News & Notes 2024
Updates and highlights from the CLA.
Victor Glover Visits Preschool Learning Lab
On May 29, NASA astronaut and Cal Poly alumnus Victor Glover (General Engineering, ’99) visited the Cal Poly Preschool Learning Lab to speak to and answer questions from the children as part of a campus visit celebrating Learn by Doing. Glover, an astronaut since 2013, is assigned as the pilot of NASA’s Artemis II, the space agency’s first crewed mission under the Artemis Program that will send four astronauts in the Orion spacecraft around the moon to check out systems ahead of future lunar missions.
Read More
Nicole Mullikin Wins 'Rising Star' Award
San Luis Obispo immigration attorney and alumna Nicole Mullikin (Modern Languages and Literatures, ’15) is the 2023 recipient of the Women Lawyers Association of San Luis Obispo County’s “Rising Star” award, honoring her work as a lawyer with fewer than seven years of experience.
Read More
Shane Patrick Creates Sierra Sustainability Summit
As part of her senior project, Shane Patrick (Master of Public Policy, ’24) created the Sierra Sustainability Summit, a first-of-its-kind advocacy competition that gets students out of the classroom and into the environment they’re learning about. The pilot program saw nearly 40 students and faculty representing eight colleges and universities across the country come together at Yosemite National Park to compete and apply advocacy skills to water and land management, conservation, public access and environmental justice and equity.
Read More
Students Curate Museum Exhibit on SLO's Hidden Voices
In the fall of 2023, Zoë Levit (Anthropology and Geography, ’23) and Jess O’Leary (History, ’24) curated a historical exhibit displayed at the History Center of San Luis Obispo County. The “Hidden Voices” exhibit tells the forgotten stories of four women who were pillars of the San Luis Obispo community.
Read More
'Short Cuts' Premiere at
SLO Film Festival
“Short Cuts,” a collection of eight short films written, produced and directed by an interdisciplinary group of students, premiered at the 2024 San Luis Obispo Film Festival in April 2024. Featuring stories of love, loss, discovery and connection, the films were a collaboration between students under the mentorship of lecturer Randi Barros, interdisciplinary studies in the liberal arts, and art and design Professor James Werner.
Read More
GRC Students Visit World's Largest Trade Fair in Germany
In spring of 2024, Graphic Communication Department Chair Colleen Twomey accompanied six graphic communication students to Düsseldorf, Germany, for drupa 2024 — the largest technology exhibition in the world for the printing and packaging industries. The students worked with global print media organization WhatTheyThink on the drupa daily as well as networked with visitors, learned about new technologies and visited exhibitor stands.
Read More
Julie Bettergarcia, Associate Dean for Diversity and Curriculim
After a nationwide search, Julie Bettergarcia joined the CLA Dean’s Office in September as the new associate dean for diversity and curriculum. Bettergarcia has taught as a professor in the Psychology and Child Development Department since 2007 and has held several leadership roles across Cal Poly. The Dean’s Office said: “We are thrilled to welcome Bettergarcia to this role as she brings strong research expertise in stereotyping, prejudice, stigma, multiracial identity, intergroup relationships, social identity, belonging, and underrepresentation in STEM.”
Eboyle Mbongo Honored for Supporting Hispanic Success in Higher Education
On Dec. 4, Eyole Mbongo (Political Science, ’07), senior legislative assistant to U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-San Antonio) of Texas's 20th congressional district, received the Outstanding Congressional Staffer Award from the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities in recognition of his exceptional dedication to advancing equity in education by working to fund and support Hispanic-Serving Institutions.
Read More
Patrick Lin Selected for Inagural AI Advisory Group
Philosophy Professor Patrick Lin was named an inaugural member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Aerospace Artificial Intelligence Advisory Group. Lin is helping advance the appropriate use of AI technology in aeronautics, aerospace research and development, and space. The announcement came shortly after Lin’s white paper, “Space Data Ethics: The Next Frontier in Responsible Leadership,” was published by NASA.
Read More
Mustang Band Feels the Love at 2024 Chinese New Year Festival
The Cal Poly Mustang Band — the Pride of the Pacific — took to the streets of San Francisco for the 2024 Chinese New Year Parade on Feb. 24, helping the city ring in the Year of the Dragon. It marked the ninth time the interdisciplinary marching band performed in the parade since 2014.
Read More
Mustang Media Group Wins Prestigious Pacemaker Award
Mustang Media Group, Cal Poly’s award-winning integrated student media organization, won an Associated Collegiate Press (ACP) Pacemaker Award for best student media business in the nation at the 2024 ACP Spring National College Media Conference. The group also won two Pacemaker Awards for multiplatform and newspaper/newsmagazine at the ACP Fall National College Media Convention in October 2023. The Pacemaker Award is one of the oldest awards for collegiate journalism.
Read More
Collin Marfia Helps Bring Rose Float Team a Win
Collin Marfia (Anthropology and Geography and History, ’24) served as vice president of the 2023 Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Rose Float Team and helped the team secure the Crown City Innovator Award at its 75th Rose Parade appearance on New Year’s Day in Pasadena. The float featured electric eels powering musical instruments in a colorful undersea environment. He also partnered with Associated Students Inc. to reimagine UU 221, also known as the San Luis Lounge, to showcase years of Rose Float memorabilia celebrating the tradition’s rich history.
Read more about Marfia
Read more about 75 years of Rose Float history
Students Create Indigenous Campus Walking Tour
Amy Contreras (Comparative Ethnic Studies, ’24) and computer science and ethnic studies student Sophie Martyrossian created a new interactive campus tour that sheds light on aspects of Native American history that intersect with locations, names and objects around the Cal Poly campus. As they developed the tour materials, the pair did their own archival research as well as conducted interviews with members of the yak titʸu titʸu yak tiłhini Northern Chumash tribe to ensure a respectful and accurate tour experience.
Read More
Students' Costumes Showcased at Festival Mozaic
Alumni Julia Neils (Art and Design, ’24) and Natalie Rathle (Interdisciplinary Studies, ’24) spent eight weeks researching, dyeing and sewing costumes for two local productions as part of their 2023 Summer Undergraduate Research Program project. After weeks of work, the pair watched their creations live on stage for Festival Mozaic’s 2023 Summer Music Festival.
Read More
Izzy Martinez Assists Cal Poly's First Big West Commisioner's Cup Win
English major Izzy Martinez served up a beach volleyball victory as part of Cal Poly’s first Dennis Farrell Big West Commissioner’s Cup win. Mustangs achieved the highest point total in the award’s 24-year history. Martinez is a two-time All-Big West team selectee and a 2024 Big West All-Academic honoree. She and her playing partner, Ella Conner, were named 2024 Big West Pair of the Year and helped Cal Poly advance to the NCAA Championship semifinals.
Read More
Cal Poly Arts Brings Unique Concert Experience to Central Coast
In the 2023-24 season, Cal Poly Arts hosted The Concert Truck — a 16-foot box truck turned mobile concert hall — and provided 10 unique concert experiences to residents across San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties. The free concerts, featuring pianist and Concert Truck co-director Nick Luby and visiting pianist Mikael Darmanie, provided live classical music entertainment, reaching students from local school districts to residents at Atascadero-based El Camino Homeless Organization.