News & Features
End of Year Giving: How You Can Support the Orfalea College of Business
Support to the Orfalea College of Business helps students experience Cal Poly’s trademark Learn by Doing approach, as students do in the Industrial Technology & Packaging program. (Photo: Pat Pemberton) By PAT PEMBERTON With 2023 quickly winding down, there’s still time to offer a charitable donation to the Orfalea College of Business that you can…
Welcome Back!
By PAT PEMBERTON After a quiet summer, campus was once again teeming with activity as returning students, incoming freshmen and transfer students arrived in San Luis Obispo for the 2023-24 academic year. The Orfalea College of Business welcomed 991 new students this year, which includes 764 first-time freshman and a record 227 new transfer students.…
ConGRADulations!
By PAT PEMBERTON
Congratulations, Class of 2023! In June, 838 students from the Orfalea College of Business were awarded diplomas during the spring commencement ceremony at the Spanos Stadium. Do you recognize some people in these photos?Recent De Werd Fellowship Recipients Inform Students with Research and Professional Experience
By PAT PEMBERTON When teaching his business courses at Cal Poly, Jim Burleson incorporates his own professional experiences into lectures, including his work on the analysis and design of a multi-million dollar software development project for the City of Houston. “The most common question I get from students is some version of, ‘What is it…
Four Orfalea Faculty Members Promoted to Professor; Six Awarded Tenure
By Pat Pemberton Cal Poly President Jeffrey D. Armstrong and Provost and Executive Vice President Cynthia Jackson-Elmoore recently announced the university’s newly promoted professors, including four faculty members promoted to the rank of professor from the Orfalea College of Business. The newly promoted include Mahdi Rastad (Finance), Joongmin Shin (Industrial Technology & Packaging), Taryn Stanko…
Debt Ceiling Crisis, Severe Spending Cuts Could Cause U.S. Economy to Tailspin, Professors Say. Can You Offset the Potential Harm?
As a political showdown over the nation’s debt intensifies in Washington, D.C., a Cal Poly economics professor said even speculation about the United States defaulting on its obligations can negatively impact the economy.
Accreditation Extended Five Years for the Orfalea College of Business
The Orfalea College of Business had its accreditation by AACSB International (AACSB) extended for another five years.
Reaching for the Stars: How a Business Student Became a NASA Engineer
When All-American wrestler Dom Demas entered the transfer portal as an incoming graduate student, the University of Oklahoma standout immediately drew interest from several major collegiate athletics programs, including Arizona State, Illinois and Iowa.
Cal Poly’s Tax Clinics Offer Tax Tips to Help You Maximize Your Return and Avoid Trouble
Charitable donations and contributions to your 401(k) can help you at tax time. However, to avoid an unwelcome letter from the IRS, you might want to do a little research before you write off that home office.
A Team of Finance Students Spent Months Preparing an In-Depth Financial Analysis of a Tech Company. But Would Their Efforts Pay Off?
On a Wednesday evening in late February, the sky outside is beginning to darken when Brenden Rogers approaches a whiteboard in a small conference room, lifts a marker and writes “$85.92 target.”
Alumnus Carina Gaz Wins Prestigious Agricultural Trade Fellowship
After a highly competitive nationwide competition, Carina Gaz, a 2009 Orfalea College of Business graduate, was recently awarded the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service Diversity (FDFP) Fellowship.
Hitting the Books and Gridiron: A Look at Some Business Majors Drafted by the NFL
While millions will watch Super Bowl LVII on television, a few Cal Poly business graduates have a unique perspective on the game – including one who owns a Super Bowl ring.
Super Bowl Ads Will Contribute to Growing U.S. Obesity Problem, Says Marketing Professor
While television audiences eagerly await the funny, creative and memorable commercials set to air during Sunday’s Super Bowl, those ads are also likely to exacerbate the worsening obesity epidemic, said a Cal Poly business professor.
Three Students Represent Orfalea College of Business During Tour of Statehouse
Three Orfalea College of Business students accompanied Cal Poly President Jeffrey D. Armstrong to Sacramento this month, where lawmakers honored them and other students for their accomplishments.
