Cal Poly hort department head calls for industry advocates to help save program

Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo has released a new "Master Plan" for campus renovations, which calls for demolishing the Horticulture and Crop Sciences facilities to make way for new student housing. The following is a letter from Scott Steinmaus, Ph.D., department head and professor of horticulture and crop science at Cal Poly, which urges industry advocates to voice concerns to the school. Please note that this is an op-ed. It does not necessarily reflect the views of GIE Media, Inc. 

As you may know, Cal Poly has just released an update to its Master Plan which may be viewed in its entirety at http://masterplan.calpoly.edu/master-plan/.  I am deeply concerned to see that all of the Master Plan land use maps (attached) indicate that almost all of our orchards (of which are on Class 1 soil) and Horticulture facilities could be repurposed for buildings, residential, and/or recreational space. I want you to learn about these plans from our Department and not "through the grapevine." These proposed changes directly affect our current orchard plantings and other long term plans for the Department. I want you to know that we are committed to making sure that our orchards, facilities, and field sites remain the invaluable teaching environments that enable our students to learn about crop, fruit, and horticulture production, food safety and pest protection, in addition to providing sites for externally-funded research projects that benefit the Horticulture and Crop Science industries.

Time is of the essence. In this past week's Academic Senate meeting, President Armstrong described all of this land as "in play." The President's most recent email to the Cal Poly community indicates that, ”...all of the input… gathered through the end of May - will be studied by the planning team.” We need as much input as our industry leaders can provide in this short time period.

Our students voiced their concerns very effectively at a recent listening session that made the local news (http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2015/05/07/3623758/cal-poly-master-plan-open-house.html) by reasonably focusing on the urgency of maintaining Class 1 soils for agricultural use and the importance of having such land close to the campus core in order to facilitate our Learn by Doing philosophy. You may have the same concerns and could effectively voice a concern that developing agricultural land around the Crops Unit would also seriously impact research and learning collaborations with outside industry. Here is what you can do in addition to what you may also see as appropriate:

1. You can submit your comments about the Master Plan through the website (see toward bottom of this linked page):http://masterplan.calpoly.edu/get-involved/  or directly to: masterplan@calpoly.edu

2. You can email or call in your concerns to the President's office at: presidentsoffice@calpoly.edu  or call 805-756-6000

3.  You can email or call in your concerns to the CAFES Deans Office: athulin@calpoly.edu or call 805-756-2161.

4. Pass this message along to anyone who you feel would be an effective advocate for our program and its lands and have them voice their concerns through the contacts listed above.

I am seriously concerned that without strong and sufficient support from our industry advocates our Learn by Doing approach would be [irreparably] compromised.  If you’d like to discuss this with me please do not hesitate to contact me.

Scott

Scott Steinmaus, PhD
Department Head and Professor
1 Grand Avenue
Horticulture and Crop Science
Biological Sciences
Cal Poly
San Luis Obispo, CA 93407
805-756-5142
ssteinma@calpoly.edu