Architecture alumna Juliana Terian, co-founder of Nouvelle View and former chairman of Rallye Automotive Group (NY), has pledged $2.5 million to the College of Environmental Design. It is the single largest cash gift in the history of the college and the sixth highest in Cal Poly Pomona history.
“My undergraduate years at Cal Poly Pomona opened my eyes to the creative possibilities of architecture, art, and design in ways that changed my life,” Mrs. Terian said. “While a student at Cal Poly I received a $400 scholarship from the Women’s Architectural League which was a distinctive honor and the most important attainment for me at the time, both monetarily and scholastically. It made a strong and lasting impression on me and has shaped the way I view the role of philanthropy in education.”
She continued: “There’s a direct line from that early achievement to my starting the Terian Foundation, through which I’ve been able to raise money to support the higher education goals of high school students pursuing degrees in the arts with hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships. Similarly, in making this gift to my alma mater my goal is to let the public know about the superlative quality of the programs at Cal Poly Pomona, and the continual strides we make towards improving their academic excellence even further.”
The unique, unrestricted gift will support initiatives in the Department of Architecture and throughout the college, elevating academic experiences and distinguishing programs at every level.
“This is a transformational moment for the college,” Dean Michael Woo said. “Juliana’s gift not only elevates our identity, it puts the College of Environmental Design in bold face in the world of environmental design.”
The College of Environmental Design (ENV) is one of the nation’s few university-level programs that brings together the allied fields of architecture, art, landscape architecture, and urban and regional planning. The college also includes the interdisciplinary John T. Lyle Center for Regenerative Studies, the university’s flagship program addressing sustainability issues. Benefiting from Cal Poly Pomona’s “learn-by-doing” philosophy, ENV graduates are highly competitive in the job market and number among the leaders of the environmental design disciplines.
“Throughout her life, Juliana Terian has made a difference in everything she touched,” said university President Michael Ortiz. “From business to philanthropy, her vision has propelled change. That passion will ensure that current and future generations of environmental design students will remain among the best prepared graduates in the country.”
This marks the second significant gift that Terian has made in recent months. Earlier this year, she made a monthly pledge of $10,000 to advance college-based communication initiatives, designed to showcase and celebrate the work of faculty, students and alumni on a mass scale. Outcomes will include a new college magazine, website and outreach initiatives.
The gift comes in the midst of Cal Poly Pomona’s $150 million comprehensive campaign. Now in the second year of the public phase, the campaign recently eclipsed the $100 million mark. This unprecedented fundraising endeavor is designed to set new standards of excellence in teaching and research as well as promote the university’s capacity to build a sustainable and prosperous future.
Cal Poly Pomona has embarked on a $150 million comprehensive fundraising campaign to ensure that a quality college education is within reach for future generations of students. The campaign, which recently surpassed $100 million in donations and pledges, will strengthen the university’s ability to provide a hands-on education, to prepare students for the changing demands of the workplace, and to increase research and scholarship opportunities. The fundraising campaign relies on the support of the entire campus community — from alumni to faculty and staff to friends of the university. For more information, visit http://campaign.cpp.edu/.