List of Cal Poly Pomona people

This list of Cal Poly Pomona people includes notable matriculating students, and alumni that have graduated or are non-matriculating students of Cal Poly Pomona, a public university, and one of the 23 general campuses of the California State University located in Pomona, California.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.

Kellogg horse ranch, the first building to be erected on campus.

Alumni

Athletics

Alumni	Notability	Relationship to Cal Poly Pomona	Citation
Dan Beebe	Former commissioner of the Ohio Valley Conference from 1989–2003 and Big 12 Conference from 2007-2011.	Student athlete	[1]
Jonathan Bornstein	American professional footballer who plays as a left midfielder/defender for the United States men's national soccer team and Chivas USA in the MLS.	Student athlete	[2]
Chi Cheng	Olympic bronze medalist, world record setter and Taiwan political leader, considered by many as the top female Asian athlete of the 20th century.	Student athlete (B.A. Kinesiology 1971)	[3]
Glenn Davis	Davis, nicknamed "Mr. Outside", won the Maxwell Award in 1944 and the Heisman Trophy in 1946. He was also among the runners up in 1944 and 1945. Davis also was named the Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year in 1946.	Student athlete	[4]
Fred Ford	American football halfback for the Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Chargers of the American Football League.	Student athlete	[5]
Roman Gabriel	Former NFL starting quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams and Philadelphia Eagles. Served as coach of the football team during its last years.	Football coach	[6]
Dave Mirra	X Games multiple medalist, world record setter, considered by many as the top BMX rider of the 20th century.	Student athlete (1995)	[7]
Don Nomura	Baseball agent dealing primarily with Japanese baseball players such as Hideo Nomo.	Student Athlete	[8]
Violet Palmer	First female referee in U.S. professional sports, NBA referee and member of 1985 and 1986 NCAA championship teams.	Student athlete	[9]
Mark Peel	A James Beard Foundation Award-nominated chef and founder of the La Brea Bakery.	Student	[10]
Joe Prokop	Former professional football player for the New York Jets.	Student athlete	[11]
Kim Rhode	Medalist in five separate Olympic Games, including three gold medals, for double trap shooting.	Student athlete	[12]
Everett Sharp	American football offensive tackle in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins.	Student athlete	[13]
Al Smith	American football linebacker for the Houston Oilers in the National Football League.	Student athlete	[14]
Art Williams	Former professional basketball player who won an NBA Championship with the Boston Celtics in 1974.	Student athlete	[15]
Walter Ray Williams Jr.	Professional ten-pin bowler who holds the all-time PBA titles record with 47; seven-time PBA Player of the Year; also a six-time world horseshoe pitching champion. He has won an ESPY Award on six occasions.	Student (B.S. Physics 1984)	[16][17]
Jim Zorn	NFL player; NFLPA's NFC Offensive Rookie of the Year (1976); starting quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks during their first seven seasons (1976–1983); head coach of the Washington Redskins in the National Football League (2008–2010).	Student athlete	[18]

Business

Alumni	Notability	Relationship to Cal Poly Pomona	Citation
Beny Alagem	Entrepreneur and founder of Packard Bell Electronics; owner of the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Santa Monica, California.	Student (1970s)	[19]
Jack Dangermond	Founder of ESRI consulting firm, the largest manufacturer and seller of GIS in the world.	Student (1967) Honorary Doctorate (2005)	[20]
Eddy Hartenstein	Co-president of Tribune Company and publisher and CEO of the Los Angeles Times and Los Angeles Times Magazine.	Student (B.S. Aerospace Engineering 1971)	[21]
Kevin Lyman	Creator of touring music and extreme sports festivals called the Warped Tour, the Taste of Chaos and the Mayhem tours	Student (Recreation Administration)	[22]
Satoshi Nakamoto	Alleged founder of BitCoin digital currency.	Student (B.S. Physics)	[23]
Paul Tollett	Along with brother Perry Tollett, founder of Coachella and Stagecoach, and developers for the Pomona Fox Theater and The Glass House in Pomona.	Student (Chemical Engineering)	[24]
Perry Tollett	Along with brother Paul Tollett, founder of Coachella and Stagecoach, and developers for the Pomona Fox Theater and The Glass House in Pomona.	Student (Chemical Engineering)	[25]
Corrinne Yu	American game programmer.	Student (1980s)	[26]

