Academics
Cal Poly's academic offerings have evolved throughout the years. Prior to the ownership shift to Cal Poly SLO in 1938, the Voorhis School for Boys in San Dimas had been providing educational offerings in "music, bookkeeping, agriculture, library work, carpentry, nature study, machine shop, and printing" coupled with Christian religious fundamentals to an all-men student body comprising poor, underage boys. In 1938, the campus became the agricultural branch of Cal Poly SLO when a small staff was transfer from San Luis Obispo along with group of agricultural inspection students. Thus, Cal Poly at Pomona (then just Cal Poly) began offering Associate's degrees in 1938 and Bachelor's degrees in 1940 when, despite legislative opposition from pro-University of California members in Sacramento, president Julian McPhee asked allied members Armistead B. Carter and Daniel C. Murphy to introduce the bill when two opposing members were not present to vote. Following the governance breakup with the San Luis Obispo in 1966, and as outlined by the 1960 California Master Plan for Higher Education, Cal Poly continued "offer undergraduate and graduate instruction through the master's degree in the liberal arts and sciences and professional education, including teacher education." Currently, Cal Poly promotes a "learn by doing" philosophy, where an essential part of the curriculum is hands-on application of knowledge.
Merriam-Webster mentions that "polytechnic" is a word first used in 1801 derived from the French polytechnique which contains the Greek-roots "poly" (English:many) and "technē" (art). Thus, Merriam-Webster defines "polytechnic" as, "relating to or devoted to instruction in many technical arts or applied sciences". Cal Poly's polytechnic approach, and learn-by-doing philosophy, encourages students in all programs to get real-world experience and skills necessary to join the workforce upon graduation.
In addition, the university is among six other institutions of higher education in California that have been designated a "Center of Academic Excellence" by the Department of Homeland Security and the National Security Agency (NSA). While all majors are encouraged to participate in co-op opportunities and internships, all students must do a senior research project.
The 300,000 sq ft (28,000 m2) Cal Poly Pomona University Library serves "as the central intellectual and cultural resource of the campus community" and contains over 3 million items and serves as an important center for academic research. Built in 1969 for $4.2 million, the library underwent a major renovation and expansion completed in the summer of 2008 at a cost of over $46 million dollars. The library participates in the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) Enhance program which allows it to correct or add information to bibliographic records in WorldCat.
Read more about this topic: List Of Cal Poly Pomona Presidents
Famous quotes containing the word academics:
“Our first line of defense in raising children with values is modeling good behavior ourselves. This is critical. How will our kids learn tolerance for others if our hearts are filled with hate? Learn compassion if we are indifferent? Perceive academics as important if soccer practice is a higher priority than homework?”
—Fred G. Gosman (20th century)
“Almost all scholarly research carries practical and political implications. Better that we should spell these out ourselves than leave that task to people with a vested interest in stressing only some of the implications and falsifying others. The idea that academics should remain “above the fray” only gives ideologues license to misuse our work.”
—Stephanie Coontz (b. 1944)