RE-DONE ASSIGNMENT 5/with INTERVIEWS

Not all of the buildings on-campus are named after alumni. Nor do all staff know who their building is named for. According to the plaque across from the main entrance, the Bert and Candace Forbes Center (Building 20A,) is named after a couple who employed many California Polytechnic State University grads, but who didn't actually attend the university itself. Bert was an electrical engineer who came to Cal Poly (as California Polytechnic State University is known by its students,) in 1979. He and his wife Candace founded the Ziatech Corporation. They were known for managing Cal Poly's Internet servers, donating Cal Poly's pipe organ, and giving the largest cash grant Cal Poly has ever received. The gift was sufficient for two endowed professorships, and also included a fund for equipment and upgrades in the Computer Engineering, Computer Science, and Electrical Engineering labs.

I interviewed several people on-staff, looking for someone--anyone--who had any idea of who Kennedy was and why the library is named after him. The most informative answer I got was from Doug Gates of Archives, "Ya. There's something on our website here, if I remember correctly." He did remember correctly, and he also gave me a print-out of the short biographies of all of the building's namesakes. Kennedy Library, for instance, was named for one of California Polytechnic's former presidents. Kennedy was born in Portland, Oregon, shortly after the turn of the century. He presided over California Polytechnic State University from 1967 to 1979. Cal Poly's name was officially changed to California Polytechnic State University during Kennedy's administration. When the new library opened in 1981, it was named after Robert E. Kennedy, its former and respected President Emeritus. The retired Kennedy currently lives in San Luis Obispo.

It was easier to find staff members who knew about the Cotchett and the Frank E. Pilling educational buildings. According to Administration Staff member Tom Skelton, Joseph W. Cotchett is, "An alum from Cal Poly. He's an attorney in the Bay Area." He mentioned that there, "Used to be a Cal Poly Report," (online,) "that featured him." Instead, Skelton spent about 5 minutes rummaging around in a back room to find an alumni magazine featuring an article on Cotchett. He found it, and made a copy for me. Apparently Cotchett graduated from California Polytechnic State University in 1960. He was born in Brooklyn in the late 30s/early 40s, and founded Phi Kappa Sigma--Cal Poly's first integrated Greek fraternity. Throughout his career as a trial lawyer, he was known for fighting for minorities and, "the little guys," according to Jeff Winter's 2007 article in the Cal Poly's online magazine.* Cotchett donated 7 million dollars to Cal Poly on April 16, 2004, in order to promote the education of math and science teachers. The Cotchett Educational Building was named after him in recognition of his generosity. On a more humorous note, I found out why they only serve Pepsi on-campus. According to Skelton, it's because, "Pepsi donated a million," to the school.

Frank E. "Bud" Pilling is notable for attending Cal Poly on the GI Bill. According to Professor Chris Buckalew, the building was named after Pilling, "Because he donated a million bucks." Buckalew elaborated that if you make a donation of, "One-fourth the building's value, you can have the building named after you. Or at least, that's how it used to be." Pilling graduated in 1950, and became president of the Borg-Warnes' Automative Group. He donated $50,000 to the establishment of the Frank E. Pilling Endowment in support of the College of Engineering. Cal Poly named its Computer Science building after him in 1994 in recognition of his generous gift and support.

California Polytechnic State University looks forward to future growth in the construction of new buildings, such as the student housing development known as Poly Canyon Village. The Poly Canyon apartments are scheduled to be completed in Fall 2006. Other development can be seen in the renovation of older buildings such as the Engineering and Architecture Building, scheduled to be completed in March 2008. This renovation, which began in July 2006, will make the building more fire-resistant and protect its 39,000 usable square feet with an extensive sprinkler system in the event a fire should break out.**


*http://calpolynews.calpoly.edu/magazine/summer'02/cotchett.html
**Construction Management Services RFQ 05-1318
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***All other information obtained from California Polytechnic State University building plaques, website, University Union Information Desk, and interviews with administration, professors, and staff-members