Gil Gillivan (Biological Sciences, ’63) and his late wife, Judy Gillivan (Elementary Education, ’64), first met during W.O.W. Week at Cal Poly in the 1960s. Married for 43 years, the Gillivans shared a lifelong connection to the university. Before Judy’s passing earlier this year, the couple committed $125,000 to establish the Judy Gillivan Cal Poly Scholars Endowment in the Liberal Studies department of the Bailey College of Science and Mathematics, along with a $400,000 bequest to further support the fund.

The Cal Poly Scholars program provides financial assistance and access to Cal Poly’s unique Learn by Doing education for high-achieving students from California schools who have earned acceptance to the university. It provides an annual scholarship, two-year living-learning community, dedicated workshops and advising to support student development, retention, and access to essential technology.

As a lifelong educator, Judy was passionate about supporting future teachers, especially those with financial need. It was her idea to set up a scholarship for the Liberal Studies department.

“Good teachers are hard to find. Great teachers are harder to find. But great teachers come out of Cal Poly,” Gil recalled Judy saying.

Liberal Studies department chair Seth Bush said that this gift will make a tremendous impact on the department and will allow it to be an attractive destination for students who otherwise wouldn't be able to afford to come to Cal Poly.

“We need teachers from all socioeconomic groups to be able to participate, to be able to engage and to benefit from what Cal Poly can bring,” he explained. “We know that we're helping to prepare the next generation of teachers.”

When Gil arrived at Cal Poly 60 years ago, the campus was home to just a few thousand students, but it still had that same Cal Poly energy with everyone learning by doing and getting involved.

“We did everything from dime flicks on Friday nights to dances on the weekends,” remembered Gil. “Big names came through — from Count Basie and Duke Ellington’s big bands, to Peter, Paul and Mary, and even The Beach Boys.”

After graduation Judy went on to be an elementary school teacher and taught her entire career at the same school in the Mount Diablo Unified School district in the Bay Area. Gil recalled how well Cal Poly prepared her for her first role in the classroom.

For Gil, Learn by Doing helped him in his career as well. After graduating from Cal Poly, he went through Officer Candidate School for the US Navy.

“I ended up on destroyers as an engineer, and it was Learn by Doing personified, because I had to know how everything worked,” he said.

After the Navy, Gil briefly worked for Clorox before spending 35 years in finance, working at large brokerage firms Dean Witter and Paine Webber before ultimately retiring in 2002.

The Gillivans’ gift to the Liberal Studies department isn’t the first time the couple has chosen to support Learn by Doing. Gil had previously established a scholarship in the Music department, which had been an important part of his college experience.

“I would have flailed in life had I not gone there because I got my sense of direction from Cal Poly, from the curriculum, the Music department in particular,” he explained.

Bush is thankful for the Gillivans’ generosity, and for paying it forward to future generations of teachers.

“A Cal Poly-educated teacher has the ability to make a significant impact and support the students around them in a unique way,” said Bush. “Learn by Doing influences their teaching approach, and it's just a fact."

Gil is proud and happy to give back to the school that gave him so much, and he asked his fellow Mustangs to consider doing the same.

“I would encourage alumni to really consider giving back to what got you where you are today,” he said. “And if college is the basis for most of us, that would be a great way to pay it back.”

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