Central Coast Social Justice Education Conference to be Held May 20
The Sixth Annual Central Coast Social Justice Education Conference will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 20. The free hybrid conference is titled “Building Community and Connection: Solidarity through Education” and includes themes of re-imagining relationships through self-reflection, community engagement and collective action. The event will kick off with Dominican-American educator and bestselling author Lorena Germán’s virtual keynote address. Germán focuses on anti-racist and antibias work in education. The talk will be followed by a virtual panel discussion with K-12 educators and community activists from the Central Coast. An in-person curriculum fair will be held from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Santa Maria High School’s Multipurpose Room, 901 S. Broadway in Santa Maria. The Central Coast Coalition for Undocumented Student Success and Cal Poly School of Education are conference cohosts.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month
During the month of May, University Personnel — Employee Wellbeing acknowledges the struggle, fights stigma and provides support, education and advocacy for people impacted by mental illness. Online screening may be the quickest way to determine whether individuals are experiencing symptoms of a mental health condition. The Employee Assistance Program, MyLifeMatters.com (sign in: calpoly), is a resource featuring mental health screeners and webinars on boosting mental health, balance, meditation, resilience and finding help. LIfeMatters can also be reached at 800-367-7474. Services provided directly by LifeMatters are free. Anyone referred to outside resources will be advised of additional costs, if applicable. Contact Lisa Gray at LCGray@calpoly.edu for more information.
Participate in Bike to Work to Win on May 19
May is National Bike Month, and Transportation and Parking Services is celebrating with an Instagram contest. On Bike to Work Day, Friday, May 19, the campus community is invited to share a picture for a chance to win a $25 Mustang Shop gift card. To enter the contest, post a story or selfie while on campus biking to work or class and tag @insidecalpoly. The first 15 people will win a $25 gift card to the Mustang Shop. With 7,000 bike rack spaces on campus, riding is a great option when choosing a commute. Nearly 33% of all staff and faculty live within 5 miles of campus, making for an easy bike-friendly commute that will help to open parking spaces and decrease the university’s carbon emissions. To reduce Cal Poly’s carbon footprint, TAPS encourages everyone to participate in this year’s Bike to Work Week.
Learn more about Bike to Work Week
Design Village Brings Students Closer to Nature
Teams of students transformed Poly Canyon in late April into a small city of self-built structures during Design Village, the College of Architecture and Environmental Design’s annual, highly anticipated event — and a key course for first-year architecture students. True to its long-standing emphasis on hands on, project-based learning, competitors work in teams to design and build inhabitable structures within the canyon, which they must transport a mile up Poly Canyon Road, set up and disassemble at the end of the weekend. Structures were designed with this year’s theme in mind: “Biophilia,” the innate human instinct to connect with nature and other living beings. “This is definitely the biggest project most of us here have ever done,” first-year architecture student Claire Enright said while standing next to “Bamboozled,” a structure comprised of canvas hammocks attached to 14 sticks of bamboo. “It was a big jump from building models to a structure for seven people.”
Four Teams Win $35,000 for Their Innovative Startup Ideas
Four student startup teams split $35,000 at the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship’s (CIE) annual Innovation Quest (iQ), a high-stakes competition where Cal Poly students pitch their innovative business ideas to a panel of judges in the hopes of winning funding for their startups. Biology senior McClain Kressman and Nico Galin, a computer science student at UC Berkeley, received the first-place $15,000 prize for their startup BioGlyph at the event held April 29 on campus, with awards presented later at a local venue. “It (winning) was surprising — and it was fun,” said Kressman of Santa Cruz, California. “I couldn’t have done it without Nico, and we’re excited to see what’s ahead of us.”
