Center for Digital Innovation

Mitchell C. Hill

"All the theory behind how people use technology, how people use data, how they analyze data – all those things never change. Those basic rules about technology just refresh about every three to five years. So I think by learning theory, but being able to practice while you are a student there (Cal Poly Pomona) you really get in both."

Mission

Provide a unique, student-run, high technology center where great ideas, diversity and learning through experimentation are highly valued. Provide competition support to the cyber education community, research support to faculty and interesting projects for CPP students. Engage industry partners in experimental projects.

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Background

Mitchell C. Hill was a true titan of the technology industry with an adventurer’s spirit and an athlete’s competitive drive. Mitchell C. Hill graduated from Cal Poly Pomona in 1980 with a bachelor’s degree in economics and a minor in computer information systems. In 2000, he became the founding CEO of Seattle-based technology services firm, Avanade, a joint venture between Accenture and Microsoft. Under Mitch’s leadership, Avanade grew to be a billion-dollar company with nearly 10,000 employees worldwide. Sadly, he passed away in 2013. In 2018, Avanade made a $500,000 donation to establish an endowment for the Mitchell C. Hill center for Digital Innovation at Cal Poly Pomona.

Although Mitch passed away far too soon, his leadership and legacy lives on with the Mitchell C. Hill Memorial Endowment, which funds Mitchell C. Hill Center for Digital Innovation. The endowment also supports student scholarships and education in the information technology fields.

The mission of the center is to “provide a unique, student-run, high technology center where great ideas, diversity and learning through experimentation are highly valued. Provide competition support to the cyber education community, research support to faculty and interesting projects for CPP students. Engage industry partners in experimental projects”.

Mitchell C. Hill Memorial Endowment Values

Focus on the student and their learning experience

Hands-on education

Applied technology within a business context, "Get Things Done"

Market ready, move with the pace of technology change and innovation

Providing an environment where passionate students can realize their potentia

Provide access to women and minorities

As part of promoting hands-on education, the center supports the Student Data Center (SDC) and the Security Operations Center (SOC). The SDC and the SOC embody CPP’s “learn by doing” philosophy by providing a co-curricular experience as it gives them hands-on, real-world experiences that prepare them for the workforce. Additionally, both infrastructures provide a training ground for CPP’s award winning collegiate cyber competition teams.