Get Involved in Cal Poly's Efforts to Support Offshore Wind Power Generation
The Corporate Engagement and Innovation (CEI) office has opportunities for faculty who are interested in research related to offshore wind development efforts along the Central Coast. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) just announced Dec. 6 as the final lease sale on the Morro Bay Offshore Wind Lease Area. The Morro Bay Wind Lease Area, a 376-square-mile area northwest of Morro Bay, is ideally situated for offshore wind turbines because of the wind profile in that zone, its low environmental impact, and its proximity to the 500-kilovolt powerlines that terminate at Diablo Canyon Power Plant and are anticipated to be available after the nuclear power plant’s decommissioning. Cal Poly is poised to play a significant role in supporting the auction winner's feasibility and impact studies in the Morro Bay wind lease area through its faculty expertise, Cal Poly Pier and Tech Park facilities. In 2020, a Cal Poly research team found that offshore winds along the Central Coast increase at the same time that people start using more energy — in the late afternoon/evening — making it an ideal candidate to fill the gap left by solar and on-shore wind energy production. California has one of the most ambitious energy goals in the world: 100% renewable, carbon-free power by 2045. Floating wind turbines off the Central Coast will be a critical part of meeting this goal. Faculty interested in learning more can visit CEI's page on offshore wind and can contact CEI at [email protected].
Join Safer for Purple Thursday on Oct. 20
A national day of action each October, Purple Thursday is an opportunity to raise awareness about dating and domestic violence and an easy way to show a commitment to promoting healthy relationships. Safer invites faculty and staff to a reception in honor of Purple Thursday from 8:30-10 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 20, in the Campus Health and Wellbeing (No. 27) downstairs patio. Wear purple and join Safer for pastries, coffee and time to be in community. Safer will also have a booth and group photo on Dexter Lawn from 11 a.m. to noon (the group photo will be taken at 11:30 a.m.).
Cal Poly Corporation Board of Directors to Meet Oct. 28
A Cal Poly Corporation board of directors meeting has been scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Friday, Oct. 28, in the Performing Arts Center Founder’s Room. Public comments for this meeting must be submitted no later than 5 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 26, via email to [email protected]. The meeting will be held in person; the Zoom webinar is for the public to view only. More information will be made available on the Cal Poly Corporation website, along with the agenda, five days before the meeting. Discussion topics can be added to the agenda at the board’s discretion. Call Holly Clark at ext. 6-1131 with any questions.
Change the World Challenge Deadline Extended to Oct. 28
Last year, Cal Poly kicked off the Change the World Challenge, a transformative, multidisciplinary student design competition that addressed the world’s most pressing contemporary problems. In May, $35,000 was awarded to students who spent three quarters balancing technical concerns with social, cultural, economic, historical, political and environmental implications related to the challenge theme, Solutions for Living in a Post-COVID World. The Change the World Challenge is continuing this year and students will collaboratively design technology-based approaches to society’s greatest challenges. There are three award opportunities, including a top award of $20,000. The faculty co-chairs of the challenge are Rebekah Oulton (Environmental Engineering Department, [email protected]) and Dawn Neill (R-EDGE, [email protected]). Faculty mentors for the student teams include Priya Verma (Natural Resources Management Department), Jill Speece (Industrial Engineering Department), Christina Firpo (History Department), Erik Sapper (Chemistry and Biochemistry Department) and Miranda Yin (Marketing Area). Students can apply by Oct. 28.
Baker/Koob Endowment Funds Available for Student Research
Proposals are being accepted for the Baker/Koob Endowments, which support hands-on, project-based learning opportunities for individual students and groups at Cal Poly. This year, approximately $65,000 is available with anticipated funding for 18-24 projects. All students are invited to apply for funding, which may be used for student support, student and faculty travel, student and faculty expenses associated with participation in student research, group projects, conferences, competitions, and equipment and materials related to student research. Completed proposals, including a letter of support from a faculty advisor, are due electronically to [email protected] by 5 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 15. Email [email protected] with any questions. In the photo, civil engineering student and 2021-22 Baker/Koob Grant Recipient Corinne Watson and Professor Amro El Badawy are researching new methods for carbon capture.