Education

Alumni	Notability	Relationship to Cal Poly Pomona	Citation
Alan Haskvitz	National Teacher's Hall of Fame educator. National Teachers Hall of Fame Biography	Student (B.A. Education 1972)	[27]

Entertainment

Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker

Alumni	Notability	Relationship to Cal Poly Pomona	Citation
Nguyen Cao Ky Duyen	Vietnamese-American personality and co-host of Thuy Nga's Paris by Night shows.	Student	[28]
Michael Steger	An American actor. He is best known for his role as Navid Shirazi on The CW's teen drama series 90210.	Alumni	[29]
Kye Palmer	Trumpet player who performs with The Tonight Show Band.	Student (B.S. Engineering)	[30]
Wilber Pan	An American-born Taiwanese singer, rapper and drama actor, who started his career as a host of Channel V programs.	Student	[31]
Carol Vaness	Metropolitan Opera soprano.	Student (B.A. Music 1974)	[32]
Forest Whitaker	Academy Award-winning actor (Panic Room, The Crying Game, The Last King of Scotland), director (Waiting to Exhale) and host of UPN’s revival of The Twilight Zone.	Student	[9]
James Williamson	Guitarist for punk rock band The Stooges and later Vice President for Technology Standards for Sony.	Student (B.S. Engineering 1982)	[33]
Larry Wilmore	Host of The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore. Writer for and actor in The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Office, and others. Creator of The Bernie Mac Show.	Student	[34]
Marc Wilmore	Writer for In Living Color, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and The PJs. Writer and producer for The Simpsons.	Student (Marketing)	[35]
Brita Petersons-Wald	America's Next Top Model contestant, model	Student (master's degree in sports nutrition)	[36]

Government

United States Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis

Alumni	Notability	Relationship to Cal Poly Pomona	Citation
Jim Brulte	Former Republican leader of the California State Senate.	Student (B.A. Political Science 1980)	[9][37]
Jonathan D. Farrar	Chief of Mission of the United States Interests Section in Havana, Cuba (USINT).	Student (B.A. Political Science 1978)	[38][39]
Richard Pombo	Republican member of the United States House of Representatives.	Student (attended three years)	[40]
Hilda Solis	Democratic United States Secretary of Labor under President Barack Obama, former member of the United States House of Representatives.	Student (B.A. Political Science 1979)	[39][41]
Chuck Walker	Republican Mayor, city of Scotts Valley, California 1999-2000, candidate for Governor, California 2003.	Student (B.S. Business 1989)	[37][42]

Faculty

Active faculty

Faculty	Notability
Gabriel Georgiades	Professor of aerospace engineering and author. Georgiades has been the Regional Chair, Chair-Elect, VC of Education and Advisory Committee representative and was the former "Evolution of Flight" Program Officer for the San Gabriel Valley Region of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics [43]
Renford Reese	Professor of Political Science, author, founder and director of the "Colorful Flags" program aimed at reducing ethnic and racial tensions, servicing 17 school districts and a variety of law enforcement, social service, and other agencies in Southern California.[44]
Louis Rosenberg	American entrepreneur, author, screenwriter, inventor, and professor.
Marc Schulitz (de)	Assistant Professor of Architecture,[45] designed numerous international sports arena projects, including the 2006 FIFA World Cup Arena in Hanover and the Lentpark ice and swim stadium in Cologne, Germany.
Christoph Kapeller	Architecture lecturer.[46] Founding member of Norwegian firm Snohetta and design leader for the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Alexandria, Egypt.[47]
Hilda Solis	Democratic United States Secretary of Labor under President Barack Obama, former member of the United States House of Representatives, scholar-in-residence starting in the winter quarter of 2014.[48]
Michael Woo	Dean of the College of Environmental Design. Former Los Angeles city councilman. In 1993, with the backing of President Bill Clinton, he became the first Asian American to run for mayor of a major city. He garnered 46 percent of the vote but lost the race for mayor of Los Angeles to Richard Riordan.

