Alumnus donates record $110 million to Cal Poly
SAN LUIS OBISPO — A whopping $110 million donation to California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, is the largest gift in Cal State history, school officials said.
William Frost, a 1972 graduate, announced Wednesday that he and his wife Linda were donating the money to Cal Poly’s College of Science and Mathematics.
It will go toward building a new interdisciplinary research center and includes $3.6 million annually to support student scholarships, research stipends, equipment purchases and expanded hiring of instructors, officials said.
“I see this as an investment in the education and future successes of our science and mathematics students,” Frost said.
He graduated with a degree in biochemistry and went on to found Chemlogics, which sold chemicals and polymers used in the extraction of oil and gas. The company sold for $1.3 billion in 2013.
The gift is among the largest ever to public higher education in the state, Cal State officials said.
“Bill and Linda’s gift will impact the lives of countless Cal Poly students, right now and far into the future,” said Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong. “The Frosts envision Cal Poly’s College of Science and Mathematics housing one of the top undergraduate academic and research programs in the country.”
The previous record for largest Cal State donation is a $60 million anonymous 2008 gift to Cal Poly’s College of Ar- chitecture and Environmental Design.
Cal Poly is a university of about 20,000 undergraduates that offers 64 bachelor’s degrees, 32 master’s degrees, and 7 teaching credentials.
Spokesman Matt Lazier said officials saw no conflict in accepting money made in connection with the oil and gas industry and Cal State’s commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions under a 2014 state mandate.
“Cal Poly is committed to sustainability throughout campus and within its curriculum,” he said, pointing to ongoing sustainability efforts and recently announced plans to develop a solar array that will supply more than a quarter of the university’s energy.