro Vista was completed in 2003. A new on-campus apartment complex, Poly Canyon Village, started housing students in 2008.

Each of the residence halls represent a different living community on campus. The six red-brick halls are the Living-Learning Program halls for the different colleges of Cal Poly. The five North Mountain halls are organizationally a part of the engineering Living-Learning Program. The Sierra Madre and Yosemite halls are the First-Year Connection Program halls and focus on freshman-oriented transition programs. All buildings house students of all majors. The Cerro Vista Apartments is the Transitions community for first-year and second-year students. Poly Canyon Village is the Sophomore Success Program community, which is open to primarily to sophomores, but also juniors and seniors, and helps students transition into independent living. The total on-campus population is 3,600 (as of 2006), but will grow to over 6,200 after the Poly Canyon Village Apartments are completely opened in fall 2009, making it the largest student housing program in the California State University System. Half of Poly Canyon Village Apartments opened to 1,500 sophomore students on August 19, 2008.^[27]

[edit] Greek life

Since 1949, Greek organizations have been present at Cal Poly. The Greek community consists of three governing councils at Cal Poly: United Sorority and Fraternity Council, Interfraternity Council and Panhellenic Association.^[28]
The 2007 Fall rush was record breaking for Cal Poly, the Greek community grew by approximately 940 freshman students.^[29] The IFC campus average in March 2006 was 40, after 2007 Fall rush the new IFC Fraternity average is 64.

There are currently:
10 USFC Fraternities/Sororities (alpha Kappa Delta Phi, Gamma Zeta Alpha, Lambda Theta Alpha, Lambda Theta Phi, Lambda Sigma Gamma, Lambda Phi Epsilon, Nu Alpha Kappa, Sigma Omega Nu, Chi Delta Theta, Omega Xi Delta)
17 IFC Fraternities (Alpha Epsilon Pi, Alpha Gamma Rho, Beta Theta Pi, Delta Chi, Delta Lambda Phi, Delta Sigma Phi, Delta Upsilon, Lambda Chi Alpha, Phi Delta Theta, Phi Kappa Psi, Phi Sigma Kappa, Pi Kappa Alpha, Sigma Nu, Sigma Pi, Sigma Phi Epsilon, Tau Kappa Epsilon, Theta Chi)
1 IFC interest group (Delta Lambda Phi)
8 Panhellenic Sororities(Gamma Phi Beta, Sigma Kappa, Alpha Phi, Chi Omega, Alpha Chi Omega, Kappa Alpha Theta, Alpha Omicron Pi, Delta Delta Delta)
1 Panhellenic Interest Group (Alpha Epsilon)

[edit] Athletics

Cal Poly fields 20 varsity sports. The school's mascot is the Mustang. Sports teams participate in the NCAA's Division I. Cal Poly athletics generally compete in the Big West Conference, with football and wrestling being the exception. Cal Poly's wrestling team is a member of the PAC-10 Conference. Prior to joining Division I in the mid 90s, the school won 35 national championships.^[30] Football plays in the Great West Football Conference. Their football team is notable for being the first Great West Football Conference participant in the Division I-AA (now known as FCS) playoffs. The football team plays rival UC Davis in the annual Battle for the Golden Horseshoe. The Mustang Maniacs are Cal Poly's spirit group. They support the team both away and at home. The Mustang basketball team had its most successful year in 2007, when the team came within one win in the Big West basketball tournament of getting into the NCAA basketball tournament

One of the school's best programs, in recent years and in the 1980s, is the women's volleyball team. On November 19, 2007 the team captured its second straight Big West Title by posting a 15-1 conference record and a 23-8 record overall. The program made it to the third round of the playoffs for the first time since 1985 before losing to Stanford in the Sweet 16. The team also went 23-6 in 2006.

In addition to the women's volleyball team, the men's cross country team has finished in the top 25 in the nation four of the past five years. In 2008, Coach Mark Conover and his men's squad captured their sixth straight Big West Title. Later that year they went on to finish 23rd at the National Cross Country Championships in Terre Haute, IN.

The Cal Poly Mustangs men's soccer team has also had success in recent years. In 2008, Coach Paul Holocher led his team to a 3rd place in the Big West and a spot in the NCAA Division I tournament. They went on to beat UCLA and ended up losing to UC Irvine in the 2nd round.

