Edward Appel, professor emeritus and founder of the agricultural services and inspection/agricultural biology program, died on March 16, his birthday.

He was 94.

Born in Orange in 1919, Appel was raised in Etiwanda and, as a child, worked on his family’s citrus ranches. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Oregon State College in 1940 and worked as an agricultural inspector for the San Bernardino County Department of Agriculture.

During World War II, he served in the Pacific theater with the Navy, rising from the rank of ensign to lieutenant. After the war, he returned to his agricultural inspector job.

In 1946, Appel was chosen as one of two instructors to restart the agricultural inspection program at the Voorhis campus of Cal Poly. The program was suspended during the war because there was a shortage of students.

Appel spent two years strengthening and improving the academic side of the program and then was named program chair, a position he held until his retirement in 1976. He brought in Professor Ken Hobbs to teach new classes during the 1950s, as the program expanded to include pest management. The expanded course offerings created new opportunities for graduates to work in the private sector, in addition to the traditional government agency jobs.

The program itself went through several name changes. It became horticultural services and inspection during the 1950s and then agricultural services and inspection in 1960, shortly after the program moved from the Voorhis campus to the Kellogg Ranch in Pomona. The current agricultural biology title became official in 1967.

Professor Emeritus Rex Baker, a friend and colleague, recalls Appel as a strong taskmaster who demanded a lot from his students but also wanted them to succeed.

“Eddie was a great advisor… One of his best attributes was his love for helping young people find their way, discovering fields of study and careers best suited for their personality and aptitude, and then helping develop and improve their levels of skill and knowledge necessary to be marketable and successful,” Baker says.

A funeral service was held March 28. The family requests that donations be made to the Appel/Hobbs Scholarship Fund at Cal Poly Pomona in lieu of flowers. The fund was established by alumni to honor Appel and Hobbs and support agricultural biology majors.

Donations can be made out to the Cal Poly Foundation and forwarded to the department at Appel/Hobbs Scholarship Fund, c/o Plant Science Department, Cal Poly Pomona, 3801 W. Temple Ave., Pomona, CA 91768.

Christine Hall and Joe Shashaty were elected ASI president and vice president, respectively, in the spring 2013 general election, it was announced Tuesday.

Students also passed two proposals: one to amend the ASI By-Laws, and the other to reallocate funding for student groups. Jasmine Andino won the only contested senate seat, defeating Steven Taylor to represent engineering. More than 2,000 students voted in the election. Here are the complete results:

Professor Douglas Lewis is retiring as associate dean from the College of Agriculture after this year’s commencement, and Professor Lisa Kessler will replace him on an interim basis.

“I want to personally thank Doug for serving admirably as our associate dean these past years. We will sorely miss him,” agriculture Dean Lester Young said in a prepared statement.

Ed Merritt, the James A. Collins Distinguished Professor of Management and accomplished industry executive, will serve as interim dean of The Collins College, effective July 15.

Merritt joined The Collins College faculty in 2000. He is highly regarded by students and his peers, who have selected him as Professor of the Year five times, and he was last year’s Outstanding Advisor of the Year.

“Dr. Merritt’s academic and industry expertise in leadership and strategic management will serve The Collins College well during this time of transition,” says Provost Marten denBoer. “He is a vital member of the faculty with the ability and energy to continue the college’s remarkable progress and excellence.”

For nine days in February, Southern California was kept on edge while authorities searched for disgruntled ex-cop Christopher Dorner in a massive manhunt stretching from San Diego to high in the San Bernardino Mountains.

By the time the tragic ordeal was over, five had been injured and six had been killed. One of Dorner’s first victims was Monica Quan, a 28-year-old assistant basketball coach from Cal State Fullerton, who was killed along with her 27-year-old fiancé, Keith Lawrence.

Gov. Jerry Brown’s revisions to the 2013-14 budget keeps intact the proposed reinvestment of $125 million into the CSU system, President Michael Ortiz said in his weekly video update.

However, that does not completely restore the CSU system after years of budget cuts. Currently, Cal Poly Pomona is operating with just 62 percent of the state funding it received in 2007-08, Ortiz noted. However, the good news is that state support seems to be headed in the right direction.

Last week’s major IT system failure was not caused by the launch of the redesigned website, Ortiz said. The cause was human error, and I&IT is reviewing its procedures to prevent similar problems in the future. Ortiz expressed pride in how the campus community responded to the situation amid priority registration, ASI elections and day-to-day operations.

In other news:

• Eight student-athletes will compete this week at the Division II Track and Field National Championships in Colorado. They include Tiffany Dinh, Angela Garcia, Samantha Swanson, Jillian Schmidt, Lizette Huerta, Justin Ellerbee, Connor Birtwhistle and Vincent Huitt.
• When the Bronco Recreation and Intramural Complex opens in Fall 2014, the Bronco Fitness Center will become available for new uses. The campus community is invited Tuesday to contribute their ideas at workshops in Ursa Major C. LPA Architects will lead workshops from noon to 1:30 p.m., 2 to 3:30 p.m. and 5:15 to 6:45 p.m.
• MediaVision and Student Affairs have collaborated on a new video, “Discover Cal Poly Pomona,” that features students and their experiences on campus: http://youtu.be/LtuGZ6GdWjY.

To read the entire video message, download a PDF of the transcript.

The quarterly Shpachenko and Friends Chamber Music Festival will feature world premiere performances of musical works for piano, toy piano and electronics.

Cal Poly Pomona music Associate Professor Nadia Shpachenko-Gottesman and Pomona College music Professor Genevieve Feiwen Lee will perform “Music for a New B’ak’tun and Otherworldly Resonances” at 8 p.m., Wednesday, May 22, in the Music Recital Hall.

New research by a team of Cal Poly Pomona professors and students is shedding light on a fatal and incurable genetic disease and opening up new possibilities for treatments.

Robots will roll into the Fairplex to rumble, race and reconnoiter. About 200 students from six local schools will compete Monday in the College of Education & Integrative Studies’ annual Robot Expo.

Gov. Brown’s proposed reinvestment in the CSU of $125.1 million in new funding and $125 million reinstated from last year’s budget cut remained intact in his May Revision of the 2013-14 state budget released yesterday.

The proposed increase would bring state funding levels to $2.3 billion for the CSU’s programs and operations.

The revised budget plan also links funding to accountability measures and states the administration will continue to work with the CSU and legislature on an accountability framework for future budget augmentations.