Cal Poly Educational Complex

POMONA, Calif. — A $10 million educational complex for the Collins College of Hospitality Management at California Polytechnic Institute – Pomona is in planning stages as university officials hustle to raise capital, buoyed by a $3 million in pledges from a grateful alumnus and a local benefactor, and matching gifts from the pair that the college is named for.

 

Eugene Park, now a Southern California businessman, pledged $1 million to the new facility. His is the second big donation to the project, with $2 million having been donated in November by the J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation. Those amounts were matched by Carol and Jim Collins, for whom the hospitality college is named for.

 

With his family, Park owns Cal Pacific Realty, which operates the Bel-Air Swap Meet in Bloomington, Calif., and the Pro-Swap Meet in San Bernardino. The Marriott’s are of the hotel and hospitality fame and the new facility, when built, will be named after them. The Collins’ family pledged to match funds up to $10 million. The building fund is now at $7 million, according to Cal Poly officials.

 

“The Collins College is a wonderful hospitality and management program that values educational experience and diversity,” said Richard Marriott, chairman of the foundation. “Investing in the college’s expansion plans will help the college reach even more students in the future.

 

University officials said that preliminary plans call for the complex — which will feature graduate-level courses — to have three 46-seat classrooms, along with four 32-seat classrooms. The complex will also include a student lounge and study area and space for eight faculty offices.