My Commitment to You, Our University and Our Future
October 2, 2024
Dear Campus Community,
I want to express my deepest gratitude for your participation in my Presidential Triennial Review. Your thoughtful input and reflections have been invaluable — on both what I have done well and the ways I can improve. Your engagement and constructive feedback have helped strengthen my resolve in ensuring that Cal Poly Pomona continues to uplift the lives of our students, faculty and staff.
From my first day of service as Cal Poly Pomona’s president and for as long as I remain in the presidency, I continue to be guided by my unwavering commitment to being student-centered, faculty and staff-focused, and community-minded. This is my commitment to you — the individuals who comprise our university — as well as our alumni, donors, friends and partners. I also recognize that you — your skills, knowledge, dedication and hard work — have propelled Cal Poly Pomona to being named the number one polytechnic university in the nation for social mobility, and second-best public school in the West according to U.S. News and World Report. Achieving this kind of recognition and impact requires our collective commitment and leadership today, tomorrow and for decades to come.
While the challenges facing higher education (including the CSU system) are formidable, I am confident that we can traverse these challenges through our collective work — and we will triumph. The necessity for creative transformation and a more collaborative and innovative university was accelerated by the pandemic. While higher education has mostly chosen to resist inevitable changes until there is little choice to act, unlike many other universities, we have the enviable opportunity to discuss and explore options. We cannot sit by and do things the way we have always done them in the past. The world is changing rapidly, and the CSU system is feeling the impact. At the beginning of this year, only 9 of the 23 CSU campuses achieved their enrollment targets, and we were one of them.
Despite record numbers of applications and admits at CPP, our yield rate — the percentage of admitted students who choose to enroll — has dropped dramatically. This is a strong signal of enhanced competition for enrollments. We must redouble our commitment to addressing the societal and statewide shifts, including the dwindling demographics that we face. We must come together to discuss and explore ideas and alternatives. To this end, I will be hosting town hall meetings on the CPP Budget on November 5 and 7 to provide a detailed report on our budget and reserves. Further details on the program will be shared shortly.
I share such reflections with you as a demonstration of my passion for making sure that CPP continues to thrive in advancing our vital mission into the future. These challenges are shared by every other university across the nation, and we are all tasked with seeking and implementing bold solutions. To meaningfully address the urgent challenges that lie ahead — enrollment, budget constraints and increased competition — we must come together with a shared sense of purpose and reimagine how we can adapt, innovate and strengthen Cal Poly Pomona. Our future will be designed not by any individual, but through our collective wisdom, creativity and commitment.
Our strategy includes sharing CPP’s story more widely beyond our usual boundaries to highlight our students’ success and spotlight faculty and staff achievements. We will continue expanding our student outreach and recruitment efforts to appeal to students beyond our region, our state and even our nation. This will require embracing new modes of communication to ignite student interest, fuel their success and expand understanding of and access to the lifetime of benefits that result from earning a Cal Poly Pomona degree.
I look forward to continuing respectful and meaningful dialogue as we navigate these complexities together and deepen our understanding of the imperative we face. In our engagement we must continue to hold our students and their dreams at the center of our decision-making. Let us embrace collaboration, knowing that the best solutions most often come from engaging diverse perspectives and drawing on our shared expertise. The strength of our university lies in our people — in you — and in our ability to work together, driven by our common vision.
It remains an honor and privilege to serve as your president. My leadership will continue to be grounded in a deep love and care for our students, faculty and staff. I remain committed to leading with integrity, compassion, accountability and evidence-based dialogue, informed by institutional values, as we embark on the next chapter of our journey together.
I thank my cabinet, and once again, those who formally participated in my review, as well as those who sent me messages of support and constructive feedback for your investment in our success. Please know that I see and deeply value the dedication that is demonstrated every day by each one of you who contribute to making Cal Poly Pomona such a vibrant and exceptional place.
Sincerely,
Soraya M. Coley, Ph.D.
President