PolyTrends - Cal Poly Pomona

PolyTrends
| WINTER | SPRING | 2014
M A G A Z I N E
ROSE FLOAT
The Spark of Innovation
PolyTrends
M A G A Z I N E
| WINTER | SPRING | 2014
Vol. 24, No. 1
TABLE OF CONTENTS
FEATURE STORIES
8
Accomplished
Intercollegiate Athletics will induct five former athletes and
coaches to its Hall of Fame, and the College of Engineering
will welcome its first members.
12
Instrumental
Paul and Perry Tollett are among the most influential
people in live music. Long before Coachella, Stagecoach
and the Glass House, they were mapping their future as
students at Cal Poly Pomona.
15
Innovative
The Rose Float team has added another trophy to the
mantle for again pushing the boundaries of creativity.
DEPARTMENTS
2
Dr. J. Michael Ortiz
President, Cal Poly Pomona
Michelle Stoddard
Vice
President for University Advancement
OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS,
UNIVERSITY ADVANCEMENT
Editor Tim Lynch
Graphic Designer Ani Markarian
Photographer Tom Zasadzinski
News Editors Dan Lee, Esther Chou Tanaka
and Emily Velasco
Contributors Zoe Lance, Lisa McPheron and
Carly Owens
Website Michelle Magcalas
Distribution and Support Tambra Williams
PUBLIC AFFAIRS (909) 869-3342
publicaffairs@csupomona.edu
ALUMNI AFFAIRS (909) 869-2963
cpalumni@csupomona.edu
UNIVERSITY DEVELOPMENT (909) 869-4997
support@csupomona.edu
PolyTrends is published by California State Polytechnic University,
Pomona and is distributed to friends of the university. Opinions
expressed in PolyTrends do not necessarily represent the views of the
university. Letters should be sent to: PolyTrends Editor, Office of Public
Affairs, Cal Poly Pomona, 3801 W. Temple Ave., Pomona, CA 91768.
www.csupomona.edu
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University News
Recent achievements and activities on campus
7
Perspective
Former Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis has returned to
campus as a scholar-in-residence. She reflects on her life
as a student here and on the importance of education.
10
Focal Point
University photographer Tom Zasadzinski turns his expert
eye to the most notable members of the campus community.
20
Advancing the University
Custodians Reggie Keys and Sam Berry have
long supported Cal Poly Pomona, but their
contributions go far beyond the financial.
PHOTOS BY Tom Zasadzinski
STORIES BY Zoe Lance, Dan Lee, Tim Lynch,
Lisa McPheron, Esther Chou Tanaka
and Emily Velasco
UNIVERSITY
NEWS
Dale Prize Winners Announced
Math-Science Center
Receives Record Grant
A grant worth nearly $8 million — the largest
Cal Poly Pomona has ever received — will provide
funding for a groundbreaking science education
partnership with the Pomona Unified School District.
The National Science Foundation awarded $7.7
million to Cal Poly Pomona’s Center for Excellence in
Mathematics and Science Teaching, whose mission
is to improve the teaching and learning of science
and mathematics from kindergarten to graduate
school. It is the vehicle through which the College
of Science collaboratively serves the educational
community with the College of Education and
Integrative Studies.
Cal Poly Pomona will use the grant to establish
a new program called Reinvigorating Elementary
Science through a Partnership with California
Teachers. The program will support Pomona
Unified teachers in developing new, more engaging
science curricula.
The Department of Urban & Regional Planning has announced the 2014 winners of its
William R. and June Dale Prize for Excellence in Urban and Regional Planning. This
year’s competition was titled “We Are What We Eat: Food Systems and the Healthy
City” and encouraged entrants to develop new ideas for producing and distributing food
in urban environments.
Heather Wooten, senior planner and program director at ChangeLab Solutions, is the
recipient of the practitioner award. The scholar award goes to Samina Raja, associate
professor of urban and regional planning and the principal investigator of the Food
Systems Planning and Healthy Communities Lab at the University at Buffalo.
Collins College Expanding to Meet Growing Demand
Michele Cairella
Fillmore will oversee
the W. Keith and
Janet Kellogg
University Art Gallery
as well as the new
Huntley Art Gallery.
A New Face in a New Gallery
Michele Cairella Fillmore has been named curator and director of the
W. Keith and Janet Kellogg University Art Gallery as well as the new
Huntley Art Gallery.
She comes to Cal Poly Pomona from the Los Angeles Unified School
District, where she serves as art consultant and curator for the district’s
large Art & Artifact Collection & Archives. Previously, she was the
collection manager at the Museum of Latin American Art, gallery director
and art history instructor at Fullerton College, and manager of her own
arts consultation network known as caire/Larts.
“We were looking for a museum professional who has a strong
background organizing a collection and who can work well in a university
environment,” says College of Environmental Design Dean Michael Woo,
“and Michele fits our needs perfectly.”
Woo announced Cairella Fillmore’s appointment at the Nov. 8 gala
opening of the Huntley Gallery, an arts showcase and presentation area on
the fourth floor of the University Library. The gallery will provide a home
for the Don Huntley Western Art Collection. It will also be used to host
lectures and guest speakers, and give budding artists a place to display their
creations. A gift from longtime benefactor Don Huntley created the space.
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The Collins College of Hospitality Management has broken ground on a
$10 million, 15,000-square-foot expansion, which will feature much-needed
space for the college’s graduate program, a social space for students, and
additional offices that will allow the student body and faculty to grow over time.
The expansion will include several classrooms with innovative flex furniture and
technology designed to move and adapt to the evolving needs of today’s classroom.
More than 150 people gathered for the ceremonial groundbreaking in
November, eager to witness the beginning of a new era for the college.
The expansion project was made possible by $10 million in private pledges
from longtime supporters of the college including Carol and Jim Collins, for
whom the college is named; Panda Restaurant Group founders Andrew and Peggy
Cherng; The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation; prominent Inland Empire
businessman and alumnus Eugene Park; and Richard N. and Mary Alice Frank.
