News

AMM Celebrates 25th Anniversary

April 12, 2022

Students, faculty, staff, alumni, and supporters of the Department of Apparel Merchandising and Management (AMM) gathered on April 9 to celebrate the program’s 25th anniversary.

The luncheon celebration was held at the Kellogg West Conference Center on the Cal Poly Pomona campus.

More than 100 people attended the event, which also featured remarks from Professor Emerita Betty Tracy, one of the program’s founders, and Professor Peter Kilduff, the former department chair.

In addition, the department recognized emerita faculty, industry advisory board members, and alumni and presented awards and certificates. Frances Harder and alumna Trish Concannon, industry advisory board members, also spoke.

Prior to the event, alumni and supporters could tour the department’s operations in Building 45 as part of the Huntley College of Agriculture’s Open House.

AMM began as a baccalaureate program in 1995 and saw 39 students enroll the following year.

Since then, the program has grown to more than 430 undergraduate and graduate students. Undergraduate students can take options in apparel production, fashion retailing, and textiles or minors in fashion merchandising or footwear design and merchandising. Graduate students can earn their master’s degree in international apparel management.

It is one of only 13 programs nationwide to earn affiliate status with the American Apparel & Footwear Association, which represents more than 1,000 world-famous name brands, retailers, and manufacturers.