Distinguished Teaching Award Nominations Are Open
The Distinguished Teaching Award recognizes Cal Poly faculty who demonstrate excellence in teaching. Only students and alumni may submit nominations, so faculty are encouraged to notify their classes and direct them to the nomination form on the Distinguished Teaching Award webpage. The deadline for nominations is Thursday, Nov. 24 — Thanksgiving Day. For more information, contact the Academic Senate Office at [email protected].
Nominations Open for the Distinguished Scholarship Award
The Distinguished Scholarship Award is intended to recognize the scholarship, research and creative activity of both junior and senior faculty across all disciplines represented at Cal Poly. Faculty are encouraged to nominate their fellow faculty members for this award and let their students know that they can also submit nominations. Nominations are due by Oct. 28. See the Distinguished Scholarship Award website for more information, and contact the Academic Senate Office at 756-1258 or [email protected] with any questions.
New Human Resources Director Joins CPC
Following a months-long nationwide search, the Cal Poly Corporation has a new Human Resources director who brings more than a decade's worth of corporate experience and is a certified mindfulness and meditation teacher. Tiffany Kramlich started her role with CPC on Sept. 26. Along with her experience as an HR director of national and global companies, she has worked extensively with executive leaders and leadership teams to drive business transformation and growth through innovative people practices. “Learning about the ideas and plans that our leadership team have visioned for the Corporation, and how they want to grow and increase the positive impact to the campus, immediately drew me to this position,” Kramlich said. “I couldn’t be more excited to start my role in that vision.” Prior to joining CPC, she served as global human resources director for a number of international companies, including ECOLAB and HB Fuller, most recently filling that role for Land O’Lakes. Kramlich has an MBA from the University of St. Thomas and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire.
The Staff Learning Community Seeking Support, Meets Oct. 19
The Staff Learning Community, or SLC, provides a forum for learning and exchange among a critical group on campus — administrative professionals. On the third Wednesday of each month, the SLC hosts a program designed to support administrative professionals in gathering the essential information needed to do their jobs. This month’s virtual meeting will be held from 11:10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 19. Sessions are typically recorded and available later on the SLC Wiki. These SLC forums bring together individuals to learn the tricks of the trade from knowledgeable employees across campus regarding the systems, policies, procedures and topics that impact the entire Cal Poly community. All are welcome to attend. To find out more, visit the Staff Learning Community webpage. The SLC operates through volunteers. Anyone who would like to contribute to this meaningful cause, has an idea for a speaker or topic that would make your job easier, would like to share their expertise, could serve as a moderator, or are interested in providing support in any capacity, can email [email protected].
Service-Learning Faculty Fellows Program Accepting Applications
The Center for Service in Action (CSA) and the Center for Teaching, Learning and Technology (CTLT) invite faculty to apply individually or in teams to be Service-Learning (SL) Faculty Fellows for the 2022-23 academic year. Service learning combines learning goals and community service in ways that can enhance both student growth and the common good. The purpose of the program is to support expanding the number of service-learning courses offered across campus. Stipends are available. Learn more about the program. Interested faculty should submit their online application by 5 p.m. Monday Oct. 31. Anyone with questions about the program can contact faculty liaison for service learning Anurag Pande at [email protected].
Be Cybersecure and Keep Your Devices Secure with Sophos
Detecting if malware has been installed on your computer — or better yet, preventing it from being installed in the first place — is a vital component in staying safe online. Sophos Home is available to students, faculty and staff at no charge to help them secure their home systems. Employees and students can protect up to 10 personal computers at no cost. When signing up, remember to set up your Sophos Home account with a personal, non-calpoly.edu email address. For more information on how to sign up, see the guide on how to redeem a Sophos Home license. For emeritus members and affiliates, Sophos offers a free version to download, or check with your internet service provider, as most also offer free antivirus software.