The college expansion is on track to open in the fall of 2015.
Professor Invited to
White House
An industrial and manufacturing
engineering professor has collaborated
on a mobile app that garnered national
attention from the White House.
Shokoufeh Mirzaei and five other
developers and entrepreneurs founded
UrbanFruit.ly. The mobile app and website
platform helps urban gardeners exchange
their home-grown fruits, vegetables and
herbs through a social network. People can
upload photos of their harvests, pinpoint
their location on a map, and trade with
their neighbors. Mirzaei analyzes user data
to improve app marketing.
The UrbanFruit.ly team was
invited last summer to the White House
Champions of Change event, alongside
13 other app startups. They met and
talked with the president’s science and
technology advisors.
The UrbanFruit.ly website and app
are still in beta testing. The team and six
others are being interviewed for corporate
support in developing their ideas into
sustainable businesses.
PolyTrends | WINTER | SPRING | 2014
3
First Chair of History Department
Remembered for Warmth, Humor
Garcia
Succeeds
Barnes
President Michael Ortiz has named Steven N. Garcia to
serve as chief financial officer and vice president for the
Division of Administrative Affairs. Garcia comes from
Claremont Graduate University, where he was the senior
vice president for finance and administration.
“I really admire Cal Poly Pomona, especially President
Ortiz, and how the university has been able to move
forward in the face of adversity,” Garcia says. “There’s a
lot of excitement and momentum on this campus. I can see
a lot of great things happening, and I’m looking forward to
being a part of that.”
Garcia succeeds Ed Barnes, who retired on Dec. 1
after more than 30 years of service at Cal Poly Pomona.
Students Design Winning
App at MIT Hacking Challenge
Turning Manure into
Food with Algae
Can scientists grow algae in polluted
water on dairy farms and then safely feed
it to livestock?
That’s what Shelton Murinda,
an associate professor of animal and
veterinary sciences, Marcia Ewers of the
biological sciences department, and their
research colleagues from Cal Poly San
Luis Obispo and the U.S. Department of
Agriculture are trying to discover. The
USDA has awarded the team nearly
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Werner H. Marti, a professor and the first chair of the history
department, died last fall at the age of 96.
Marti was hired in 1955 to teach in the then-social sciences
department. When the history department was created in 1968,
he became its first chair. He was the first blind doctoral student to
graduate from UCLA, having lost his sight playing high school football.
The Martis frequently opened their Pomona home for history
department gatherings and also helped organize campouts around
Southern California.
“In those days, there was much encouragement by the
administration of what was called the ‘Cal Poly family,’” Professor
Emeritus Tony Brundage recalls. “But nowhere on campus was
that ideal more fully realized than in our department, thanks to the
dedication and warmth of Werner and his wonderful wife, Pat.
Werner’s friendly encouragement, his readiness to offer wise counsel,
and his abundant humor made those early days most fulfilling.”
Marti retired in 1977. He and his wife moved to the Bishop area,
where they lived until relocating to Rancho Cucamonga in 2003.
$500,000 to find out.
The research has significant implications: California’s dairies produce about 30 million
tons of solid and liquid waste annually that release ammonia into the air and pollute water
sources. Manure also contains pathogens harmful to animals and humans.
Algae can clean up the polluted water by feeding on the nutrient-rich manure.
Algae is also a potential food source for livestock. The team is trying to determine
whether algae grown for livestock feed in polluted water would carry pathogens. If the
algae carry the pathogens, one possibility is to pasteurize or dry and heat the algae
before feeding it to livestock.
The project also will estimate the potential financial benefits to the agricultural
industry from cleaning up polluted water and creating an economical food source.
A self-organized group of computer science and electrical
engineering students are making a name for themselves
with a mobile app they designed and wrote in 24 hours at
an MIT competition.
Electrical engineering students Ethan Chow and
Garrett Porter, and computer science students Bryan
Thornbury and Rafael Rayo — collectively known
as Project Coeus — wrote their app at hackMIT, a
collaborative programming competition at which 1,000
students from around the country competed to craft the
best program.
The app is designed to collect location data from
phones and create “trending places of interest” —
hotspots on a map that show where people are eating and
hanging out.
The team earned the Best Use of Algorithms award,
beating out competitors including Yale, Stanford and
Carnegie Mellon.
Werner H. Marti, who died last fall
at the age of 96, was the first blind
doctoral student to graduate from UCLA.
PolyTrends | WINTER | SPRING | 2014
5
iStock photo
CAMPUS
PERSPECTIVE
By Esther Chou Tanaka
Pursuing education and embracing
opportunities are messages close
to the heart of alumna and former
U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis.
They are lessons that reflect her
own experiences of growing up in
the working-class community of La
Puente, being the first in her family to
attend college, serving in the House
of Representatives and becoming the
first Latina in a president’s Cabinet.
This academic year, Solis returned
to campus as a scholar-in-residence.
She sat down with PolyTrends to reflect
on her time as a student at Cal Poly
Pomona, the value of education and the
way she overcame obstacles.
Travel Like a Local
Retired Professor Leads Tours of Italy
When Professor Emeritus Bob Small travels to Europe, it is more like a homecoming
than a vacation. The noted wine expert has visited the Continent many times, including a
sabbatical in which he spent several months researching wine for “Beverage Basics,” a
book he co-authored with his wife, Michelle Couturier. During those visits, he made many
friends and gained a local’s perspective.
As a service to Cal Poly Pomona, the retired Collins College dean/professor leads
groups of 20 alumni and friends of the university with him on tours to Europe. This year’s
trips will be to Sicily in late spring and Tuscany in the fall. In the company of a colleague
who has lived in Italy for more than 30 years and is fluent in Italian, Small ventures off the
beaten path to see parts of the country that tourists typically miss. They stay at boutique
hotels and an idyllic wine estate. They visit museums of international reputation; dine at
distinctive restaurants; shop at food markets; take cooking classes; and tour both large,
well-known wineries and small, family-owned vineyards.
