Cal Poly lures former publisher of Bulletin
Daily Bulletin 5/2/07
Balzer, 57, accepted the position of executive director of the capital campaign for Cal Poly Pomona. His last day with the newspaper group will be June 22.
Cal Poly Pomona, which now serves 20,700 students, was the first higher education institution Balzer attended after graduating high school. He has served on the University Educational Trust, which manages endowments and scholarships.
"One of my passions is to improve this geography through better education," Balzer said.
"If we don't graduate people that stay in the community, our business goes away."
Balzer, a former publisher of the Daily Bulletin, started his newspaper career in ad services at the Pomona Progress-Bulletin in 1969.
He worked part time while he attended Cal Poly Pomona.
Balzer serves as CEO of the newspaper group that includes The Sun in San Bernardino and the Redlands Daily Facts.
The capital campaign will be the first comprehensive fundraising effort for the campus since it was built in 1938. The fundraising goal for the project could be between $275 million and $350 million. That money could go toward academic buildings, laboratories, maintenance, scholarships and professors.
The campaign will stretch from five to seven years, and the details are still in the works. The university plans to complete a feasibility study to determine the university's needs and costs before kicking off the campaign.
"The capital campaign will be an event that will transform the institution," said university President J. Michael Ortiz, who was excited to welcome Balzer to Cal Poly Pomona.
Balzer said that the campaign should transform not only the university, but Pomona as well. "It has to help that city become what it used to be," Balzer said.
The campaign comes at a critical time for the city as it works to revitalize its downtown and put its Youth and Family Master Plan into action to fight gangs and youth violence.
The capital campaign is not about just bricks and mortar, Balzer said.
"What should be realized on campus is a learning environment that will be unequalled in the area," Balzer said.
Los Angeles Newspaper Group officials said they would be sad to say goodbye to Balzer, who joined the company in 1996 as its first employee.
But the transition to Cal Poly is a natural one, said John McKeon, CEO and president of LANG.
"We're both in the business of improving our communities," he said.
Balzer has been overwhelmingly supportive of newsroom efforts to spotlight issues of crime and violence to better the community, said Steve Lambert, vice president of news for LANG and editor of the Daily Bulletin and The Sun.
"The great publishers have certain things in common. They have integrity, a commitment to the community. They have a deep and passionate understanding of the role of a newspaper and they're good people. And Bob is all of those," Lambert said.
While the search takes place for Balzer's successor, Lambert will assume his duties in the interim.