If you look at a map of Cal Poly, or simply take a stroll around campus, it’s likely that you will see a building or two with a name attached to it.
Orfalea College of Business, Robert E. Kennedy Library and Alex G. Spanos Stadium are only a handful of these named buildings. Who are the people behind the names, and what did they do to earn a spot on the campus map?
Let’s take a look .
Cal Poly’s theater was renamed the Alex and Faye Spanos Theatre in 2004. The affluent alumnus began his study of aeronautical engineering in 1941 and was also the drum major of the marching band.
Spanos donated $1.5 million in 2003 to help remodel the H.P. Davidson Music Center and the Cal Poly Theatre, and gave another $100,000 to endow a music scholarship named after music professor and Mustang Band leader Harold P. Davidson.
The theater was not the only building named after Spanos.
Cal Poly’s stadium opened in 1935, but the 10,000-seat multipurpose facility was renamed Alex G. Spanos Stadium on Nov. 18, 2006.
Spanos, owner of the San Diego Chargers, gave the largest single gift in the history of Cal Poly athletics.
Baggett Stadium is home to the baseball team and was named after Robin Baggett. He was a catcher at Cal Poly from 1968 to 1971. The stadium opened in 2001, and Cal Poly played Stanford University in the first game. The Mustangs won 6-5 in 12 innings.
The softball team plays at Bob Janssen Field, the sister facility to Baggett Stadium. The field opened in 2003 and was named after local patron and sports enthusiast Bob Janssen. Cal Poly played UC Riverside in the first game on the NCAA regulation field and won 8-0.
Christopher Cohan lived in San Luis Obispo from the 1970s until 1982 and was the president of Sonic Communications. He also owns the NBA’s Golden State Warriors.
In 1990, Cohan made a gift of $2.1 million on the eve of the inauguration of the capital campaign for the performing arts center construction. His gift was the largest single gift to any individual California State University campus, and he was recognized when the new center was named the Christopher Cohan Performing Arts Center in 1996.
Clyde P. Fisher Science Hall was named for Clyde P. Fisher, the former dean of the College of Science and Math. He was a teacher and administrator at Cal Poly from 1947 to 1975.
In 2004, trial attorney Joseph Cotchett and his wife, Victoria, pledged $7 million to Cal Poly to launch a program to put more math and science teachers in classrooms in low-income neighborhoods. To honor the gift from the alumnus, who studied engineering, Cal Poly renamed the education building the Cotchett Education Building.
Many knew Julian A. McPhee as the father of the California Polytechnic State University system. While president of Cal Poly from 1933 to 1966, he oversaw the Pomona and San Dimas campuses. The Julian A. McPhee University Union was named in his honor.
Orfalea College of Business was named after Paul J. Orfalea on Jan. 24, 2001. The founder of Kinko’s donated a gift of securities worth $15 million designated to enhance the quality and scope of business education at Cal Poly.
Robert E. Kennedy Library opened in 1981. The building was named after Robert E. Kennedy, who was president of Cal Poly from 1967 to 1979.
During his tenure, curriculum was reorganized into units to create the School of Agriculture, School of Engineering, School of Applied Arts, School of Applied Sciences and the School of Architecture. Another highlight happened in 1971 when Cal Poly’s official name was changed to California Polytechnic State University by the state legislature.
Some Mustang athletic fans refer to the gym as “The Asylum” or “The Big Ugly,” but Robert A. Mott Gymnasium is named after the former head of physical education. Mott came to Cal Poly in 1946, and also served as head baseball coach. He implemented a coaching and physical education workshop that has been held annually ever since. He died on April 15, 1990.
The Walter F. Dexter Building originally opened as a library and now is used to house various colleges. It was named for Walter F. Dexter, who helped McPhee gain approval and state funding for a new library building.