Read about all the winning teams
Student Recognized for Exceptional Leadership Potential
Landscape architecture student Maryam Abutabikh was recently named the undergraduate 2023 National Olmsted Scholar, receiving a $15,000 award. The Landscape Architecture Foundation (LAF) Olmsted Scholars Program is the premier leadership recognition program for landscape architecture students. In her five years studying landscape architecture at Cal Poly, Abutabikh has learned that “landscape design isn’t just about beautification — it is a powerful interpretive tool that can challenge and shape our relationships with one another as well as the natural systems surrounding us.” As the child of two Iraqi immigrants, Abutabikh understands the value of having a strong sense of community and a culturally relatable support network. She plans to use her scholarship award to advance aspects of her senior capstone project, which focuses on community-led programs to aid in integrating refugees in El Cajon, California. The Landscape Architecture Department is tremendously proud of Abutabikh’s outstanding work.
Cal Poly Cheese Takes First Place in Specialty Dairy Competition
The Cal Poly Creamery’s Triple Peak brie, a student-produced cheese that was added to the lineup in 2020, took the first-place title in the North American Intercollegiate Dairy Challenge’s (NAIDC) “Best of Dairy Challenge” competition. Two agricultural science students, third-year Teddy Lopez of Wilton, California, and fourth-year Ryan Nunes, of Grover Beach, California, presented the soft cow’s milk triple cream cheese at the national competition, which was held March 30 to April 1 in Saratoga Springs, New York. The Triple Peak brie cheese was submitted under the soft cheese category, with 30 other competing products, and garnered 200 voters — more than any other submissions. “Our team works hard to ensure our customers receive the quality they deserve,” Lopez said. “The accomplishments of our students and products are a result of Cal Poly’s Learn by Doing education.”
Read more about the competition
Register for International Student Inclusivity Workshop
The International Center will host its second annual International Student Inclusivity Workshop in collaboration with the International Advisory Council from 11:10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Thursday, May 18. The goal of this virtual workshop is to spotlight the experiences of international students on campus and in the greater San Luis Obispo community. The session is designed to bring together faculty and staff who are interested in enhancing inclusive and equitable practices to bolster international students’ success. Working with qualitative and quantitative data gathered from international student surveys and focus groups, attendees will engage in discussion around ways to increase academic support and foster students' sense of belonging. The workshop will cover topics ranging from cultural adjustment to academic success, and discuss strategies for empowering this community of students to succeed.
Register to receive the Zoom link
U-Rise Program Offers Paid Research Opportunities for Underrepresented Students
The U-Rise program at Cal Poly is offering research opportunities to students from underrepresented groups who are planning to go into a biomedical field. The program aims to inspire students and prepare them for success in graduate school. The program, funded by the National Institutes of Health, includes tuition assistance and compensation. U-RISE consists of four key components over a two-year training program: a mentoring team and individual development planning; mentored research experiences at Cal Poly and at another, research-intensive university; formal coursework to support students' development as scientists; and events outside the classroom (research seminars, professional development, team building and peer mentoring). Participants will receive tuition assistance ($7,500 per year for two years), an annual stipend ($14,000 per year) for completing 10 to 15 hours’ research per week and a paid 10-week summer research experience. Learn more about the program.
Summer Off-Duty Staff/Faculty Permits Available Until June 2
Transportation and Parking Services (TAPS) is kicking off its annual off-duty permit program. Off-duty permits allow faculty and staff to park on campus briefly during their unpaid leave. The eligibility requirements for off-duty permits include: faculty who will not receive an appointment during summer 2023, faculty and staff on leave without pay, faculty on sabbatical or Difference in Pay Leave, or faculty and staff off duty pursuant to the 10/12 or 11/12 pay plan. Departments need to submit an “Off-Duty Permit Request” form for eligible faculty and staff to TAPS through AdobeSign by Friday, June 2. Off-duty permits will only be issued to faculty and staff who request through this process.
