It's full steam ahead for Cal Poly Pomona's Bronco STEA²M Innovation Hub, after a $1 million federal funding request by U.S. Rep. Norma Torres was approved in a sweeping 2022 appropriations bill signed earlier this month by President Joe Biden.

The project - an entrepreneurial and small business hub that will provide workforce training programs and a full complement of workspaces and fabrication equipment - was folded into a $14.3 million request to invest in 10 Inland Empire community programs. The hub is slated to open shop in downtown Pomona. Its location will be announced at a later date.

CPP President Soraya M. Coley with Congresswoman Norma Torres during announcement of grants for Inland Empire projects.

"Cal Poly Pomona is a premier educational institution because of the unparalleled, hands-on learning opportunities it provides," said Torres, whose 35^th district includes Pomona, Chino, Fontana, Ontario and Rialto. "Not only will CPP students gain real-world skills and experience, but our community businesses and entrepreneurs will benefit from these resources and a growing, highly trained workforce."

The Bronco STEA²M Innovation Hub will leverage the university's polytechnic advantage by offering programming in the STEAM disciplines (science, technology, engineering, education, arts, agriculture and math) that will prepare entrepreneurs, start-ups, and small and family-owned business, and a reskilled/upskilled local workforce to reinject economic and social vitality into a region enfeebled by the coronavirus pandemic.

The city's unemployment rate skyrocketed from 4.9 percent to 14.7 percent in January 2021, underscoring the urgency - and potential - of delivering a skilled workforce in the post-recovery period.

"The downtown Bronco STEA²M Innovation Hub epitomizes what we do at Cal Poly Pomona," said President Soraya M. Coley. "Through this unique program, we're able to leverage our expertise and resources to create a hub where creators, innovators and business owners from across the region can get specialized training, mentorship, working space and access to state-of-the-art equipment."