Those who have attended Small’s trips rave of their experiences. They are quick to
say it was the best food, wine and cultural travel they have ever experienced.
“The overall Tuscan experience was amazing. The intimate-sized group allowed for
great conversation and learning,” says alumna Michele Gendreau. “The schedule was
filled; however, there was never pressure to participate in everything. Bob built in freedom
for those of us who are wanderers at heart.”
Gendreau, who is the general manager of food and beverage for Disney California
Adventure, is well versed in the culinary world, and she points to Small’s trip as a chance
of a lifetime to wine and dine.
“The Florence-to-Rome trip was a terrific introduction to Tuscany. The cultural education
of the area, people, food and wine was exactly was I was looking for,” she says. “I would
recommend it over and over again.”
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What were your first impressions of
college and Cal Poly Pomona?
So far, Small has offered the Tuscany
trip as well as a trip to the Rhone Valley
and Provence regions of France and the
Piedmont and Veneto regions of Italy.
This May will mark the first time he will
take a group to Sicily. “For those who like
seafood, want to experience the influence
of North Africa on Sicilian cuisine, visit
Greek ruins and see Mt. Etna up close, this
trip will be amazing,” he says. “Sicily is
truly a beautiful place.”
The trip to Sicily will be from May
28 to June 5 and costs $3,895. The
Tuscany trip will be from Oct. 6 to 14
and costs $3,695. Prices are per person/
double occupancy, excluding airfare.
To learn more, contact the Office of
Alumni Affairs at (909) 869-2963.
I’ll never forget the orientation
program because we had to stay in the
dorms with students from various states
and countries. It was my first experience
living away from home. I was the first
in my family to go to college, so it was
quite a shock even though it was so
close to where I grew up. It was a good
experience because I learned to be more
relaxed around different people and
different surroundings.
College was very competitive. I
actually enjoyed the experience. It forced
you to really prioritize where you spent
your time, and to set priorities. Through
the Educational Opportunity Program, we
had a strict regimen because we had to
meet with counselors and make sure that
we were making progress. At the time, I
didn’t realize how important it was to have
someone guide and advise you. Those are
the type of support services that add value
to your education.
What kind of leadership experiences did you have in college?
One of my first student jobs was through the program that recruited me here — the
Educational Opportunity Program. I was asked to be a student recruiter and to conduct
outreach at local high schools. The message was: “There are opportunities. Change the
course of your life by preparing for a career. Apply your talents and skills. You can do it.
Don’t let people put obstacles in your way. Realize your full potential.”
What kind of obstacles did you experience?
Not all public education at the secondary level is equal. At the time, there were
students in my groups who were not geared toward a college education. Courses such as
AP classes were not offered for people like me. I recall spending many hours in the library
and summers preparing for my college course work.
Even though you may come from a different socioeconomic background, that doesn’t have
to determine your fate. That’s something I believe in. That’s a story that has to be told, because
that’s what an education does. It helps to equalize and provide balance in our society.
This year, we have 6,000 new freshmen and transfer students. How should they
approach college and what can they expect in the working world?
It’s a very competitive atmosphere right now because of the economic contractions.
Businesses are looking for highly talented and skilled individuals. Find out what your
passion is, what you like to do, and follow it. But also figure out what that means in terms
of economic well-being, where you want to be and where you see yourself.
I think its fine for young people to come in and aspire for one thing, but it’s OK to change
your mind too. I did. I think I changed my major two or three times. You’re not going to fail. It’s
really more about finding out your preferences and where you ultimately want to be happy.
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H A L L O F FA M E
H A L L O F FA M E
Engineering Will Induct 22
in Its Initial Class
Athletics Will Re-Induct 51
and Honor 5 New Members
Eddy W. Hartenstein (Aerospace Engineering and Mathematics ’72) —
C
al Poly Pomona has a rich athletics
heritage that includes legendary
coaches, Olympic stars and
championship performers. As part of the
university’s 75th anniversary celebration,
Intercollegiate Athletics will honor the
past with an “Evening of Champions” on
Friday, Feb. 7.
The event, part of Homecoming
and Family Weekend, will include a reinduction of the 51 members of the Cal
Poly Pomona Athletics Hall of Fame, along
with the induction of five new members:
Tabreshia C. Lawrence-McIntyre of track
and field, Karen Miller of women’s tennis
and administration, Jim Sackett of cross
country and track and field, Lisa Ulmer of
women’s basketball, and Ruth Van’t LandParkes of women’s soccer. The last class
to be inducted in 2003 featured coaches
Darlene May and John Scolinos.
The relaunch of the Hall of Fame
has generated buzz among Intercollegiate
Athletics alumni, with many former studentathletes stopping by campus to reconnect.
One of the recent Bronco visitors
was Chi Cheng, a member of the Hall of
Fame’s induction class of 1994. Considered
one of the greatest female Asian athletes
of the 20th century, Cheng broke track
and field world records and won a bronze
medal in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. Cheng, who earned a bachelor’s degree in
kinesiology in 1971, was in awe of all the
changes on campus when she returned for
a visit in December.
“We were honored to meet with
Chi and share our excitement for Bronco
athletics and the entire university
community,” says track and field coach
Octavious Gillespie-Bennett. “She has a
wonderful appreciation of her time here at
Cal Poly Pomona.”
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New members of the Hall of Fame
Tabreshia C. Lawrence-McIntyre was an eight-time All-American in
track and field, and she captured an individual national championship in 1998 in
the 400-meter hurdles. She also guided the Broncos to back-to-back conference
titles in 1997 and 1998.
