The evolution, symbolism behind CPP’s identity
By Bridgette Estrada, March 10, 2026
CPP used different variations of Cal Poly SLO’s seal from 1938 to the1960s, a gold emblem with multiple symbols, including binary coding to represent learning in STEM, a book that represents knowledge and other imagery signifying the university’s polytechnic essence. The words “Dicere Faciendo,” Latin for “learn by doing,” are also written in the center of the seal.
CPP used some of those variations of this seal until 1994 but fluctuated between wordmark text and agricultural symbols tied to its ranch and farming roots.
A popular version of the seal that was adopted in 1966, the same year CPP gained independence from SLO, was the Yggdrasil, which is the mythological world tree from Norse mythology. It is a giant, sacred tree that connects and supports the entire universe.
It contained the words “Instrumentum de Discipline” as the school’s motto in the center, which means “application of knowledge. This symbol was later modernized to just a tree with five branches, each representing the major disciplines of learning: the arts, commerce, humanities, sciences and technology.
The former tree logo was replaced in 1994 with an image of the CLA building and the Arabian horse barn arch. This change signaled a transition to a time of innovation.
The leaf placed below the arch was a representation of the previous logo, the tree of learning. It also represented the green campus and the students flourishing within the campus, according to CPP archives dated Nov. 16, 1997. (This info was found in a pamphlet)
Kimberley Erickson, a CPP alumna who has worked at CPP for more than 30 years and is currently the Special Collections Reading Room Coordinator, said the tree was replaced with the arch and the leaf because it was rumored former CPP President Bob Suzuki’s wife “thought that our standard tree looked too much like a mushroom cloud or atomic bomb, and she didn’t like looking at it.”
CPP officially introduced the octagon logo to the campus in 2018. “A key component of our success is determined by how we are perceived by prospective students, parents, media, public officials, alumni and industry,” said former University President Soraya M. Coley to CPP News. “It’s essential that the images and words we use to describe Cal Poly Pomona be aligned with how we view ourselves and our bold vision for the future. I’m energized about how this new logo helps us tell the Cal Poly Pomona story.”
Before the new logo, came Bronco Athletics’ visual representation of the horse in Sept. 2014, which was created to separate the athletics identity from the academic logo.
The newest CPP logo, featuring a green and gold shield with a palm tree, and architectural elements, was introduced in 2024 as part of a university brand refresh aimed at creating a clearer and more recognizable identity.
This is part of a larger strategy to rebrand the school’s image to attract a larger audience and prospective new students in a competitive higher education market.
The rebranding campaign costs CPP $4.1 million and will be spent in a span of four years. This funding includes a new logo, school motto, audience engagement and other marketing strategies.
Amon Rappaport, CPP’s former senior associate vice president for communications and chief strategic communications officer, asked skeptics that questioned the amount of money that was set part of the rebranding campaign to take the time to understand the urgency of the matter.
Since the application of the funding began, there is no information found that explicitly says the new student enrollment rate has improved.
The Become by Doing campaign, part of the rebranding campaign, also features the message “Learn. Do. Become.” Together, these messages speak to what’s unique about the university and address the desire of prospective students and their families to know what they can expect from a CPP education.
Feature image courtesy of CPP Philanthropic Board Meeting