Retired, deceased, and former faculty

Faculty	Notability
Virginia Hamilton Adair (deceased)	Poet, author of "Ants on the Melon".
Aaron Betsky	Served as visiting instructor in the Department of Architecture.[49]
Paul Caligiuri	Head soccer coach and National Soccer Hall of Fame player whose 1990 "Goal Heard Round the World" (sic) launched the United States into the FIFA World Cup for the first time in 40 years. Resigned as head coach after the 2008 season.[50]
Craig Ellwood	Lecturer at the Department of Architecture and influential Mid Century Modern architect.
Ray Kappe	Former faculty. Founding Chair of the Department of Architecture and later founded the Southern California Institute of Architecture.
Saul Landau	Director of digital media programs, noted internationally for his films and writing on domestic policy and cultural issues, the recipient of numerous awards, including a 1980 Emmy.
John T. Lyle	Professor of landscape architecture;[51] the Lyle Center for Regenerative Studies at Cal Poly Pomona and the Lyle plaza at the entrance to Adam Joseph Lewis Center for Environmental Studies at Oberlin College are named after him.[52]
Thom Mayne	Former professor in the Department of Architecture. Principal of Morphosis, Pritzker Prize laureate, and Co-Founder of Southern California Institute of Architecture. (SCI-ARC)
Ronald Muldrow (deceased)	Jazz guitarist and former member of the music faculty.
Richard Neutra	Lecturer in the early days of the Department of Architecture[53] and influential Mid Century Modern architect featured on the cover of Time Magazine.
Donald H. Pflueger	Historian, educator, prolific author of local stories. A founding member of the Glendora Historical Society, the Pomona Valley Historical Society. Also served on the Board of Directors of the Historical Society of Southern California.
James Pulliam	Modernist, instructor and campus architect. He designed the bookstore, W. Keith and Janet Kellogg Art Gallery, and student union building (Bronco Student Center).[54]
Michele Saee	Served as visiting instructor in the Department of Architecture from 1998 to 1999.
Raphael Soriano	Noted modernist architect who experimented with steel in residential construction. Appointed Special Sessions Instructor.[55]
Takeo Uesugi	Professor emeritus in Landscape Architecture noted for his work in Japanese gardens, Dr. Uesugi designed the garden at The Washington Center in Washington, D.C., among other notable landmarks.
Martín Vásquez	Assistant association football (soccer) coach in 1999 and 2000. He is the head coach of C.D. Chivas USA, in Major League Soccer (MLS).[56]
Richard Saul Wurman	Former Dean of the College of Environmental Design, founder of the TED conference, given credit for coining the term "information architect".[57]
Bernard Zimmerman	Modernist architect, architecture instructor for over 30 years, helped co-found the department along with Ray Kappe.[58]

University presidents

The following people have served as presidents of Cal Poly Pomona:

#	Name	Term	Citation
1	Julian McPhee	1938–1966	[59]
2	Robert C. Kramer	1966–1977	[60]
3	Hugh O. LaBounty	1977–1991	[61]
4	Bob H. Suzuki	1991–2003	[62]
5	J. Michael Ortiz	2003–2014	[63]
6	Soraya M. Coley	2015–Present	[64]

Honorary degrees

Cal Poly Pomona has conferred 16 honorary doctorate degrees since 1969.^[65]

Name	Degree	Year	Notes	Citation
Andrew J.C. Cherng	Doctor of Humane Letters	2008	Founder and chairman of the board for Panda Express Restaurant Group.	[66]
Julia Child	Doctor of Humane Letters	2000	American chef, author, and television personality, host of The French Chef.	[67]
James A. Collins	Doctor of Humane Letters	1992		[68]
	Jack Dangermond	Doctor of Humane Letters	2005	Business executive and environmental scientist, co-founder of the Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI).	[68]
Richard N. Frank	Doctor of Humane Letters	2009	Entrepreneur, chairman of Lawry's Restaurants, Inc.[69]	[70]
Bob B. Huntley	Doctor of Science	2009	Businessman and farmer, owner of Huntley Moore Farms.	[71]
W.K. Kellogg	Doctor of Humane Letters	1998		[68]
Will Keith Kellogg II	Doctor of Humane Letters	1998		[68]
Russell G. Mawby	Doctor of Science	1989		[68]
Emory W. Morris	Doctor of Humane Letters	1969		[68]
Charles R. Oliver	Doctor of Science	1996		[68]
Stuart Sperber	Doctor of Science	2007
Charles Brown Voorhis	Doctor of Laws	1995
Michi Nishiura Weglyn	Doctor of Humane Letters	1993
Norman Williamson Jr.	Doctor of Letters	1995

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