A new administrator. An interesting student project. The latest sports highlight. These are the types of stories you’re probably used to reading in a publication like Cal Poly Magazine. If you’re a proud Mustang, I’m sure you’re interested in hearing what’s happening today at Cal Poly. You’ll find a little of that stuff in our Cal Poly News section and elsewhere. But I want to tell you right now, in the first issue of a new Cal Poly Magazine, that this will not primarily be a news publication. As we worked over the last year to redefine our purpose, we decided that we wanted to go further than headlines.

We want to connect you with topics that reach far beyond our beautiful home in San Luis Obispo. We want to show you how Cal Poly fits into national and international conversations. We want to introduce you not only to the bright, academically motivated people at Cal Poly, but also to the big ideas that drive them.

And wherever possible, we want to show you those things in a way that will make people inside and outside the Mustang community want to pay attention and join the conversation.

As we look at this magazine in a new way, we’re finding a wealth of stories to tell. Focusing on big ideas is easy at a university filled with dedicated faculty who are helping to shape a better world as thought leaders in their fields. Demonstrating our wide-reaching impact is natural at a place that produces students and alumni who carry the legacy of Learn by Doing with them as they enrich their professions, their communities, California and the world.

I hope you enjoy this new approach to Cal Poly Magazine. Share it with your friends, and check out our extra content online at magazine.calpoly.edu. And please let me know how we can continue making this magazine even better.

Sincerely,

Larry Peña
lpenaiii@calpoly.edu