100 Day Celebration

Good morning, Broncos.

I cannot believe it has been 100 days since I joined Cal Poly Pomona. From my first day, you welcomed me, encouraged me, and made me feel like part of the Bronco Herd.

By now, you know that I still get lost around here about half the time, so thank you for always pointing me in the right direction when you see me on campus.

That small kindness captures the warmth and sense of community that makes Cal Poly Pomona so special.

One hundred days ago, I began a listening tour with a simple goal: to learn from you.

I wanted to understand — through your eyes — what makes Cal Poly Pomona extraordinary, what we can build upon, and what aspirations we share for our future.

Since my first day, I've had the privilege of meeting with nearly two thousand students, employees, alumni, and community partners at more than forty events.

And those conversations inspired me.

From speaking with our students, who are committed to their education, overcoming the challenges they face, and building their futures...

To my conversations with our faculty — learning of the profound roles they play in shaping the student's experience through teaching, mentorship, research, and discovery... 

To meeting with our staff and administrators who care deeply about building pathways and opening doors for current and future Broncos to achieve their dreams...

To hearing from our alumni and community members, whose commitment to our mission and to the future of our students reflects the enduring strength of the Bronco community...

I have been inspired by the commitment I see across our community to ensure every student can thrive.

That is our common purpose: helping students achieve their dreams, preparing them for meaningful careers, and creating opportunities that strengthen families and communities.

In addition to hearing how much you care for our students, I heard again and again. That our people are our greatest strength. Our faculty, staff, students, alumni, and partners care deeply about this university and its mission. 

I also heard about emerging needs, and ways that we must improve.

We need to build a deeper culture of care. One that focuses on building relationships, strengthening our community, and making people feel valued and connected.

We must improve student support and wellness resources and meet today’s students where they are, including basic needs, academic support, and mental and physical health.

We must address our aging infrastructure, outdated equipment, and classrooms. Our labs and learning spaces need modernization to ensure our students have hands-on experiences with the same cutting-edge tools that they will use in the workplace. And we must ensure our campus environment is safe and accessible to everyone.

We will support and empower our employees. We will invest in supporting faculty doing cutting-edge scholarship, improving research infrastructure, supporting them in their creative and scholarly pursuits, and continually assessing how resources are allocated. We will strengthen staffing, support essential functions, and ensure that our people have the tools and resources needed to contribute and develop.

You also shared where we can simplify processes, reduce unnecessary barriers, strengthen communication and transparency, and create an institution that is more responsive to the people we serve.

We need to become more like Amazon, with one-click solutions. Answers at the tips of your fingers. Simple, easy, and approachable for our students and families to understand.

Most of all, I heard how deeply you care about our university, our students, and your colleagues. I heard how committed you are to the mission of Cal Poly Pomona.

I heard you want support for expanding career-connected learning and the Cal Poly Pomona Promise. And I heard how excited you are for the future.

As I conclude my first one hundred days, I am more optimistic than ever about our future because I have seen both the strength of this community and its willingness to work together to address the challenges before us. My listening and learning will continue well beyond these first one hundred days and will guide how I move forward with our community to build CPP’s future together.

Higher education is changing rapidly. Technology and artificial intelligence are transforming how we learn and work. Students expect universities to be accessible, responsive, and easy to navigate — again, like Amazon — one click.

Employers need graduates who can adapt, collaborate, solve complex problems boldly, and lead through uncertainty. 

So, we must approach our own future with the same innovative, applied, and solutions-focused mindset we ask of our students.

We will embrace change. We will test new ideas. We will learn through experimentation. And we will build a university that is agile, responsive, and ready to meet the rapidly changing needs of our students and community.

We have four years until 2030, when the demographic declines expected in high-school graduates and transfer students in Southern California will impact our region.

Four years to build upon our strengths. Four years to expand opportunities. Four years to modernize how we teach, serve, work, and connect. Four years to position Cal Poly Pomona for its next era of impact.

So today, I am proud to introduce: CPP 2030.

Guided by Learn. Do. Become. Lead., CPP 2030 is our commitment to prepare Cal Poly Pomona for what comes next.

So, why is 2030 essential today?

Because the world our students will enter is changing rapidly. The future of work is changing. Students need new skills, new experiences, and new pathways to opportunity. And universities must be ready to evolve alongside them.

It is not about predicting exactly what the future will look like. It is about building a university that is ready for whatever comes next.

By 2030, Cal Poly Pomona will be recognized as the nation’s leading public polytechnic university for opportunity, innovation, upward mobility, and student success.

At the heart of CPP 2030 is a simple but ambitious belief: 

We do not measure success by the students we admit.

We measure success by the leaders they become.

That belief defines our aspiration to become California’s leading polytechnic university for workforce development, career preparation, and economic mobility.

Opportunity means more than admission. It means helping students remain enrolled, graduate, begin meaningful careers, improve the lives of their families, and contribute to California. C

PP 2030 is how we turn that opportunity into action.

The essence of CPP 2030 can be expressed in four pillars:

• CPP Promise.
• Technology Enabled.
• Grow the CPP Brand.
• Invest in Our People. 

At the center of CPP 2030 is the Cal Poly Pomona Promise.

