Cal Poly Pomona will award an honorary doctorate to alumnus and South Korean immigrant Hae Park at commencement this year, President Ortiz said in his weekly video update.

When he was a student at Cal Poly Pomona, Park struggled academically and even contemplated dropping out. With support from Professor Donald Lundberg, he went on to graduate in 1978 with a bachelor’s degree in hotel and restaurant management. Park later earned an MBA at Cal Poly Pomona. He started in the hospitality industry and then became an entrepreneur, earning real estate and broker’s licenses, arranging deals and investing in properties. Over the years, Hae and his wife, Shina, have made it their mission to help others, donating to The Collins College, as well as to athletics and student scholarships. Their children, Eugene and Eunice, are also alumni who maintain close ties with the university.

The university’s new website launched today, and it will offer a more intuitive design and adapt to your screen size, whether you are using your smart phone, tablet or desktop computer, Ortiz said.

The campus community will see the revamped design on the home page and other heavily used pages this week as part of phase one of the upgrade. Other colleges and departments will make the transition to the new system in future phases, Ortiz said.

The president also thanked everyone who participated in planning for Chancellor Timothy White’s visit and activities last week. The chancellor was impressed with his interactions with students, faculty and staff, Ortiz said.

The president also acknowledged the efforts of 140 principal investigators, who were recognized at a special reception earlier this month. These are faculty and staff who are involved in efforts to secure grants and contracts for the university.

In other news:

• Sixty alumni took part in Professor for a Day last week. They taught in more than 80 classes in all eight academic colleges. The annual event is an opportunity for our alumni to come back to campus, teach a class and participate in a luncheon. Each year, students and faculty have expressed the value of hearing first-hand how a graduate’s education applies in the work force.
• More than 600 Greek Life students raised funds for Cal Poly Pomona scholarships, the Salvation Army, and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital during Greek Week last week. All the fraternity and sorority chapters worked together at this year’s Up ‘til Dawn event and raised a record $22,000 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital – four times the amount raised last year.
• Last weekend, a number of our track and field athletes put in their final efforts to qualify for nationals. Ortiz said he expects more Broncos will join sophomore pole vaulter Justin Ellerbee at nationals. At the Azusa Pacific Last Chance Meet, Vincent Huitt threw the second best hammer throw in school history, which put him in 11th position in Division II. Shane Cioni also set a personal best in the discus at the meet. He recorded the sixth-best distance in the Bronco record books. Qualifiers for nationals will be announced by next week.
• Friday is Billy Bronco’s Birthday. ASI BEAT will hold a celebration from noon to 4 p.m. in Bronco Commons with carnival rides, live entertainment, activities, and birthday cupcakes in Billy’s honor. During the celebration, ASI also will announce the results of elections. Ortiz praised current ASI President Chris Osuala and the rest of the ASI leadership team for a job well done this year.

To read the entire video message, download a a PDF of the transcript.