The Boeing Company is continuing its long-running partnership with Cal Poly Pomona by donating $100,000 to be shared among the colleges of Engineering, Science, and Business Administration for scholarships, student clubs, and research projects.
On October 13, five representatives from the company, including Vice President Joan Robinson-Berry who is an engineering alumna of Cal Poly Pomona, met with University President Soraya M. Coley and the deans of Engineering, Science, and Business Administration to present this year’s donation.
“Some of our most amazing leaders at Boeing are products of Cal Poly Pomona,” said Robinson-Berry. “I am hoping to expand our relationship with this institution. We have big ideas about this partnership.”
Some of those ideas could include sponsoring more guest speaker lectures on campus and supporting interdisciplinary research projects in cybersecurity, data analytics, and unmanned aerial vehicles, Robinson-Berry said.
Also in attendance at the event were several current Boeing Scholars from the university’s Maximizing Engineering Potential program, whose aim is to prepare underrepresented minority, women, low-income, and first-generation students for successful careers in engineering fields.
Robinson-Berry spoke of working with Cal Poly Pomona to develop a closer alignment between university curricula and job skills sought by the company. It was a point that Coley agreed with.
“As a polytechnic university, we have a responsibility to stay open to what’s happening in industry,” Coley said. “I think this is the perfect time to think of new directions we could take.”