Take Advantage of Professional Development Courses in November
Employee and Organization Development is sharing the release of the November professional development offerings as part of the Cross Campus Collaboration — a series of online workshops offered by Cal Poly and other CSU campuses. These unique opportunities extend learning beyond campus borders and offer a new way to share professional development. New courses and dates have been added for November. View and register using the links below. Registration opens Oct. 24 on a first-come basis.
- Communicating with Impact!: Nov. 2, 9-10:30 a.m.
- Book Circle: Crucial Conversations (Session 1 of 3): Nov. 2, 1-2 p.m.
- Personal Branding for Career Success: Nov. 8, 10 a.m.-noon.
- Nurturing Emotional Well-Being: Nov. 8, 2-3:15 p.m.
- Communicating with Impact!: Nov. 9, 9-10:30 a.m.
- Preparing Emotionally to Transition to Retirement: Nov. 15, 11 a.m.-noon.
- Interviewing 101 Workshop: Nov. 16, 2-3 p.m.
- Exposing Hidden Bias: Nov. 18, 9-10:30 a.m.
- The Five Elements of Well-being: Nov. 18, 10:30-noon.
- Personal Branding -- Building your Professional Presence: Nov. 30, 2-3 p.m.
Learn more on the Upcoming Opportunities page
Safer Hosts Fall Quarter Book Circle
Safer is committed to engaging every discipline on campus in the work of violence prevention and trauma-informed response. To do this, Safer has developed the Safer Learning Community, with quarterly book circles specifically geared to empower faculty and staff to join this work alongside Safer. The Fall Quarter Book Circle is “The Body Keeps the Score,” by Dr. Bessel van der Kolk. Sessions will take place from noon-1 p.m. Wednesdays starting Oct. 19 through Nov. 16.
A Better Way to Buy is Coming to Cal Poly
The CSUBUY Marketplace update in July 2020 was the first step in transforming the way the CSU manages the Source-to-Pay process at Cal Poly. This change created a foundation for the university’s upcoming implementation of automated workflow, approvals, requisitioning, purchase orders and accounts payable functionality with integration into the Common Financial System (CFS). Trainings will be offered leading up to the CSUBUY launch in fall 2023 to help Cal Poly community members prepare for this new, more efficient process. More information is forthcoming.
PeopleSoft Upgrade: Several Applications Unavailable Oct. 21-23
The Student Administration, HR Administration and Student Center applications — accessed through the My Cal Poly Portal — will be unavailable from 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 21, through noon Sunday, Oct. 23, due to a required upgrade to the PeopleSoft system. During the maintenance window, links in the “Employee Info” and “Personal Info” sections of the “Personal Info” tab on the portal will also be unavailable. This upgrade is required to ensure that Cal Poly stays up to date with security patches and bug fixes. Additionally, this upgrade will feature PeopleSoft Fluid interface (similar to CSU Financial Administration) to provide better user experiences in modern responsive browsers. Questions or need help? Contact the ITS Service Desk at ext. 6-7000 or [email protected].
University Personnel Offers Well-Being Workshops in October and November
University Personnel has worked with Cal Poly’s employee assistance program, LifeMatters, to offer synchronous well-being workshops. They include:
- Healthy Remedies for Managing Stress: Understand everyday stress and healthy ways to manage stress levels. This session will cover sources and symptoms of stress, attitudes, gaining perspective and relaxation. Oct. 20 at noon.
- First Aid Kit for the Mind: Whether you are concerned about yourself, family or friend, everyone is subject to emotional upset. This workshop will include maintaining mental fitness, warning signs of mental illness and common emotional concerns. Nov. 8 at 10 a.m.
Contact Lisa Gray at [email protected] for more information on well-being workshops.