Learn more and request an off-duty permit
University Personnel Offers Wellbeing Workshops in May
University Personnel – Employee Wellbeing has worked with Cal Poly’s employee assistance program, LifeMatters, to offer synchronous well-being workshops. They include:
- Respect in a Diverse Workplace: Learn about the benefits of a diverse, inclusive workplace and how to remove barriers through constructive, assertive confrontation. This session will review definitions of diversity and respect, examples of respectful and disrespectful behaviors and assertive confrontation. This workshop will take place May 18 at 11 a.m.
- Mind-Body Wellness: We often overvalue the ability to accomplish tasks quickly, and this prevents us from slowing down and focusing. Practicing mindfulness, breathing and guided relaxation promote mind-body wellness. Join Jessica Coats to learn how to develop a centering mindset and improve focus. This workshop will take place May 23 at 2 p.m.
Contact Lisa Gray at lcgray@calpoly.edu for more information on well-being workshops.
Trauma Healing for Educators of Color Offered May 17
As part of the Building Toward Equity Faculty Development Program, faculty of color at Cal Poly are invited to join a workshop titled “Trauma Healing for Educators of Color,” from 4-7 p.m. Wednesday, May 17. This workshop aims to provide faculty of color with a space to acknowledge, process and begin to heal from traumatic experiences, especially experiences with racism, discrimination and other negative experiences resulting from the oppression of marginalized and intersecting identities. Activities for this workshop include an opportunity to discuss and process negative racialized academic experiences with similarly marginalized peers; and the use of evidence-based practices, including letter writing, breathing exercises and affirmations developed to heal from those experiences and become more efficacious and self-assured in an environment that often denigrates and invalidates BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color) faculty.
Learn more about the workshop and register
Toastmasters Club Coming to Campus
The Toastmasters Club is coming to campus and is the perfect opportunity for employees to gain experience in public speaking. This new club is part of Toastmasters International, a nonprofit educational organization that teaches public speaking and leadership skills. Members of the Cal Poly Toastmasters Club will be part of a supportive and positive community that empowers its members to develop skills through a structured and interactive program. With Toastmasters, members learn to speak confidently, listen effectively and lead with impact — skills that are invaluable in both personal and professional life. The club plans to meet every Wednesday from 12:10 to 1:10 p.m. on campus, creating a space for members to network, connect and grow together. To learn more about the Cal Poly Toastmasters Club and how to join, contact Eumi Sprague (esprague@calpoly.edu), IT director emeritus and Toastmasters International division director with District 33.
New Electric Vans Will Move Cal Poly Closer to Sustainability Goals
Facilities Management and Development has made a significant investment in sustainability with the purchase of nine fully electric cargo vans that will be assigned to the facilities trades such as electrical, carpentry, painting and lock shops. These electric vans will replace gas trucks purchased in the 1990s and will be put into service in May. The new full vans are more versatile and practical than the currently used small electric trucks and can be driven off-campus to perform maintenance at the Cal Poly pier or off-campus ranches. The investment in electric vans demonstrates the university’s commitment to lowering the campus' environmental footprint.
How to Access to Physical Collections During Kennedy Library Transformation
Kennedy Library understands the need for easy and ongoing access to items in physical collections for scholarly, creative and curricular use. To obtain materials from the library collection or to place materials on course reserve during the next two academic years, check them out of the library before the end of spring quarter 2023. They will be automatically renewed through the duration of the renovation. Most of Kennedy Library’s physical collections will be packed and securely held in dark storage during the renovation. A small portion — approximately 12,000 items — of the physical collection that is frequently used will be relocated and accessible in Crandall Gym, where visitors may browse collections and check out books. All physical collections in dark storage will be eligible for request and delivery through Interlibrary Loan (ILL).
Visit Library Services and Operations Updates for more information
Take a Look Inside the Graphics Studio at Walt Disney Imagineering
Join Imagineers and Cal Poly alumni Mark Panelli (Art and Design, ’94) and Kyle Branch (Art and Design, ’19) as they offer a look into the creative process and types of work that they contribute as members of the Graphics Studio at Walt Disney Imagineering. This guest lecture will take place from 5-6 p.m. Thursday, May 18, in Room 114 of the Baker Center for Science and Mathematics (No. 180).