Happy New Year!
https://youtu.be/CCWgy77Sosc Damon Fleming, dean of the Orfalea College of Business, offers a New Year’s greeting.
Latinx Alumni Share Experiences, Advice During National Hispanic Heritage Month
Network. Take risks. Share your roots.
In the Moment: Improv Group Teaches New Orfalea Students Communication Skills Before Classes Begin
Forget those warnings you heard as a child — Brad Robertson says you should talk to strangers.
Blues Revival: Marketing Alumnus Adam Stowe Brought Stability Back to San Luis Obispo Baseball
When Adam Stowe became general manager of the San Luis Obispo Blues baseball team in 2012, he joined an organization that had endured several years of debt, instability and turmoil – capped off by a former owner’s 32-month prison sentence.
Addressing Economic Inequality: Carlos Noe Saavedra Took His Economics Degree to London to Explore Cryptocurrency as a More Inclusionary Monetary System
A business card Carlos Noe Saavedra picked up at the Cal Poly Robert E. Kennedy Library in 2013 would eventually change the course of his career.
Help Me Ronda: Ronda Beaman Helps Other Achieve Dreams Through Leadership Class and Work with Terminally Ill Adults
On the final day of Ronda Beaman’s leadership class, she is surrounded by 30 students on O’Neill Green, many of them holding “vision boards” containing collages of their dreams.
State Law Mandating Plastic Packaging Be Recyclable Could Promote Positive Sustainable Innovation, Cal Poly Professors Say, But Plastic Isn’t Always Bad – Or the Most Damaging
Even before California passed a ground-breaking law requiring all plastics be recyclable or compostable by 2032, Cal Poly students were exploring more sustainable packaging alternatives, professors said.
Start Your Engines: Business Students Help Cal Poly Racing Team Cross the Finish Line Behind the Scenes and Behind the Wheel
Inside the Aero hangar, Tommy Bordeaux and Chase Gioffredi are kneeled on each side of a Formula race car designed and built by the Cal Poly Racing team as they discuss the possibility of moving the car’s pedals forward.
Finance Chair: Interest Rate, Raised to Combat Inflation, Could Eventually Lower Housing Prices
While increased interest rates have placed home ownership even further out of reach for many Americans, those steadily rising costs might eventually help would-be buyers, said the chair of Cal Poly’s Finance Department.
A Bright Idea: Capstone Class Challenges Students to Create Light Fixture Startups
For Oliver Kensinger’s capstone startup, Legos proved to be both fun and practical. “The original prototype was made out of Legos,” said Kensinger, who served as co-operations manager for his 10-member team.
Journey to Cal Poly: An Outstanding Grad Shares Her Leadership Story
Carolyn Lidster was ready to leave Sacramento for college in 2018, probably outside the state — until her dad brought her to Cal Poly for a campus tour.
Large Crowd Embraces the Return of Poly Pack’s Egg Drop Competition
There’s a strategy to protecting an egg from a 30-foot fall.
Giving Back: De Werd Faculty Fellowship Benefits Students by Inspiring Educators to Be Impactful
When Cal Poly alumnus Tim Ridout returned to campus to teach accounting in 2016, he initially walked across Dexter Lawn with a “big, silly grin.”
Cal Poly Finance Team Advances in Global Competition with Analysis of PayPal Stock Outlook
A detailed analysis of PayPal’s stock outlook, with a recommendation to sell, helped a team of Cal Poly students surpass hundreds of others recently in the CFA Institute Research Challenge.
Ready To Grow and Eager To Learn
Ten Teams. Lot’s of Big Ideas. A Look At The 2021 CIE Summer Accelerator Program.
Welcome to Dean Damon Fleming
Cal Poly names Damon Fleming as the new dean of the Orfalea College of Business.
Critical Conversation
Fostering a discussion around inequality, community, growth, and a path toward greater diversity and inclusion.
Timeline
In 1921, business classes were first introduced at Cal Poly. Looking at a century of learning.