Safer Hosts Dating Violence Action Month
Join Safer and Lumina Alliance this October for Dating Violence Action Month, with the theme of “We Deserve.” In all our relationships, we deserve respect, equity, honesty, bodily autonomy, independence, boundaries, healing, joy and more. Highlighted events include weekly informal Lunch and Learns at various lawns across campus for all Cal Poly community members; engaging student workshops and booths; collaborative SLO community events; and continuous education and giveaways on Instagram @calpolysafer.
Join Campus Dining for ‘Festi-Ful’ on Oct. 19
Join Campus Dining for “Festi-Ful” — the ultimate fall festival — on Wednesday, Oct. 19. Festi-Ful is designed to celebrate all things fall and build connections through food with our students and local farmers. Activities will include an on-campus Farmers Market, cider tastings, fall photo opportunities and so much more! Festi-Ful will run from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. at Campus Market and will then continue into the evening at Vista Grande from 5-9 p.m. Check out all of Cal Poly’s Festi-Ful activities on the Festi-Ful event page.
Cal Poly Pier Open House Set for Oct. 29
The Center for Coastal Marine Sciences welcomes everyone to explore the Cal Poly Pier between 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29, in Avila Beach. Guests will be able to interact with marine creatures in touch tanks, view tiny marine species through microscopes and learn about whale migrations. Interactive displays will offer insights into scientific studies conducted by Cal Poly researchers and students on protection of local ocean ecosystems, sustaining fisheries, mapping currents and more. Visitors are encouraged to bring cameras for photos of sea creatures and the incredible views of San Luis Bay. To best prepare, guests should be aware the pier with grating is 1.2 miles round trip. Closed-toe walking shoes are required (flip-flops or heels prohibited) and visitors should bring their own water bottles. Pets must be left at home (only ADA service dogs permitted).
Learn more about the open house
New Mustang Shuttle App Makes Catching a Ride Even Easier
Catching a ride on the Mustang shuttle is even easier this fall following the release of a new Mustang Shuttle app. The app allows users to track the location and times of the shuttles as they make their routes across campus. ASI, the University Union Advisory Board, University Housing and the Cal Poly Corporation partnered with Public Safety to extend the Mustang Shuttle Service with new daytime hours this fall. Mustang Shuttle runs during the day from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and in the evening from 7 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. daily, not including academic holidays or breaks. Riders can download the free Mustang Shuttle mobile app from the Apple Store or Google Play.
University Art Gallery to Exhibit ‘Mixtape’ by Los Angeles-Based Artists’ Collective
University Art Gallery presents “Mixtape,” an exhibition featuring 11 artists from the L.A. chapter of Tiger Strikes Asteroid, from Oct. 6-28. A gallery reception will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Oct. 20, with an artist talk at 6 p.m. “Mixtape” is a group exhibition composed of members from the Los Angeles chapter of Tiger Strikes Asteroid, an artist-run collective of five spaces in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia and Greenville, South Carolina. Featured artists include Carl Baratta, Vanessa Chow, Ricardo Harris-Fuentes, Ichiro Irie, Brittany Mojo, Liz Nurenberg, Alisa Ochoa, Alex Paik, Kari Reardon, Jackie Rines and Katya Usvitsky. The University Art Gallery is open free to the public from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday in the Dexter Building (No. 34).
Music Department to Host andPlay on Oct. 20
The Music Department will host andPlay — Maya Bennardo, violin, and Hannah Levinson, viola — for a talk and concert at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 20, in Room 218 of the Davidson Music Center. Titled “Collaborating with Technology,” the presentation will feature pieces the duo commissioned by Bethany Younge, Lester St. Louis and David Bird that showcase three different ways of incorporating technology into performance. Based in New York City, Bennardo and Levinson first played to an eager crowd on Fire Island in the summer of 2012 and have since commissioned more than 40 works. More information about the free presentation and the duo is on the Music Department’s calendar website. For more information, visit the Music Department calendar website or call ext. 6-2406.