Free Upcoming Music Department Events
The Music Department has numerous free student presentations through the rest of the academic year. In addition to the following events, there will be several senior recitals. For a complete list with times and locations, visit the department’s calendar website or call ext. 6-2406.
- May 19: Spring Jazz Combos Hang
- May 23: Piano Student Recital
- May 25: Vocal Student Recital
- June 10: Clarinet Festival
Theatre and Dance Department Presents ‘Somewhere, a Primer for the End of Days’
The Theatre and Dance Department’s spring main stage production, “Somewhere, a Primer for the End of Days,” will run 8 p.m. May 18-20 in Spanos Theatre. Survivors of years-long natural and humanitarian disasters find each other in the forests of the West Coast. Blood relations and found families rely on each other as they face new crises: a blight targeting tree roots, and the disappearance of insects. But Cassandra, an entomologist, and her brother Alexander, an engineer, find hope in the migration of Monarch butterflies to new nesting grounds. Is this our end? Or are we, like a butterfly, transforming?
Social Linguistics and Literacy Scholar to Speak on Global Accessibility Awareness Day May 18
Drawing from disability studies, his own cancer diagnosis, and his research on the writing and communication practices of a group of international STEM scholars, Suresh Canagarajah will present "Crip Writing: Communication Through a Disability and Decolonial Lens," from 3:30-4:30 p.m. Thursday, May 18, in the Advanced Technology Laboratories (No. 7), with a reception to follow. In his talk, Canagarajah, the Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of Applied Linguistics, English and Asian Studies at Penn State University, will demonstrate the importance of centering vulnerability and relational ethics in all effective communication. This event is held in conjunction with Global Accessibility Awareness Day and is sponsored by the Office of Writing and Learning, the College of Liberal Arts, the English and Political Science departments, and the Disability Faculty-Staff Association. The event is accessibly designed, featuring an ASL interpreter and CART real-time captioning. Attendees may contact John Lee (jlee245@calpoly.edu) with questions about event accessibility or requests for disability-related accommodations.
Learn more about the event and Global Accessibility Awareness Day
CLA to Present Writers at Work Event on May 18 with Mary Ann McFadden and Dian Sousa
The campus community is invited to a free Writers at Work event hosted by the College of Liberal Arts and the English Department. An in-person reading with authors Mary Ann McFadden and Dian Sousa will be held at 7:10 p.m. Thursday, May 18, in the Baker Center for Science and Mathematics (No. 180), Room 102. McFadden is a seasoned writer with almost 50 years of experience. She is the author of two books of poetry, including “Eye of the Blackbird,” which won the Four Way Books Intro Prize in Poetry. A selection of her poems have been set to music by composer Gerald Busby and performed at Carnegie Hall. Sousa, a poet and activist, is the author of three books of poetry, including “The Marvels Recorded in My Private Closet” and “Lullabies for the Spooked and Cool.” Her work has appeared in numerous journals, including “The Prairie Schooner,” “American Poetry Journal” and “The Banyan Review.”
Cal Poly Wind Bands to Close Season with ‘Pines’ Concert on May 20
The Wind Bands Spring Concert will feature the Wind Ensemble and Wind Orchestra at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 20, in the Performing Arts Center. The Wind Orchestra will open the concert with Viet Cuong’s “Heart on Fire,” inspired by the pastoral poetry of Mary Oliver, winner of the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize. The group will also perform Yo Goto’s “Dancing in Rain” and Dello Joio’s “Variants on a Mediaeval Tune.” The Wind Ensemble will also perform one of Joio’s compositions, a rousing piece based on a string quartet by Franz Joseph Haydn, “Fantasies on a Theme by Haydn.” The concert will conclude with “Pines of Rome,” the expansive tone poem by Ottorino Respighi. It paints four distinct scenes set among the Italian pines in and around the capital city, ending with the ground-shaking return of the Roman army. Director of Bands Christopher J. Woodruff and Associate Director of Bands Nicholas P. Waldron will conduct the concert. Tickets are sold at the Cal Poly Ticket Office, ext. 6-4849. For more information, visit the Music Department calendar website or call ext. 6-2406.