Karen Miller was a key architect of Cal Poly Pomona’s women’s tennis
dynasty. As the head coach, Miller led the program to its first-ever national
championship in 1980, following with another title in 1981. She also served as the
university’s athletic director for 18 years.
Jim Sackett coached the Broncos’ men’s cross country team to a national
title in 1983, one of seven top-10 national finishes under his leadership. After
coaching 27 years at Cal Poly Pomona, Sackett earned a spot in the U.S. Track &
Field Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2007.
Lisa Ulmer played a key role in the Cal Poly Pomona women’s basketball
team capturing the 1982 National Championship. One of just two three-time All
Americans in program history, Ulmer scored 21 points in the national title game
and she still holds many other records.
Ruth Van’t Land-Parkes is undoubtedly the best women’s soccer player
in the history of Cal Poly Pomona and the Broncos’ conference, the CCAA. After
leading the 1999 team to the national championship game, Van’t Land-Parkes was
named the Division II Player of the Year.
Where to Catch the Big Event
The Feb. 7 Hall of Fame ceremony will start at 6 p.m. in the Bronco
Student Center’s Ursa Major suite. Afterward, attendees will be
invited to Kellogg Gym for the unveiling of the new Hall of Fame display
in the lobby. To learn more about the evening’s activities, contact
Intercollegiate Athletics at (909) 869-2810.
E
ach year, hundreds of Cal Poly
Pomona students walk across the
commencement stage to receive
their degree. It’s a moment that marks
their transition from student to alumnus,
as well as the opening chapter of a story
waiting to be told.
Wanting to share stories of significant
success, the College of Engineering has
launched its inaugural Engineering Hall
of Fame with the aim of honoring and
recognizing distinguished members of the
college’s more than 20,000 alumni. The
college will induct 22 individuals at an
invitation-only, black-tie event Feb. 19. The
Hall of Fame will be publicly unveiled Feb.
20 in engineering buildings 9 and 17. Large
photos and biographical information of the
inductees will be placed throughout the
buildings. Those being honored include:
Richard A. Croxall
(Mechanical Engineering ’63) — Vice
president & chief engineer (ret.),
Northrop Grumman
Richard A. Croxall credits much of
his success to the hands-on approach
that is the centerpiece of a Cal Poly
Pomona education. After graduating, he
worked at a series of firms before arriving
at Northrop Grumman, where he was
promoted to vice president and chief
engineer at the company’s Space Park.
Since his retirement in 2005, he
has been a member of the Engineering
Industry Advisory Councils for Cal Poly
Pomona, Cal Poly SLO, UCLA, USC and
Caltech, and has offered support to
several engineering students.
CEO and publisher, Los Angeles Times
It might seem odd for the head of a major metropolitan newspaper to have graduated
with degrees in aerospace engineering and mathematics, but Eddy W. Hartenstein says his
Cal Poly Pomona education gave him a toolbox for life.
After graduating from Cal Poly Pomona, Hartenstein earned a master’s degree in
applied mechanics from Caltech and went on to work on a series of probes to Venus that
Hughes Aircraft developed for NASA. While at Hughes, he was named president for the
satellite division, which would later evolve into DirecTV. He has been recognized for his
efforts to revolutionize television with a lifetime achievement award from the National
Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, as well as three Emmys, and was inducted into
the National Academy of Engineering in 2001.
James R. Williamson (Electrical Engineering ’82) — Vice president,
technology standards (ret.), Sony Electronics
James R. Williamson got started a bit late on his Cal Poly Pomona education, but
for a good reason: He was the guitarist for the Detroit-based rock band Iggy Pop and the
Stooges. The Stooges’ raw sound found a niche of popularity during the band’s original run,
but it is widely credited with helping to spawn the punk rock scene.
Williamson’s passion for touring was eventually supplanted by his interest in personal
computers, which led him to pursue a degree in electrical engineering at Cal Poly Pomona.
His professional career began with computer chip maker Advanced Micro Devices and
culminated at Sony Electronics, where he served as vice president of technology standards.
Additional members of the Hall of Fame
Ahmad Adel Al-Khatib (Electrical Engineering ’83) — Founder & CEO, SIGMAnet
Daniel Man-Chung Cheng (Industrial Engineering ’81) — Managing director, Dunwell Enviro-Tech
(Holdings) Limited
Martin J. Colombatto (Engineering Technology ’82) — Director of the board for ClariPhy
Communications & Luxtera Corp.
Nato Flores (Mechanical Engineering ’79) — President and majority owner, Tower General Contractors
Lawrence M. Gates (Civil Engineering ’87) — President, DRC Engineering Inc.
Virginia Grebbien (Civil Engineering ’86) — President, Parsons Environment & Infrastructure
Peter Hadinger (Electrical Engineering ’81) — President, Inmarsat Inc.
Darcel L. Hulse (Mechanical Engineering ’70) — President & CEO (ret.), Sempra LNG
Brian Jaramillo (Engineering Technology ’87) — President, Tilden-Coil Constructors
Bob Kallenbaugh (Civil Engineering ’74) — CEO, RBF Consulting
Jack H. Kulp (Mechanical Engineering ’63) — President, TrafFix Devices Inc.
Lynne Lachenmyer (Chemical Engineering ’80) — Senior vice president, ExxonMobil Chemical Company
Rick Morrow (Chemical Engineering ’72) — Senior vice president, gas operations & system integrity,
Southern California Gas Company
Cordelia Ontiveros, Ph.D. (Chemical Engineering ’78) — Associate dean for academic programs &
student services, Cal Poly Pomona College of Engineering
Rebecca Ritt Rhoads (Electrical Engineering ’80 & master’s in Electrical Engineering ’86) —
President, Global Business Services, and chief information officer, Raytheon Company
Joseph M. Rivera (Civil Engineering ’73) — Director, gas engineering, Southern California Gas Company
Gerry Salontai (Civil Engineering ’77) — President & CEO (ret.), Kleinfelder Inc.
