In his 12th and final year at Cal Poly Pomona, Bob Susuki leaves a legacy of community work as the university's fourth president.

In his 12 years as president of Cal Poly Pomona, Bob Suzuki has seen tremendous growth, both on the university's campus and throughout the communities around it. During that span, he has sought to draw both sides together in the belief that many more will benefit from a sharing of resources.

"There are few places in this country with greater unrealized potential. Cal Poly Pomona is being increasingly recognized for the services it is supplying to the surrounding areas," says Suzuki. "Yet where it is important that people recognize what a tremendous resource the university is to this region, it is also vital that the university brings the expertise, knowledge and culture of the community to campus."

Suzuki's commitment can be seen through the many collaborative projects that involve members of the campus and which benefit the community at large. The most obvious link has been education. Under his leadership, the university has provided assistance and guidance to K-12 educators and administrators through a series of programs.

One example is the Science IMPACT (Institute for Modern Pedagogy and Creative Teaching) project. Thanks to partnerships with the City of Industry and area businesses like Valley Vista Services, teachers are receiving preparation tips and resources that help them make science education more interesting for students.

Stefanie Saccoman, director of Cal Poly Pomona's Science IMPACT, insists Suzuki's support has been a key factor in the program's success.

"I first met President Suzuki in an elementary school classroom. I think that speaks a lot to his very visible involvement in the community," says Saccoman, who at that time was a science and math specialist for the Pomona Unified School District. "I was working with some teachers at a partnership school and I remember being introduced to the new president of Cal Poly Pomona. I knew right away I'd always be able to work with him because he was very interested in what the children were doing."

Other university projects involve students, faculty and staff helping the community through efforts like tutoring at-risk schoolchildren, providing counseling to low-income families, restoring a blighted neighborhood and basically serving as a local resource.

The Cal Poly Pomona Downtown Center serves as a forum for cultural, academic and outreach activities in the city of Pomona. A part of the College of Letters, Arts & Social Sciences (CLASS), it also provides the university a link to better understand the challenges and issues faced by the community.

"My strong support of partnering with the university can be directly traced to my relationship with Dr. Suzuki and his wife, Agnes," says Pomona Mayor Eddie Cortez. It's important the community recognizes the many educational opportunities, the high-caliber faculty and the experienced administrators that Cal Poly Pomona has to offer us."

According to CLASS dean Barbara Way, Suzuki's efforts-such as fostering faculty development, promoting the importance of diversity issues in education and attempting to increase the level of external giving to campus-have helped advance the university's community outreach.

"President Suzuki has worked tirelessly for the campus during the 12 years of his presidency," says Way. "Because of his work, hundreds of hours of volunteer time are expended in Pomona each year. The projects and volunteers are making a positive difference in people's lives.

"President Suzuki will leave this campus better than when he came. His work here will be a legacy to his career in higher education."