Get tickets to the wind bands spring concert
Change the Status Quo Keynote Event Rescheduled to May 22
Steven Canals’ visit — which was postponed from its rescheduled March 15 date due to speaker illness — will now be held at 6 p.m. Monday, May 22, in Chumash Auditorium. Canals, an Emmy-nominated and Peabody Award-winning co-creator, executive producer, director and writer of the FX drama series “Pose,” is the keynote speaker of the 21st annual Change the Status Quo Social Justice and Service Lecture Series. A groundbreaking queer, Afro Latinx creator, Canals recently signed his first deal with 20th Century TV and is developing projects that represent diverse and inclusive voices and stories of historically marginalized communities. Hosted by the Center for Service in Action, this annual event aims to empower students to use the Learn by Doing spirit to challenge social norms, ask critical questions, demand solutions and make lasting social change.
Learn more about the free event
Legendary Improv Comedy Troupe Comes to the PAC on May 25
Cal Poly Arts presents “The Second City Swipes Right,” an improv comedy show on all things dating, at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 25, in Harold Miossi Hall. A hilarious cast of comedians will cover everything from love, dating, relationships and everything in-between in a brand-new interactive experience. Opening in 1959, The Second City has consistently been a starting point for many comedians, award-winning actors, directors and others in show business, including Bill Murray, John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Eugene Levy, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Mike Myers, Steve Carell, Jordan Peele, Stephen Colbert and many others. Come see the troupe that inspired “Whose Line is it Anyway?” and “Saturday Night Live!" This event has a 20% staff and faculty discount available.
Get tickets to The Second City
Spring Jazz Concert to Feature Guests Inga Swearingen and George Stone on May 26
The Spring Jazz Concert will include guest artists Inga Swearingen and George Stone at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 26, in the Performing Arts Center. Swearingen, voice, and Stone, trumpet and piano, will perform with Cal Poly’s Jazz Ensemble and Vocal Jazz Ensemble, called MOSAIC, directed by Director of Jazz Studies Arthur White. Graduating seniors will be recognized at the concert, including vocalists Kelley Fredrickson, Danna Dumandan, and Alfred “AJ” Zoppi, who are music majors; guitarist Jacob Cherdak, psychology major; pianist Caeden Schlosser, business major; and saxophonist James Pettis, mechanical engineering major. Cherdak, Pettis, and Schlosser have been fixtures in Cal Poly’s large and small jazz instrumental ensembles; and Fredrickson, Dumandan and Zoppi were founding members of MOSAIC in 2019. The three vocalists and Cherdak were each named “Outstanding Soloist” at the University of Northern Colorado’s Greeley Jazz Festival in April. Tickets are sold at the Cal Poly Ticket Office, ext. 6-4849. For more information, visit the Music Department calendar website or call ext. 6-2406.
Get tickets to the Spring Jazz Concert
Cal Poly Arab Music Ensemble Spring Concert Set for May 27
The Arab Music Ensemble will showcase music from multiple regions for its Spring Concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 27, in Spanos Theatre on campus. Several classic Iraqi songs, as well as celebrated selections of Lebanese, Palestinian, Romanian and Syrian music will be featured. Composers, poets and artists to be represented on the program include the Anton Pann Ensemble, Elias Rahbani, Fairuz, Marcel Khalife and Nazem al-Ghazali. “Al-Madrasa Al-Arabiyya,” a composition by Arab Music Ensemble Director Ken Habib, will have its world premiere. Critically acclaimed guest artists to be featured include Ishmael on qanun (zither), Fathi Aljarrah on kamanja (violin), and Faisal Zedan on riqq (tambourine), daff (frame drum) and darabukka (goblet drum). San Luis Obispo dance director Jenna Mitchell will lead the dance troupe in the performance of original choreography that dialogues with the music. Tickets are sold at the Cal Poly Ticket Office, ext. 6-4849. For more information, visit the Music Department calendar website or call ext. 6-2406.