Building upon our Become by Doing philosophy, the CPP Promise will work to ensure that every student completes at least one meaningful career connected experience before graduation.

That experience could be a paid internship, cooperative education, undergraduate research, entrepreneurship, service learning, a global experience, or an industry project.

Every student should leave Cal Poly Pomona with more than a diploma.

Every graduate should leave with applied experience, professional connections, and a clear pathway to a meaningful career here in our region.

Los Angeles’s nearly trillion-dollar economy is among the 20 largest in the world, with extraordinary industries, companies, and innovators right down the freeway.

By connecting our students more intentionally to that ecosystem through internships, research, mentorship, and career-connected learning, we will deliver on the Cal Poly Pomona Promise and expand economic mobility for thousands of California families.

CPP 2030 will make career-connected learning a promise rather than a possibility.

And fulfilling that promise will require a strong support system for our students connected and working hand-inhand with our student success ecosystem.

The framework of the Bronco Student Success Ecosystem already exists across the university.

Now, we must connect our existing efforts, so students experience a university that works together seamlessly on their behalf.

Students should not have to understand our organizational structure to receive the help they need.

They should experience coordinated, proactive, accessible support that meets them where they are.

When our programs and services work together, more students can remain enrolled, graduate, and achieve their goals.

And we must remain affordable for our students to succeed.

Affordability remains central to our mission, and I am excited to announce the launch of Broncos Covered.

Broncos Covered will cover tuition and fees for approximately 50 percent of our students, helping remove one of the greatest barriers to degree completion, with the goal of expanding the program’s reach to 70 percent of students within the next four years.

The initiative represents a significant investment in our students, their families, and the future of California. It reflects our commitment to ensuring that more Broncos can focus on learning, completing their degrees, and achieving their dreams without the burden of overwhelming financial barriers.

Along with addressing affordability, we will close our current technology gap and create seamless digital and in-person experiences for students, faculty, and staff.

Technology should simplify access to services, improve communication, connect information, and strengthen teaching and research.

Technology should make our university more humane, not more complicated.

Through the CPP 2030 Digital Campus, we will invest in digital infrastructure, automation, data-informed decision making, and integrated services.

Artificial intelligence and emerging technologies will become part of how we learn, work, and innovate.

Through an Emerging Technology Hub, our students will not simply use artificial intelligence. They will become ethical creators, innovators, and leaders who help shape their future.

These investments will give us better tools to teach, advise, serve, discover, and lead.

For many years, Cal Poly Pomona has been described as a hidden gem.

While I appreciate the sentiment, I believe it is time to retire this phrase. 

Cal Poly Pomona is no longer hidden.

Our graduates are transforming industries. Our faculty are advancing discovery. Our students are solving real-world challenges. Our alumni are leading across California and beyond.

Our reputation should reflect our impact.

We will tell the Cal Poly Pomona story with greater clarity, confidence, and pride.

California and the nation should know who we are and how deeply our graduates contribute to the workforce, economy, and communities of our state.

Greater visibility will strengthen recruitment, partnerships, philanthropy, advocacy, and institutional pride.

We will deepen relationships with schools, community colleges, industry, government, nonprofit organizations, alumni, and the communities we serve.

Our message is clear: California will know Cal Poly Pomona.

And our final pillar will focus on investing in our people and culture of care. Every aspiration we have depends on you.

Faculty create learning experiences that transform students.

Staff provide the services that power our university.

Students bring talent, determination, creativity, and purpose.

Alumni and partners fuel our ability to impact thousands of young Californians, their families, and beyond. 

CPP 2030 will invest in professional growth, leadership development, employee wellbeing, collaboration, recognition, and belonging.

We will foster a culture of care and accountability where people feel valued, supported, and empowered to contribute.

And now, I want to give our community something very important: the resources to turn our ideas into action.

Building the university of the future will take investment, and today, I am announcing the CPP 2030 Fund — a series of investments targeted at advancing student success, building a culture of care, and amplifying employee impact.

The fund will leverage our Bright Tomorrow funds — a transformative gift from MacKenzie Scott — to launch CPP 2030 and empower us to truly reshape our university.

And this is your funding.

Three to five million dollars annually to go directly to the projects and initiatives you believe in.

Funds to turn bold ideas into action. 

Funds to create new opportunities, remove barriers, strengthen our community, and change lives for our students, our employees, and everyone we serve.

So I have one challenge for you:

Dream big.

Dream about what is possible when we put resources behind the ideas that can transform Cal Poly Pomona.

Dream about the experience we can create for every student.

Dream about what becomes possible when our faculty and staff have the support they need.

I dare you to dream big, because there is a Bright Tomorrow ahead of us.

And if we work together, believe in one another, and believe in the power of Cal Poly Pomona, we can build it.

The future of Cal Poly Pomona belongs to all of us.

The future will not be defined by one initiative.

It will be defined by the people who come together to build it.

The future is knocking at our door, and we are ready to meet the challenges ahead. Together, as one Bronco Herd, we will move forward with pride, strength, innovation, and purpose. 

Together, we will build CPP 2030.

Together, we will Learn. Do. Become. Lead.

Together, we are Broncos!