Wednesday, 04/07/10

Cal Poly Pomona is celebrating the 150th birthday of university founder W.K. Kellogg on April 7, 1860. While working in a kitchen one day, Kellogg accidentally let stand a batch of boiled wheat. When he returned the next day, the wheat had turned into flakes. That discovery eventually led to Corn Flakes and the Kellogg Company, which he started in 1906.

In 1925, Kellogg purchased land for his Arabian horse ranch on what is now the core of Cal Poly Pomona's campus. In 1949, he deeded 813 acres of land to the State of California, providing that the property be used for educational purposes and the traditional Arabian horse shows be continued.

Seven years later, 550 students and 30 faculty members moved to the Kellogg campus.

Today, Cal Poly Pomona covers about 1,438 acres and has more than 20,000 students and 3,000 faculty and staff members. The W.K. Kellogg Arabian Horse Center is home to about 85 purebreds that are used for teaching, outreach, research, and internationally recognized breeding and training programs. The center holds monthly Sunday horse shows from October through May.

For more about the history of Cal Poly Pomona, visit www.csupomona.edu/cpp_history.php. Learn more about the W.K. Arabian Horse Center at www.csupomona.edu/~equine/.