Get tickets to the Arab Music Ensemble Spring Concert
‘RSVP: Soundings’ to Feature Percussion Trio line upon line June 1-2
Music Department music technology and composition students will present “RSVP: Soundings” at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, June 1-2, in the Pavilion of the Performing Arts Center. The shows will be a collaboration with guest ensemble line upon line to premiere original interdisciplinary work for percussion, electronics and dance. “In preparation for the shows, the students have been investigating the role of artificial intelligence in the creation of music, including its implications on culture, automation and what it means to be sentient,” said Julie Herndon, the faculty director. Theatre and Dance Department student and alumni dancers will perform original choreography. Evan Ricaurté, lead choreographer, is a Cal Poly graduate (Architecture, ’20). line upon line is a percussion trio from Austin, Texas, that has been active since 2009. The group champions the work of living composers and pursues the musically unfamiliar. The trio — Adam Bedell, Cullen Faulk and Matthew Teodori — has premiered nearly 100 new works for percussion. Tickets are sold at the Cal Poly Ticket Office, ext. 6-4849. For more information, visit the Music Department calendar website or call ext. 6-2406.
Cal Poly Symphony to Perform Guest Artist Bahram Osqueezadeh’s Music June 3
The symphony will perform works by Bahram Osqueezadeh and “Scheherazade” by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 3, in Harold J. Miossi Hall in the Performing Arts Center. Works by guest artist Osqueezadeh will be performed for the first half of the concert. The multi-instrumentalist, scholar and composer will join the ensemble to perform his “Concerto for Santur and Orchestra.” Guest vocalist Alireza Shahmohammadi will the sing “Rational Insanity.” Both works combine Persian and Western musical traditions. Osqueezadeh will also give a free lecture-demonstration of his music and compositional process at 11:10 a.m. Thursday, June 1, in Room 218 of the Davidson Music Center. After intermission, the symphony will present Russian composer Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Scheherazade,” an orchestral tour de force based on “One Thousand and One Nights,” a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales. Music Professor David Arrivée will conduct the symphony. Tickets to the concert are sold at the Cal Poly Ticket Office, ext. 6-4849. For more information, visit the Music Department calendar website or call ext. 6-2406.
Get tickets to the symphony concert
Cal Poly Choirs to Present ‘In Her Words’ on June 4 with the Tucson Girls Chorus
Compositions by female composers, poetry by female poets and works about historically important female figures will be featured during the Cal Poly Choirs concert, “In Her Words,” at 3 p.m. Sunday, June 4, in Harold J. Miossi Hall of the Performing Arts Center. The four Cal Poly choirs — plus special guest ensemble, the Tucson Girls Chorus (TGC) from Arizona — will perform. There will be familiar favorites such as Benjamin Britten’s “Hymn to St. Cecilia” performed by the Chamber Choir, and modern masterpieces like Cecilia McDowall’s “Magnificat” performed by PolyPhonics and University Singers. The concert will also include some rarely performed gems such as several selections from Maddalena Casulana’s “Il primo libro di madrigali a quattro voci” (First Book of Madrigals for Four Voices) from 1568, which will be performed by the Chamber Choir and accompanied by Matthew Xie on lute. More information about the concert program and TGC is on the Music Department’s calendar website. Tickets are sold at the Cal Poly Ticket Office, ext. 6-4849. For more information, call ext. 6-2406.
Get tickets to the Cal Poly Choirs concert
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 event-submission@calpoly.edu.
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.