Its sports teams are known as the Cal Poly Pomona Broncos and play in the NCAA Division II as part of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA).

[24] The horticulture program was moved to the new satellite campus and the two units operated as one institution spanning two locations under the leadership of president Julian McPhee.

[25][26] Reopening after the war, Cal Poly-Voorhis Unit operated in San Dimas until 1956 when it moved to Will Keith Kellogg’s former horse ranch in the neighboring city of Pomona, California.

[29] The inaugural class of 1957 at the new campus consisted of 57 students graduating with bachelor's degrees in a ceremony held at the Rose Garden in Pomona and religious services at Voorhis Chapel in San Dimas.

Mugabe's negative humanitarian record as president of Zimbabwe led to protests from staff, faculty and students, ultimately forcing the university to rescind the plan.

Under then-president J. Michael Ortiz, Cal Poly Pomona launched its first comprehensive capital campaign in fall of 2008 to increase its permanent endowment.

Nevertheless, the negative economic effects caused by the late-2000s recession resulted in increased student fees, reduced enrollment availability, eliminated two athletic programs and introduced a mandatory furlough calendar for most of its employees.

[44] This practice recognizes Cal Poly Pomona as an independent and respected institution with distinct strengths within the California State University (CSU) system.

[53] Cal Poly Pomona's campus buildings vary in age and style from the Mission Revival Kellogg Horse Stables and the Kellogg House (suggesting the Spanish colonial architectural heritage of Southern California) built in the 1920s; the modernist box-like portion of the library completed in 1969; to contemporary dormitories, engineering, science and library-expansion facilities completed in the early 21st century.

Leisure and recreational locations include a rose garden which dates back to the Kellogg horse ranch years; the Kellogg House designed by Los Angeles-based architects Charles Gibbs Adams, Myron Hunt and Harold Coulson Chambers in the 1920s; and a 1.3 acres (0.53 ha) Japanese garden built in 2003 and designed by Takeo Uesugi.

[55][56] Kellogg's House features grounds which were initially landscaped by Charles Gibbs Adams but were later completed by Florence Yoch & Lucile Council.

At the northwest part of the campus is the Voorhis Ecological Reserve, which serves as a 31 hectares (77 acres) wildlife corridor containing Coastal Sage Scrub and Coast Live Oak trees among others.

[59] Between 1993 and 2022, Cal Poly Pomona's dominant landmark was a futurist-styled administrative facility known as the CLA Building which was designed by Antoine Predock and opened in 1993.

The building's peculiar shape (standing out by a triangular-shaped "skyroom" atop its eight-story tower[60]) became a symbol of the university; in addition, its close location to film studios based in the Hollywood borough of Los Angeles have prompted its inclusion in motion pictures such as Gattaca and Impostor.

Noted modernist architect James Pulliam once served as campus architect and instructor and designed the Bookstore, W. Keith and Janet Kellogg Art Gallery, Interim Design Center (IDC) and Student Union building which architectural historian David Gebhard regarded as the best building on campus.

Another academic facility highlighting the Kellogg legacy is the Horse Stables (also known as University Plaza) which contains a small research library specializing in equine studies along with offices for student services and various campus organizations.

[citation needed] Conceived in 1995 by then university president, Bob H. Suzuki, and initially financed by NASA and the Economic Development Administration, the Innovation Village is a 65-acre (26 ha) public/private partnership research and business facility at the southern edge of the campus.

Once complete, it is estimated that the project would employ 2000 to 3000 people and provide half a billion dollars of economic benefits to the local, regional and state economies.

[70] The center is part of Agriscapes, a 40-acre (16 ha) research project that showcases environmental and agricultural sustainable practices including methods to grow food, conserve water and energy and recycle urban waste.

Cal Poly Pomona campus also contains a rainforest greenhouse, a California ethnobotany garden, and an aquatic biology center collectively known as BioTrek, which provides environmental education to all academic levels.

[73] Although it is believed that the San Jose Fault (indicated by USGS as having a presumed period of 130,000 years) runs through campus, and geotechnical investigations have been conducted, there is uncertainty regarding its precise type and location.

It also indicated the lack of identity, an undefined sense of arrival, and a desire to build a stronger on-campus community, among others, as recurrent themes among campus's users.

[94] Just before the campaign launch, on July 26, 2010, the W. K. Kellogg Foundation awarded a $42 million challenge grant to the university to increase educational access to underrepresented communities, making it the largest cash gift in the history of the CSU system.

[95][96] On February 28, 2011, Panda Express founders Andrew and Peggy Cherng announced a $2.5 million pledge to Cal Poly Pomona's Collins College of Hospitality Management.

Prior to the ownership shift to Cal Poly SLO in 1938, the Voorhis School for Boys in San Dimas had been providing educational offerings in "music, bookkeeping, agriculture, library work, carpentry, nature study, machine shop, and printing" coupled with Christian religious fundamentals to an all-male student body with poor, underage boys.

"[103] Currently, Cal Poly Pomona promotes a "learn by doing" philosophy, where an essential part of the curriculum is hands-on application of knowledge.

[105] Cal Poly Pomona's polytechnic approach, and learn-by-doing philosophy, encourages students in all programs to get real-world experience and skills necessary to join the workforce upon graduation.

[162] In an effort to reduce commuting and raise academic performance and retention, starting with the 2010–2011 academic year, freshmen who did not graduate from a high school in the Tier 1 Local Admissions area (the area roughly bounded by the San Gabriel Mountains and Chino Hills to the north and south and the 15 and 605 freeways to the east and west), are required to live on campus.

This joint program is one of the longest consecutive running self-built entries in the parade, as well as the only "self built" floats designed and constructed entirely by students year-round on both campuses.

Teams are known as the Cal Poly Pomona Broncos and field 10 sports for men and women for the fall, winter, and spring quarters.