Dean Bailey's Welcome to students...

Welcome to Cal Poly and The College of Science and Mathematics! We are beginning our second century as an institution with great excitement and deep commitment to our long-standing values. The once polytechnic high school, the institution that at one time aspiredto be a polytechnic college of 5000 all male students is now a inationally respected polytechnic co-educational university of 18,000 students.

Phil Bailey, Dean of the College of Science and Mathematics, greets new students with the message to study 25-35 hours per unit per week.

Cal Poly is one of our nation’s most selective public universities. For more than a decade, US News and World Report has ranked us as the best public, largely undergraduate university in the west. On a humorous note, the Kaplan publication “The Unofficial, Unbiased Insider’s Guide to the 320 Most Interesting Colleges” (there are around 2300 four-year institutions in the U.S.) ranks Cal Poly in the top five nerdiest colleges just below MIT, Cal Tech, and Rice and just above Harvard. In a more serious category, the same publication ranks Cal Poly 39th for “highest academic standards”.

Another study lists us as among the top 100 “most wired” institutions in the nation (it’s a compliment!)

The recent Research Corporation study of science programs at 1115 undergraduate universities (non-Ph.D. institutions) found Cal Poly third in number of science degrees awarded during 1985-97; we have increased our enrollment since that time. The American Statistical Association ranks Cal Poly 13th in annual statistics degrees granted and third of non-Ph.D. institutions.

The National Science Foundation has previously recognized Cal Poly for innovative science programs and as an excellent source of students for Ph.D. programs.

Our values are clear. We are a hands-on, learn by doing institution with a sincere commitment to undergraduate education. Modern and innovative pedagogies and curricula engage our students’ intellect, curiosity, imagination, and capacity for creative and critical thought. Our classes are small and students learn to know our faculty well through daily contact in lecture and labs.

We encourage partnerships between our students and the faculty in scholarly and creative endeavors that nurture the curiosity, imagination, and creativity of our students, support the professional development agendas of our faculty, and promote personal mentoring within our diverse university community.

At Cal Poly we educate some of the brightest students in California and the nation.		The fall 2004 entering freshmen in the College of Science and Math have a median high school grade point average of 3.9 and median SAT’s of 1230. The average grade point average of our entering transfer students is 3.4.
			2004 Entering Freshman

			We have an excellent and dedicated faculty and staff. All of us deeply care about all Cal Poly students and are committed to their success. We enjoy great support from the Cal Poly family…students, parents, faculty and staff, alumni, industry, and friends.

This is my 23rd year as dean and my 37th at Cal Poly. I can assure you, this is a wonderful place. Thank you for visiting.