Music Faculty Showcase Set for Oct. 21 During Mustang Family Weekend
Music faculty will present a showcase recital at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 21, in Room 218 of the Davidson Music Center. The event is part of Mustang Family Weekend and will feature several of the department’s applied faculty who are recognized across the region for their expertise. James Bachman, guitar, Keith Waibel, bass clarinet and W. Terrence Spiller, piano, will perform solos. Several faculty members have been collaborating and will perform in duos and chamber ensembles, including Lisa Nauful, bassoon; Richard Dobeck, clarinet; Paul Woodring, piano; Katherine Arthur, soprano; Heidi Butterfield Yi, oboe; Amy Goymerac, soprano; Mark Miller, trombone; Christopher J. Woodruff, trumpet; and John Astaire, percussion. Nauful will be joined by 2017 Music Department graduate Emelia Banninger on bassoon. Banninger studied with Nauful while she was a student at Cal Poly. For information, visit the Music Department’s faculty website or call ext. 6-2406. Admission is $10 general and $5 for students, and will be charged at the door.
Learn about the faculty showcase
Intercultural Competence Collaborative Set for Nov. 4
The School of Education and the World Languages and Cultures Department invites faculty and staff to an event from 4-5:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 4, in the Mathematics and Science Building (No. 38, Room 121) for discussion and networking around the importance of intercultural competence for faculty, staff and the students they serve. The event is intended to create a space for like-minded faculty and staff to meet and collaborate. The event will include a panel presentation by Paso Robles High School Social Studies teacher Geoffrey Land and his students, “In Search of Self: Identity in the Curriculum.” Following this presentation, faculty and staff will have the opportunity to make connections with colleagues across disciplines and to brainstorm pathways for our students to become culturally responsive professionals.
Wind Bands and Mustang Band to Present Bandfest Nov. 4
Nearly 300 students will perform for Bandfest at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 4, in the Performing Arts Center. The combined forces of Cal Poly’s Wind Orchestra, Wind Ensemble and Mustang Band will open the concert with Stephen Montague’s “Intrada, 1631.” The Wind Orchestra’s set will include Kim Archer’s “Awakenings,” Julie Giroux’ “Let Your Spirit Sing” and Gustav Holst’s Suite in E flat. The Wind Ensemble will continue the program with “Distanced,” composer Alex Shapiro’s response to the COVID-19 protocols; “Esprit de Corps” by Robert Jager, a celebration of the bond that sustained arts organizations during the pandemic shutdown; and Giovanni Santos’ new work, “Chavez, 1927,” which celebrates the life and work of civil rights activist and leader Cesar Chavez. Mustang Band will conclude the concert with arrangements the group is performing at this fall’s football games in Spanos Stadium. The band will perform music by Lizzo and Green Day, traditional school songs and more. More information is on the Music Department calendar website. Tickets are sold at the Cal Poly Ticket Office, ext. 6-4849. For more information, call ext. 6-2406.
Event Postings
Events.calpoly.edu is a new platform that shines a spotlight on high-profile special events at Cal Poly and throughout our community, focusing on the wide and diverse range of activities on and around campus. This site is designed to help our colleges, programs, departments and facilities promote exciting events that can be seen by a selected audience. It will update regularly and includes events happening in the next 30-45 days. It is not a calendar of all events, and it does not include student club events. Here are some links to help you navigate:
Submitting an Event to Events.calpoly.edu
To submit your event for consideration, please send the event title, date, time, duration, ticket information, intended audience(s) and image (1600 bpi wide) to [email protected].
University Events Calendar
To find a listing of all events — such as performances, lectures, workshops and more — visit our Master Calendar.
Scheduling/Booking Venues
25Live: Space and Event Scheduling can help you schedule or book a venue for an upcoming on-campus event.
Note that a minimum three-day lead time is required to process a request for use of space through the Office of the Registrar.
Visit Cal Poly Now for Student Affairs events, learning opportunities and more
Find the latest student-focused campus events from your favorite Student Affairs programs and services by visiting the new Cal Poly Now.