Distinguished Alumni Award

David and Ruth Singelyn graduated from Cal Poly Pomona’s College of Business Administration in 1983 and 1984 and each has taken lessons learned at the university to thrive in their respective fields.

David earned bachelor’s degrees in accounting and computer information systems. He started his career at Arthur Young & Company (now part of Ernst & Young LLP) and later served as controller of Winchell’s Donut Houses. He currently is chief executive officer and a trustee of American Homes 4 Rent. For more than 25 years, he has held senior positions in private and publicly traded real estate companies, including as CEO and a director of American Commercial Equities, a private real estate company that owns and manages a portfolio of retail and office properties in California and Hawaii, and was president and a director of Public Storage in Canada. He remains a director of both ACE and PSC.

Ruth majored in information systems at Cal Poly Pomona. In May 2018, she earned a master’s degree in psychology, with an emphasis in marriage and family therapy, from California Lutheran University (CLU) in Thousand Oaks. She is employed with CLU’s Community Counseling Services as an associate marriage and family therapist. She also participates in clinic leadership with employees and therapist colleagues, and mentors new therapists completing master’s degrees in counseling psychology at CLU.

“My positive, hands-on experience at Cal Poly Pomona led me to become a lifelong learner and to model this value to my family and community,” Ruth says. “The computer information system program in the business school at CPP taught me several life skills that have helped me be successful personally and professionally. These include establishing my priorities, setting long- and short-term goals, and working hard both on a team and individually.”

David and Ruth are active alumni of Cal Poly Pomona and “believe that in our current season of life it is time for each of us to give back to our community and to students pursuing a college degree,” Ruth says. This includes David serving on Cal Poly Pomona’s Philanthropic Board and the Dean’s Advisory Council in the College of Business Administration. Ruth also volunteers with her church and other ministry areas.