Mark A. Stevens (Mechanical Engineering ’75) — Senior vice president, corporate risk, Fluor Corp.
Thomas Vos (Electrical Engineering ’64) — Vice president & general manager (ret.), Hewlett-Packard
PolyTrends | WINTER | SPRING | 2014
9
focal
POINT
Cal Poly Pomona’s
most storied legacy
is its Arabian horses.
Without W.K. Kellogg’s
passion for the
beautiful steeds in the
1920s, the history of
the university would
not be the same.
To learn more about
the Arabian horses, go
to www.csupomona.
edu/-library/wkahl
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5
STORY
FEATURE
PAUL and PERRY TOL
LETT have built a music
It all started at Cal P
oly Pomona with big
empire.
dreams and hard w
ork.
By Dan Lee
Two of the most influential people in the music world have come to campus, but there is no
entourage, no buzz, no publicity. Perry and Paul Tollett are far too humble for any of that —
but make no mistake, they are Players.
Coachella … Stagecoach … The Glass House … The Fox Theater.
The Tollett brothers are at the epicenter of the live music performance world, with a
network of connections that range from Paul McCartney to Willie Nelson to Madonna and
Prince, as well as virtually every top performer in the industry today.
They can jump-start fresh careers or breathe new life into older ones. Every January,
legions of music fans await the announcement of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts
Festival’s lengthy list of performers and scramble to purchase the 200,000 available tickets.
This year, both weekends in April sold out in three hours. Afterward, millions follow and
discuss the lineup.
Coachella’s country music equivalent, Stagecoach, is a huge draw as well with an
equally passionate fan base.
In Pomona’s arts district, the Glass House and the Fox Theater have become the Inland
Empire’s counterpart to the Hollywood scene, serving as incubators for future stars and
popular venues for established musicians.
Perry and Paul Tollett have arrived at a conference room in the music department on a
quiet winter morning to reflect on their careers and their passions. This is a homecoming,
because this is where it all began more than three decades ago.
The Tollett brothers almost didn’t come to Cal Poly Pomona.
Perry, who is four years older, had no intention of going to college. He was running a
successful upholstery business out of his parents’ garage in West Covina when a customer
persuaded him to enroll.
“First, I was in chemistry, but I changed to chemical engineering because the guy who
pushed me into this was a chemist,” Perry recalls. “The first couple of quarters I took a lot
of music classes in this building right here — piano, a guitar class, things I didn’t need for
my major. I just wanted to learn music.”
Not long afterward, a band from Pomona College calling itself the Targets posted
fliers in the music building saying it was looking for a drummer.
“I called them up and said, ‘I’m not a drummer, but I want to see what you’re doing
and maybe play with you guys.’ And they said, ‘Come on out.’ So I joined.”
The Targets faded to little more than a footnote in the local music scene, but in
retrospect it proved to be the Tollett brothers’ first Big Break.
“That was our foray into promoting,” says Paul, who handed out and posted fliers for
the band’s November 1982 concert. “I was still in high school and more or less just hanging
out with my brother …”
“… but he was pretty savvy at setting up shows even then,” Perry says. “There
wasn’t a lot of money in it, but it was fun. We were having a blast.”
“I had the best seat in the house,” Paul adds. “No one’s talking to you, but you’re
catching everything. And when you get to be the right age, you have all that experience
without really having any experience. I’ve lived Perry’s life, you know, because I got to hang
out with him.”
Perry and Paul play off each other, sometimes finishing the other’s sentences or
adding details to anecdotes. It is clear that, to this day, their collaboration is grounded in
friendship and respect. It allows them to constantly push each other.
Paul followed Perry into chemical engineering at Cal Poly Pomona. It allowed them to
take classes together and hang out during breaks at the Bronco Student Center, where
they would talk music with friends. One was Kevin Lyman, who would go on to found the
Warped Tour, a music and extreme sports festival.
“We’d just talk about shows nonstop,” Paul recalls. “And 30 years later, he runs
festivals around the country, and we’ve got the regional thing. A lot came from those times.”
But back then, success was a far-off notion.
“We were starving students. We wouldn’t buy a parking pass,” Paul recalls. “We’d park
on Temple, at the very top where the red curb ended, and we’d hoof it because you’d save
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something like 50 cents a day. It doesn’t
sound like much, but in a week it adds up.”
When they weren’t studying or
hanging out, they were promoting concerts
at local pizza parlors or Moose lodges, the
minor leagues of the music world. In those
pre-Internet days, they relied heavily on
fliers and posters to spread the word.
“They had so much ink, you’d get a
little lightheaded in the car,” Paul says.
The brothers also became friends
with the people who scheduled concerts
on campus.
“They booked these great shows,”
Perry recalls. “That’s the thing about ASI:
They would always be very cutting edge.
Sometimes they would get the first play.”
In early 1986, the brothers heard
that a Los Angeles concert promoter had
booked a show in Pomona. “So Paul and I
decided to go down and have a chat with
this fellow and tell him, ‘Don’t come to
Pomona without us. Co-promote with us.
We know the city,’” Perry says. “We know
the people.’”
That blend of experience and audacity
led them to their second Big Break.
The promoter, Gary Tovar of
Goldenvoice, and the two brothers
plugged the concert at the Pomona Valley
Auditorium.
“At the end of the show, he says,
‘OK, so next week I have Fine Young
Cannibals in Long Beach. I hope you’re
with me on that too,’” Perry says. “So
we started working with him on each
show …”
“… and it was magical from the
beginning,” Paul adds.
Perry soon graduated and got a job at
a pharmaceutical manufacturing plant, but
not for long. Meanwhile, Paul continued to
take classes and work for Tovar.
During his senior year, Goldenvoice
signed a deal giving it exclusive promoting
rights at the Hollywood Palladium. He
decided to work full time as a promoter.
