Cal Poly faculty are leaders in their field, devoted to their discipline, their departments, and most of all, the success of their students. It’s a dedication that doesn’t ebb after retirement, as shown recently by three retired faculty members who took the lead in supporting a crowdfunding campaign by the Physics Department. The campaign was geared toward raising funds to help host the Conference for Undergraduate Women and Gender Minorities in Physics on campus from January 24 –26, 2025. Retired physics professors Randy Knight, Richard Saenz, and Richard Frankel helped with the fundraising by contributing generous gifts totaling $7,000, reflecting their lasting dedication to the students of their former department.

“I've long been very concerned about the fact that we need more women, more minorities, more underrepresented groups in the sciences," explained Knight, regarding his support for this initiative.  “Science, historically, was a white guy's profession. But that's not the way it ought to be. It's been important to me throughout my career to help see that others were involved in science as well.”

The goal of this conference was to help undergraduate women and gender minorities continue in physics by providing them with the opportunity to experience a professional conference, gather information about graduate school and professions in physics, and gain access to peers in physics of all ages with whom they can share experiences, advice and ideas. It draws attendees from across the West Coast and features notable guest speakers and renowned faculty visitors, with funds going towards student activities such as travel, meals, workshops, and networking events.

Knight came to Cal Poly in 1989 as an associate professor from Ohio State University, and in addition to teaching general science courses he also taught classes on oceanography and meteorology, and helped start the minor in environmental studies. He retired in 2015.

Saenz came to Cal Poly in 1980 and taught his last class in 2015. He taught upper division astronomy and physics, eventually becoming chair of the department for 10 years in the late 1990s. He was also involved with the faculty union, serving as president for four years. He marveled at how different things are on campus now compared to when he first arrived when most faculty and students were predominantly male, which also highlighted the importance of this crowdfunding campaign.

“I donated to this crowdfund because it was celebrating and showcasing women in physics and giving students the experience of presenting their work and helping them think about careers in physics,” said Saenz.

Frankel arrived on campus in 1989 and taught through 2010 including courses such as quantum mechanics and was also department chair around 2003. He was happy to lend his support to this initiative because he knows it will help with student development and lead to more opportunities for hands-on learning. He believes some of the challenges and struggles students may encounter at first with the Learn by Doing method are what makes it effective.

“When you're struggling, you're learning," said Frankel. “That's how you really learn.  And then when you break out of the struggle, ah, it's glorious. And that's what I think Learn by Doing means.”

Saenz encouraged current students to get to know their professors outside of just attending class and lectures, as those connections can be lifelong and lead to other opportunities down the line.

“They can advise you about stuff at Cal Poly,” he said. “They can advise you about graduate school or careers. They know people at various places, which can give you an upper hand.” Despite it being over 10 years since any of them had last stepped foot in a classroom, all three of these emeritus professors were still eager to stay engaged with the Cal Poly community and to support it however best they could. Thanks in part to their combined efforts, the crowdfunding campaign was successful in raising in total close to $13,000 with 36 individual donors. This support allowed conference activities to occur throughout the weekend such as research talks by faculty, panel discussions about graduate school and careers in physics, presentations, and discussions about women in physics, laboratory tours, student research talks, student poster sessions, and several meals during which presenters and students interacted with one other.

To learn more about Cal Poly Crowdfunding and other current campaigns, please visit crowdfund.calpoly.edu.