Dear Fellow Alumni,

We hope this message finds you and your loved ones healthy and safe. As we come to the close of a very emotional week, we want you to know that the Cal Poly Alumni Association is here for you. The recent killings in the black community have broken something in our country, which must reckon with its history of racism and violence. We know that members of our Mustang family are hurting--and it breaks our hearts.

To our Black students and Black alumni who are hurting, we see you and hear you. Our association is more than 200,000 alumni strong, and our alumni allies and alumni of color are here for you. To them we say, thank you for your support.

For our alumni who are looking to learn and understand more, the Cal Poly Cross Cultural Centers has put together some resources to increase your awareness and the best ways to help others. Click here to find these resources.

As we continue to manage a global pandemic, many of us are looking for the "new normal" for our health and for the economy. We know that life will be substantially changed at least until we have a COVID-19 vaccine, and we hope that will come quickly. But the new normal will not eliminate hatred and bigotry. There is no easy vaccine against this nation's legacy of structural racism. We have to do the work. As President Armstrong said, "We as a society must do better - and not just through our words, but with meaningful action and unbreakable conviction."

Cal Poly alumni represent this university throughout the world. That is why we must stand with all of our students and alumni, and publicly denounce racism and bigotry in any form.

We want our Mustang family to heal. We want us all to heal, so we can move forward and bring about a future that is better than our past. We want a future that is more equitable and recognizes the beauty and dignity of each and every person.

Take care and be kind to one another.

Erica A. Stewart, President

Hunt Turner, President-Elect

Tawny M. James, Chief Financial Officer

Grant Kirkpatrick, Executive Vice President

Adam Jarman,  CPAA Board University Representative