By now you’ve read or heard about a historic gift from alumnus Bill Frost and his wife, Linda, to the College of Science and Mathematics. Over the past several weeks, I’ve spent a lot of time talking about what that incredibly generous gift will help us achieve, and earlier in this issue you read about the importance of the gift’s focus on undergraduate research.

But what strikes me most about this gift isn’t the labs it will build or the equipment it will buy. It’s the fact that this historic donation is the direct result of relationships. When students come together with their professors, working diligently and thinking critically to discover or create something new, a powerful transformation is always the result.

That’s what made the Frost’s gift possible. When Bill attended Cal Poly, the work he did and the relationships he built with his professors began a transformation that led him to a lifetime of success in scientific discovery and business achievement.

His gift will perpetuate that chain reaction even further. A new generation of Cal Poly students will benefit from research stipends and scholarships, new and improved lab facilities and, perhaps most importantly, the attention of dedicated faculty mentors. And when — not if — those students tell their own success stories in the future, they will have the opportunity to touch the lives of others, just as Bill has done.

Imagine the future we can build when each life transformed reaches out in turn to pass that gift on to others. Imagine the impact we can have across our state, our nation and our world as each new class of Mustangs pays forward the benefits they have received from those who came before.

I want to thank Bill once again for showing us the power of a life transformed. As you think about the relationships you’ve built with educators and mentors at Cal Poly and the benefits you’ve received from the Learn by Doing experience, I hope you’ll follow his example and do everything you can to make a positive impact on the next generation.

Sincerely,

 
Jeffrey D. Armstrong
President