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| California State University, Los Angeles, Economics Receives Largest Donation in its History from Company to Underwrite Frito-Lay Leadership Center California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State L.A.) announced today it has formed "The Gateway to Los Angeles," an innovative partnership between the University and PepsiCo/Frito-Lay, which includes a $1.4 million donation to the UniversityÂs College of Business and Economics and the College of Engineering, Computer Science and Technology by PepsiCo Foundation -- the largest contribution ever to either College. In addition to this gift, Frito-Lay will also donate significant in-kind contributions to the College, including internships, guest speaker programs, student clubs and campus activity support, recruitment efforts, and other campus involvements over the next four years. The "Gateway to Los Angeles" partnership will serve to develop model programs to prepare the CollegeÂs students to become tomorrowÂs business leaders and entrepreneurs. The programs will also extend to students in the UniversityÂs College of Engineering, Computer Science, and Technology. These programs will be run by the Frito-Lay Leadership Center, which will be created on campus as a result of the $1.4 million donation. The Center will be supervised by Dr. Timothy Haight, Dean of the College of Business and Economics. The "Gateway to Los Angeles" partnership will be officially launched today at a check presentation ceremony to be held in the Cal State L.A. University-Student Union Alumni Lounge at 11:15 a.m. This partnership will work to develop well-trained graduates in business and technology who already possess an understanding of the greater Los Angeles and Southern California communities in which they live. Students will build an inclusive workforce that is the key to the multicultural corporation and a healthy business community. "Cal State L.A. shares with PepsiCo/Frito-Lay a vision of business driven by the imperatives of global economics and rapid technological change," said Cal State L.A. President James M. Rosser. "Together, our strengths can produce business leaders and a workforce educated through cutting-edge programs that are international in scope. As one of the most culturally diverse universities in the United States, Cal State L.A. is a dynamic presence at the center of this key economic region. The University can be an unparalleled industry partner. We can expand opportunities for our students while providing a gateway to PepsiCo/Frito-Lay to meet its goals to become the employer of choice and corporation of choice in Southern California." "On behalf of everyone at Frito-Lay, PepsiCo is proud to partner with Cal State L.A. to forge successful relationships with key faculty members and student organizations," said Al Bru, President and CEO of Frito-Lay North America. "We look forward to creating the gateway to many opportunities for students who will emerge as the business leaders of tomorrow." Conceived as an umbrella facility for leadership development, the Frito-Lay Leadership Center will provide the basis for a new 21st Century paradigm of partnership between academia and business and industry. Its mission is to create a learning experience for its students, and identify present and future dynamics in the Southern California business community and eventually, nationwide, according to Dean Haight. In addition, it will allow students to develop research programs and projects designed to meet business and consumer needs in a rapidly changing marketplace, chart the forces of e-commerce and retail globalization, and harness the necessary strategies to compete successfully in todayÂs local and global markets. California State University, Los Angeles is a comprehensive university at the heart of a major metropolitan city. The 175-acre hilltop campus is located five miles east of Los Angeles civic and cultural center. Since 1947, Cal State L.A. has been a leader in providing quality higher education, offering primarily undergraduate and masterÂs degrees to a largely commuter student body. Today, the campus comprises a faculty of internationally recognized scholars and artists, and more than 19,000 students with a wide variety of interests, ages and backgrounds that reflect the cityÂs dynamic mix of populations. The University has received the highest accreditation review ratings from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, its accrediting body, and its College of Business and Economics was ranked among the nationÂs best undergraduate business schools in U.S. News and World Report. On a quarter system, six Colleges--Arts and Letters, Business and Economics, the Charter College of Education, Engineering, Computer Science, and Technology, Health and Human Services, and Natural and Social Sciences--offer programs in more than 50 academic and professional fields. Approximately 4,000 students receive degrees each year. Nearly one-quarter of the UniversityÂs students are engaged in post-baccalaureate study in programs leading to masterÂs and doctoral degrees, programs for teaching, service and specialist credentials, and other programs that prepare students for professional advancement. More than 140,000 Cal State L.A. students have graduated and have gone on to distinguish themselves locally and globally. Novelist Joseph Wambaugh, famed math educator Jaime Escalante, and actor/director Edward James Olmos are alumni of Cal State L.A. In 1995, physicist and astronaut Sam Durrance took the University beyond the borders of our known world when he brought the Cal State L.A. PresidentÂs Medallion into space as a tribute to the quality of his education at his alma mater.
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