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| Cal Poly Pomona’s Center for Training, Technology and Incubation is the home of the College of the Extended University and the NASA Commericalization Center. |
In today’s unsettled economic environment, the Southern California business community can use every added resource available. Cal Poly Pomona’s College of the Extended University (CEU) hopes the upcoming grand opening of its Center for Training, Technology & Incubation (CTTI) on Tuesday, Aug. 6, will prove both a foundation and resource for interested business professionals and entrepreneurs.
CTTI, located on Temple Avenue just west of the university’s main entrance, is a 52,000-square foot complex housing two business incubators – the NASA Commercialization Center and the Pomona Technology Center – along with CEU administrative offices and the CTTI Bookstore and Café.
“I tell people that CTTI supports the general notion of this campus. We’re creating hands-on learning here,” says CEU dean Van Garner. “With the incubators, we have multiple charges: commercialize technology, support business and bring family-wage jobs into the workplace. The reason we do this is because we are a changing university.”
CTTI is intended as an important resource in assisting businesses and entrepreneurs. Its purpose is to provide assistance and guidance where it is needed most, often during a business’ crucial start-up phase, while offering important connections to additional university resources.
“What CTTI does, essentially, is make Cal Poly Pomona accessible to the community, in particular the entrepreneurial small business community,” says Julie Holland, director of the NASA Commercialization Center. “It provides a wealth of resources at the site as well as providing a way to find other resources. In a very real sense, we’re a bit of a conduit.”
CTTI provides a strong example of public/private/public partnerships. Built by utilizing existing state and federal funding along with corporate donations, it is intended to anchor the planned 65-acre Innovation Village mixed-use technology park. The $10 million project has been made possible by donations from five key contributors – College of the Extended University ($5.57 million), the U.S. Economic Development Administration ($1.82 million), NASA ($950,000), the California Technology, Trade and Commerce Agency ($300,000) and the Cal Poly Pomona Foundation ($1.8 million). Other contributing sponsors include the Ewing M. Kauffman Foundation ($112,500), Verizon ($25,000), IQ Pro ($20,000), The President’s Office at Cal Poly Pomona ($10,000), and Southern California Edison ($5,000).
The grand opening event gets underway at 8:30 a.m. Among the dignitaries expected to attend are University President Bob Suzuki; Lon S. Hatamiya, secretary, California Technology, Trade and Commerce Agency; Richard West, vice chancellor, California State University; Roberta Atschenberg, trustee, CSU; Robert Norwood, director, Commercial Technology Division, NASA; Carl Ray, executive director, Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer programs, NASA; A. Leonard Smith, regional director, Economic Development Administration; Van Garner, dean CEU; and Julie Holland, director, NASA Commercialization Center.
For additional information on CTTI grand opening, contact Sarah Moussavi at (909) 869-2279.