Paul and a business partner bought
the company from Tovar in 1991. Although
they were running Goldenvoice with little
money, they made it work. Five years later,
the Tollett brothers decided to open a
music venue in Pomona.
“When we were kids, all the cool
shows were in Hollywood or Orange
County. We felt we got shortchanged, so
we wanted to have a club,” Paul says.
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INSPIRATION,
PERSPIRATION AND
INNOVATION
The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival sold out in three hours
this year. The event draws many of the industry’s top performers.
“The fabric of the old downtown was better than the strip mall fabric
that we grew up around,” Perry adds.
That first venue was The Glass House. Later, Perry teamed up with
local businessmen Ed and Jerry Tessier to purchase and renovate the Fox
Theater to stage larger concerts.
Paul and Goldenvoice then hit on the idea of a music festival in Coachella.
“We couldn’t build an arena, we couldn’t build an amphitheater,” Paul
says. “We didn’t have that type of money, but we thought, ‘We can rent a
field and put a bunch of fans together and make it work.’”
The first Coachella festival in 1999 featured Rage Against the
Machine, Tool, Beck and Morrissey, artists the brothers knew from
promoting them. Although Goldenvoice lost money, Coachella drew a huge
crowd and good buzz. Entertainment giant AEG took notice and bought the
company, giving Goldenvoice the financial backing to take risks and make
Coachella an annual pilgrimage for concert-goers. Stagecoach followed.
Organizing two of music’s seminal concerts is a full-time occupation.
While Paul is responsible for orchestrating the lineup — more than 100 acts
per event — Perry provides his perspective on the artists, and he designs
and builds the stages and fencing for the venues at his shop in Pomona.
Goldenvoice employs a lot of students at Coachella, and the brothers
say aspiring promoters can still learn the ropes as they did.
“There’s a guy who goes here right now who’s becoming a superstar
in the live business,” Perry says. “He emails me every couple of days and
says, ‘I just talked to these guys from this band, and I think I’m going to
do a small show at this pizza place over here.’ And I write back to him and
say, ‘Let me listen to them.’”
“He’s not profit-motivated,” Paul says. “At that size, there’s no money
in anything. But he’s trying to make something happen.”
It’s now early afternoon, more than an hour into their visit to campus. The
brothers have a full day ahead, including putting the finishing touches on
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Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
Have Long Been a Part
of Rose Float Success
the Coachella lineup. Paul says one of the headliners will
be a reunion of two musicians.
In a few weeks, the world will know.
But their work will not end even after Coachella is
finished. There’s Stagecoach to think of and concert dates
at The Glass House and Fox Theater to fill. And Coachella
has grown so much that it’s a year-round enterprise. The
brothers will have to dream it all up again, much like they
did years ago on campus with their friends.
Perry and Paul Tollett succeeded beyond
their wildest dreams, but they never forgot
where it all began. They are contributing to the
music department’s $2.5 million All-Steinway
School Initiative — an ambitious plan to
purchase 29 Steinway pianos and establish
an endowment to maintain them. Cal Poly
Pomona will become the first public university
in California to earn the distinction of being
an All-Steinway School, giving students
extraordinary access to the gold standard of
piano craftsmanship.
“We had a great time here,” Paul says.
“I think if you go to a school and have a great
time, you should help out if you can.”
For more information about the AllSteinway Initiative, contact, Kristen Daley,
director of major gifts, at (909) 869-5471 or
kldaley@csupomona.edu.
“Bedtime Buccaneers”
makes its way down
Colorado Boulevard. An
animation technique that
created rolling waves of
flowers earned the Cal Poly
Universities team its first
Innovation Trophy.
By Dan Lee
When Cal Poly was first invited to enter a float in the 1949 Rose Parade, the students had
no experience, a budget of $258, no committee and only 90 days to build it.
Despite those handicaps, they responded with an enormous rocking horse, “Childhood
Memories,” that won an award of merit. They did so by being creative: Certain campus
plants were heavily pruned, midnight flower raids were staged on campus and in Pasadena,
and lumber was appropriated from around school at odd hours.
PolyTrends | WINTER | SPRING | 2014
15
“I realized that we needed to get smarter in how we animated our float action,” he
recalls. “I had been raised in a farming environment and was somewhat familiar with the
use and power of hydraulics.”
So Simons took a trip down to his father’s farm shop in the Imperial Valley and
literally helped himself to the equipment that propelled the Cal Poly Universities to their
first animation award in 1968.
Simons would go on to spend his entire career as an administrator at Cal Poly Pomona,
eventually becoming university advancement’s associate vice president for special projects
before retiring in 2012. For many years of those years, he served as the head advisor to the
students’ Rose Float Committee.
Dale Wong, another alumnus, remembers when students became the first to use
hydraulic motors to help move a float designed as a roller-skating elephant, “Tons of Fun,” in
1977. The float team became the first to use computer-controlled animation in 1979, as well
as the first to use fiber optics in 1981.
“We were always trying to add something that hadn’t been done in a parade float before,”
Wong says. “The challenge was to add to the legacy from the previous years’ floats.”
By then, the students were using military surplus equipment for the lab machinery and
welding tools, sometimes working at night without a roof under portable lights.
They relied on donations and equipment loans to help build the float, such as landing
gear from an F-4 Phantom fighter jet that served to steer the front legs for the elephant on
“Tons of Fun.”
Improvisation was a way of life.
“At that time, you couldn’t go down to the nearest electronics store and pick up a
laptop or desktop because they didn’t exist yet,” says Wong, a 1978 electrical engineering
graduate who later enrolled in the MBA program. “The interfaces between the computer
and the hydraulics for animation had to be designed and built by the students.”
The results speak for themselves: The Cal Poly Universities have won 52 awards in
66 consecutive years of participation, and millions of viewers around the world have seen
their floats.
Many alumni have gone on to work for the professional float-building companies.
