March 26, 2008

Contact: Amy Hewes
College of Engineering
805-756-6402
ahewes@calpoly.edu

Cal Poly Establishes the Bechtel Engineering Scholarship

Cal Poly's College of Engineering received a $45,000 gift from the S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation to fund scholarship aid for College of Engineering students with demonstrated need.

"We believe that Cal Poly is uniquely positioned to serve the next generation of engineers with diverse backgrounds and interests," says Mohammad Noori, dean of the College of Engineering. "We are grateful to the S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation for helping us with our efforts to increase financial aid to underrepresented groups."                    

Joe Donahoo, the College of Engineering's Assistant Dean for Advancement, notes that although there is more diversity in California's population, this demographic shift has yet to be fully realized within higher education. "Many of the groups underrepresented in higher education come from families without college degrees," he says. "The Bechtel scholarship will support promising young individuals while removing the foremost barrier to education for many first generation college students: financial need."

Coupled with Cal Poly's ability to attract and admit underrepresented students, the College of Engineering has developed a support structure to ensure students success upon matriculation. "The College of Engineering Student Affairs division is committed to guiding first generation and underrepresented students through the nuances and difficulties of a family's first college experience," states Stacey Breitenbach, Assistant Dean for Student Affairs.

"Engineering is a vector to the middle class," Noori says. "It is also an opportunity to prepare individuals for the work force and the challenges we face as a global society - clean water, security, health care, etc. The Bechtel gift, therefore, not only serves students and their families, but it also, ultimately, serves the state and nation."