[edit] Notable athletes

• Ramses Barden, WR - Class of 2009 - All-American Wide Receiver - Currently on New York Giants
• Jordan Beck, LB - Class of 2005 - All American Linebacker - Buck Buchannan Award winner - Currently on Denver Broncos
• Courtney Brown, DB - Class of 2006 - Currently on Dallas Cowboys
• Stephanie Brown Trafton - Class of 2003 - Gold medalist in women's discus throw at the 2008 Summer Olympics
• Kevin Correia, pitcher - Class of 2002 - Currently on San Diego Padres
• Chris Gocong, LB - Class of 2006 - All American Defensive End - Buck Buchannan Award winner - Currently on Philadelphia Eagles
• Mel Kaufman, LB - Class of 1981 - Winner of two Super Bowl Rings, Captain of the Washington Redskins
• Mike Krukow, pitcher - Class of 1973 - National League All-Star, Emmy award-winning boardcasterSan Francisco Giants' Announcer
• Chuck Liddell,^[31] Mixed Martial Arts Fighter - Class of 1995 - Ultimate Fighting Championship Light Heavyweight Champion 2005–2007
• John Madden, head coach - Class of 1959 - Oakland Raiders - NFL Hall of Fame
• Garrett Olson, pitcher - Class of 2005 - Currently on Seattle Mariners
• Anton Peterlin, All-Big West soccer player - Currently on Everton F.C.
• Loren Roberts, professional golfer - Class of 1977 (left in 1975) - Currently on Champions Tour
• Kyle Shotwell, LB - Class of 2007 - All American Linebacker, Buck Buchannan award winner as nation's top defensive player at Div. I-AA]
• Ozzie Smith, shortstop - Class of 1976 - St. Louis Cardinals- MLB Hall of Fame
• Ted Tollner, QB - Class of 1962 - San Francisco 49ers

[edit] See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: California Polytechnic State University

• Alex G. Spanos Stadium
• Cal Poly Mustangs men's soccer
• Cal Poly Mustang Band
• * Center for Coastal Marine Sciences
• Leaning Pine Arboretum
• List of California Polytechnic State University alumni
• Mercy Bowl
• List of forestry universities and colleges

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• Cal Poly Alma Mater and Fight Songs
• Cal Poly Continuing Education Adult Degree Program

v • d • e California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo, California Colleges College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences · College of Architecture and Environmental Design · Orfalea College of Business · College of Education · College of Engineering · College of Liberal Arts · College of Science and Mathematics Student Life Cal Poly Universities Rose Float · Mustang Daily · KCPR · ASI · Cal Poly Mustang Band · Week of Welcome · Cal Poly Open House · Cal Poly Homecoming · Alumni Campus Facilities Performing Arts Center · Cal Poly student housing · Poly Canyon Village · Alex G. Spanos Stadium · Robert E. Kennedy Library · Center for Coastal Marine Sciences · Leaning Pine Arboretum · Cheda Ranch Athletics Mustang Athletics · Mustang Maniacs · Battle for the Golden Horseshoe · Mercy Bowl

v • d • e California State University Campuses Bakersfield • Channel Islands • Chico • Dominguez Hills • East Bay • Fresno • Fullerton • Humboldt • Long Beach • Los Angeles • Maritime • Monterey Bay • Northridge • Pomona • Sacramento • San Bernardino • San Diego • San Francisco • San José • San Luis Obispo • San Marcos • Sonoma • Stanislaus Research Desert Studies Center • Moss Landing Marine Laboratories • Mount Laguna Observatory • T.S. Golden Bear History California State Normal School • San Diego

v • d • e Big West Conference Cal Poly • Cal State Fullerton • Cal State Northridge • Long Beach State • Pacific • UC Davis • UC Irvine • UC Riverside • UC Santa Barbara

v • d • e Great West Conference Full Members Chicago State • Houston Baptist • NJIT • North Dakota • South Dakota • Texas-Pan American • Utah Valley Associate Members Cal Poly • Southern Utah • UC Davis

Coordinates: 35°18′06″N 120°39′35.35″W / 35.30167°N 120.6598194°W / 35.30167; -120.6598194