“I believe in one parade we had more than 25 alumni — drivers,
observers and animators — riding in the parade,” Wong says. “There
are many alumni who have gone on and joined the Tournament of Roses,
become float mechanics and still either build or decorate floats.”
Plans are underway to raise money for a new 10,000-square-foot Rose
Float lab on campus that will provide better protection from the weather
and increased security for tools and equipment. That will help the Cal Poly
universities remain competitive against the professional float builders, but
the students will always have their own advantage.
“While the students are certainly not as experienced, their numbers
always helped,” Simons says. “Someone would come up with an
innovative idea. There was no shortage of brainpower.”
“Someone would come up with
an innovative idea. There was no
shortage of brainpower.”
— RON SIMONS, who rode on “Man on the Moon” in 1962
and for decades served as an advisor to the float team.
Today, the Rose Float operation has a much larger budget, better
equipment and a yearlong design and construction plan. Nevertheless,
the Pomona and San Luis Obispo students rely on creativity, imagination,
hard work and innovation to compete with better-funded floats built by
professional companies. This year, the students broke ground in another
way with “Bedtime Buccaneers,” which included a rolling wave of flowers.
“We animated about 1,800 vialed flowers,” says Ian Davison, a
mechanical engineering student and Rose Float construction chair. “The
resulting motion created the illusion of a dynamic floral surface that
appeared to flex and shift in a way that mimicked ripples traveling across
the surface of water.”
The vialed flowers appeared on the two front corners of the float,
covering about 40 square feet. The waving animation required about 10,000
individual parts to be manufactured in-house by the students. It’s believed to
be the first float to use animation in this way and was the latest innovation
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students have introduced to the Rose Parade.
It earned the team the Crown City Innovation Award,
which recognizes best use of imagination and innovation
to advance float design. Although the Cal Poly Universities
have won dozens of awards through the years, this marked
the first time they received the award.
The Cal Poly universities’ history of thinking outside
the box dates back at least to the early 1960s. The 1962
float, “Man on the Moon,” featured student Ron Simons
dressed as an astronaut. Simons would wave to the crowd
before ducking back into a sphere that began to spin
around a crescent moon.
Simons graduated and joined the military, but he
returned to campus for a second degree in 1967 with new
ideas for the Rose Float.
This year’s float bore the distinction
of being the only one in the Rose
Parade certified as using all
California-grown flowers.
“We were always trying to add
something that hadn’t been done in
a parade float before. The challenge
was to add to the legacy from the
previous years’ floats.”
— DALE WONG, who worked on floats as an
undergraduate in the late 1970s
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CALENDAR
April
Kellogg Distinguished Public
Lecture Series
April 10
Feb.
Homecoming Weekend
February 7-8
Cal Poly Pomona’s Homecoming and Family Weekend
has something for everyone. On Friday, enjoy a bonfire
and pep rally at the Bronco Commons. The night also
includes a fashion show, movie singalong and ice
skating. Events on Saturday include a parent and family
breakfast and an opportunity to meet alumni, ASI
leaders and other members of the university community.
Visitors can also take a tour of campus and participate
in a festival complete with food trucks, carnival
rides and a concert. Baseball and basketball games
are scheduled, as is a homecoming dance. For more
information and to purchase tickets for the weekend,
visit www.csupomona.edu/~homecoming/.
Hospitality Uncorked
February 8
Showcasing guest chefs, entertainment and exclusive
auctions, the annual Hospitality Uncorked event
celebrates the hospitality industry and The Collins
College of Hospitality Management. The JW Marriott
in Los Angeles will be transformed into a supper
club, taking event-goers back to the Roaring ’20s. The
Robert Mondavi Wine & Food Award, the focal point
of the night, will be presented to Alan J. Fuerstman,
founder and CEO of Montage Hotels & Resorts.
Proceeds from the event support scholarships,
equipment needs and operations at the college.
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit
www.hospitalityuncorked.com/.
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May
Southern California Tasting and Auction
May 4
Patricia Arquette, an Emmy Award-winning actress
and co-founder of GiveLove, will speak. A reception will
take place at 6 p.m., followed by the lecture at 7 p.m. in
the Bronco Student Center, Ursa Major. The entire event
is open to the public, but registration is required. To
register, visit www.csupomona.edu/~kellogglectures.
Savor a variety of wines and beers, delectable
cuisines and live entertainment while supporting
student scholarships and higher education. The 7th
annual event will be held in the Rose Garden and
Aratani Japanese Garden from 1 to 4 p.m. To purchase
tickets, visit www.polytaste.com.
“Our Living Past”
Professor For A Day
April 13
The Department of Theatre and New Dance presents
“Our Living Past,” a multimedia presentation that
incorporates slides, music and actors to bring Cal
Poly Pomona’s past to life. The performance will take
place at 4 p.m. in the University Theatre. For more
information, call (909) 869-3900.
Spring Career Fair
April 29
Students will have the opportunity to strengthen
their networking skills and interact with numerous
employers, some of whom are Cal Poly Pomona
alumni. The fair will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30
p.m. in the University Quad. For more information, call
(909) 869-2342.
May 5-9
Alumni are invited back to campus to teach a class,
providing a unique experience for students. On May 8,
the returning alumni will be hosted at a luncheon at
the Restaurant at Kellogg Ranch from noon to 1 p.m.
For more information, call (909) 869-2963 or email
alumni@csupomona.edu.
July
July 7-August 16
Works from California artists Francisco Alvarado,
Patricia Liverman, Karin Skiba and Jim Zver will be on
display at the W. Keith and Janet Kellogg University
Art Gallery. The opening reception for the exhibit will
be held July 12 from 6 to 9 p.m. The gallery is open
Monday and Tuesday from 4 to 8 p.m., Wednesday
and Thursday from noon to 4 p.m., and Saturday and
Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. For more information, call
(909) 869-4302.
