American Red Cross Comes to Town

The American Red Cross is scheduled to be the anchor tenant at Innovation Village.

The nation's largest blood processing center is scheduled to become the anchor tenant for Cal Poly Pomona's Innovation Village technology park by the end of 2004. With groundbreaking planned for May, the 15-acre American Red Cross (ARC) complex will give the Southern California Region of the Red Cross a strategically located, state-of-the-art regional headquarters with the capacity to process 800,000 red blood cell units annually-about 12 percent of the total units collected and processed by the ARC. The partnership will provide prime educational and research opportunities for Cal Poly Pomona's students and faculty, and a potential for the university to create additional curriculum and degree programs. It is expected to also create new jobs and economic prospects within neighboring business communities. "We couldn't have asked for anything better," says Ed Barnes, associate vice president of executive affairs at Cal Poly Pomona. "We're told this will be the most technologically advanced blood-processing center in the world. This is an incredible opportunity for our campus and the entire region."

Caiman, Millipedes and Stick Insects, Oh My!

A pair of eyes stare up from water level as a group of schoolchildren file past a small indoor pond. It takes a few moments before one of the youngsters peering into the exhibit spots the small freshwater caiman. "Wow, that's neat!" the child exclaims. It is estimated that more than 10,000 students of all ages filled with wonder and appreciation of natural beauty will visit Cal Poly Pomona's newly opened Rain Bird BioTrek complex each year. BioTrek includes a trio of learning centers-a rainforest simulation, ethnobotany garden and aquatic biology display-that encourage both hands-on learning and biological research while addressing the importance of environmental conservation. The Rain Bird Rainforest Learning Center, housed in a 2,300-square foot greenhouse, features interaction between plants, animals and insects. The Rain Bird Ethnobotany Learning Center offers more than 190 plant species native to Southern California arranged in a 20,000-square foot outdoor setting. In the Rain Bird Aquatic Biology Learning Center, visitors will view displays of research on fish in fresh water, salt water and river environments, one of which includes a tank with a tide that rises and falls.

For more information, call (909) 869-6701 or visit www.csupomona.edu/ ~biotrek/..

A Healthy Partnership

An award of nearly $50,000 will allow Cal Poly Pomona to help the Costanoan Rumsen Carmel Tribe investigate the feasibility of a health and wellness center for Native Americans in Los Angeles County. Funded by the California Endowment, the project is one of many partnerships between the university and local Native American communities.

California Endowment, a private foundation that seeks to expand health care access to the state's underserved communities, presented the award to the Cal Poly Pomona Foundation in November during theHealing the Earth Powwow held on campus.

REACHing Out to Students

REACHing Out to Students Educators from Cal Poly Pomona and the Hacienda La Puente Unified School District are hoping to increase the number of low-income students prepared to enter and succeed in post-secondary education. The U.S. Department of Education recently selected Cal Poly Pomona as a recipient of a $3.4 million grant to be used over five years. University professors and school district personnel will use the funding to establish Project REACH, which stands for Realizing Educational Achievement and College Honors.- The project will lend support to students, teachers and parents alike from La Puente High School and two of its feeder schools, Sparks Middle School and Lassalette Elementary School. Students will be encouraged to excel academically and enroll in higher education through Saturday academies, tutoring, college courses and individual educational plans. Educators will be offered workshops, conferences and coaching. Plus families will have access to counseling, parenting classes and adult education courses.
Panorama is published by the Office of Public Affairs at Cal Poly Pomona.
Questions or comments? Please email publicaffair@csupomona.edu.