8th Annual Tractor and Car Show
May 10
Enjoy a tractor and car show, berry picking, a petting
zoo and much more at the Farm Store. Custom classic
cars, street rods, motorcycles and tractors will be
on display from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free.
For more information, visit www.csupomona.
edu/~farmstore/tractor-car-show.shtml.
Kellogg Art Gallery Exhibition
Sept.
Southern California
Shakespeare Festival
September-October
Celebrating the festival’s 10th anniversary,
the Southern California Shakespeare Festival
presents “Julius Caesar.” Performances are
Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. on
Sept. 20, 21, 27 & 28, and Oct. 4 & 5. Tickets go
on sale June 17. For more information, visit www.
southerncaliforniashakespearefestival.org.
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19
ADVANCING THE
UNIVERSITY
‘Do What
YOU CAN’
Longtime custodians REGGIE KEYS and
SAM BERRY take caring to another level
By Carly Owens
Reggie Keys and Sam Berry
make a difference everyday.
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PolyTrends | WINTER | SPRING | 2014
Jennifer Ramirez was on the verge of dropping out. It was the middle of
midterms, and the pressure in her family life was making her doubt her
future at Cal Poly Pomona. That’s when Reggie Keys and Sam Berry arrived.
It wasn’t anything outside the ordinary for the two custodians in
University Housing to stop by the office where Ramirez worked, but the
visit proved pivotal for the liberal arts student, who had set a goal of
becoming a teacher.
“I told them, ‘You know, I’m not having a good day,’ and Sam asked,
‘What do you mean you’re not having a good day?’ I explained what was
happening, and he told me, ‘Jennifer, think about this for a moment. Think
about how many kids are going to miss out if you don’t become a teacher.’
It was the most eye-opening thing. I realized I’d be a statistic. I realized
if I’m going to go do something, I need to work for it. That’s the one thing
Reggie and Sam always taught me.”
Keys and Berry, who work in the suites, are widely known among
students and staff for their friendly and caring nature, which is borne out in
their quiet support of higher education. Their goal is simple: Make students
as comfortable as possible while they are on campus. With this in mind, the
two go out of their way to build friendships.
More than a dozen years ago, a coworker invited the pair to join the
Black Faculty & Staff Association. Membership included making a donation
toward the group’s scholarship fund. Keys and Berry were happy to oblige,
opting for a payroll deduction of $5 per month.
“Whatever kind of money I can give that will help further education,
that’s fine with me,” Berry says.
Keys concurs. “With us being custodians, our funds were limited. But
like Sam said, we were willing to put forth that small amount in the hopes
that it may do some good. We weren’t doing it for any ‘stand out among the
workers’ thing. It was just something that needed to be done at the time.”
Chelsea Navarro, interim area coordinator for two of the suites
complexes, calls Keys and Berry the Dynamic Duo.
CAMPAIGN
“Sam is a bit more of the witty, humorous one, and Reggie is just pure love,” she says.
“Almost every day I see Reggie, and he always says, ‘Beautiful day!’ and I reply, ‘Yes it is!’ and
he says, ‘Beautiful day for a beautiful lady.’ He just makes my day.
Keys, who has served the campus for 28 years, was on the hiring committee when
Berry came aboard. They clicked almost immediately.
“I saw him to be dedicated, but not so serious that he couldn’t have fun,” Keys says.
“Reggie showed me around campus my first day here,” Berry says. “That’s when our
friendship started.”
That friendship extends beyond the campus, especially on fishing trips they take
together. Both are easy to laugh, and their camaraderie is hard to miss.
With their laid-back, friendly personalities, the two have created a sense of family and
community on campus. Both have families and children of their own, and they recognize that
for most student residents, this is their first experience living away from home.
“It’s important to the students to know there’s someone they can go to if they need
something,” Keys says. “They come in as kids and leave as educated adults.”
That road to adulthood can be rocky, but sometimes all a student needs to succeed is
a kind word or a smile, something small but significant. Keys and Berry show it’s often the
little things that count.
“Do what you can — just do something,” Berry says.
“Even if it’s volunteering, help out in any way possible,” Keys says. “Something
is better than nothing. If you have the time and whatever resources that you can, put
it toward someone’s education. It’s really a blessing, especially for those who need it,
especially in this economy.”
UPDATE
Faculty/Staff Campaign
Campus Community
Steps Up to Give
Faculty and staff are significant
stakeholders in any effort to advance
the university, which is why Cal Poly
Pomona has launched a campaign to
encourage and recognize their giving.
“It’s not so much the amount
someone gives, it’s that we encourage
a culture of giving,” says Dolores
Ybarra, director of the Annual Fund.
“Also, we want to recognize those
who have provided consistent support,
such as Reggie Keys and Sam Berry.
You might be surprised at how many
people want to make a difference.”
To see some of the faculty and
staff who have made supporting the
university a part of their lives, visit
http://bit.ly/1gGJMTo.
This is our opportunity.
College of Business Administration
Nonprofit org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
Cal Poly Pomona
Attention
Alumni
Parents:
Please share
new addresses of
children who are
Cal Poly Pomona
graduates.
Office of Public Affairs
3801 W. Temple Ave.
Pomona, CA 91768
www.csupomona.edu
RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
Call (800) 722-5765
Toward a Bright Future
The 75th Anniversary Photo Contest received more than 500 entries last fall. The 15 best photos
are on display in the Bronco Student Center art gallery, and Khanh Nga’s photo is one of them.
From the artist: “While hovering myself over the fresh scent of cool rain in front of Engineering Building 17, my attention
was drawn to the direction of the CLA Building ahead, where I could see thick and fluffy clouds drifting along. Added
with streams of students moving forward, the picture became alive and drove me for the shot! When you feel you
reach your goals and feel you are in a higher and better place, you know where you are - at CAL POLY POMONA!”
To see the winning photos, go to http://bit.ly/cpp-photo-winners
PolyTrends | WINTER | SPRING | 2014
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