$20 million gift from Lynda and Stewart Resnick deepens their philanthropic legacy, launches student success center, and brings their total giving to $2.6 billion
Cal Poly marked a milestone that felt less like the start of a construction project and more like the continuation of a remarkable philanthropic journey.
With golden shovels lifted under a crisp November sky, the university broke ground on the Lynda and Stewart Resnick Student Success Center — a new 36,000-square-foot facility that will soon stand as both a resource for students and a testament to the profound impact one couple has had on education across California.
The center, located at the corner of North Perimeter Road and Village Drive, represents far more than a building.
It embodies decades of generosity from Lynda and Stewart Resnick, whose approach to philanthropy has consistently centered on expanding opportunity, opening doors, and investing in the long-term well-being of communities.
Their $20 million lead gift, made through The Wonderful Company, is part of a sweeping legacy of support that has changed the trajectories of thousands of young people, especially in the Central Valley—a region the Resnicks have championed with uncommon dedication.
As Cal Poly President Jeffrey D. Armstrong addressed the crowd, he emphasized that the new center will serve as a hub for student achievement and a place where students can find their “place, purpose, and pathway to success.” His words echoed what many in attendance already knew: the Resnicks do not simply fund buildings; they fund possibility.
For years, the couple has quietly but significantly transformed lives through education-focused philanthropy.
Through The Wonderful Company and their family foundations, they have invested in initiatives that uplift first-generation students, strengthen school systems, and provide academic and emotional support to young people who may otherwise be left behind.
Their flagship Wonderful College Scholarship Program—offering up to $40,000 in scholarships along with mentorship, tutoring, and dedicated coaching — has already supported 3,500 students.
Among them are 130 current Cal Poly Mustangs.
One of those students, agricultural business major Anthony Barboza, stood proudly at the groundbreaking, offering a deeply personal reflection on what the Resnicks’ generosity meant to him.
“Receiving a Wonderful scholarship has changed my life,” he said. His gratitude was echoed by many, not only for financial support but also because the Resnicks’ philanthropy consistently provides something even more powerful: belief. Belief in talent, in potential, and in the promise of a brighter future.
That belief is now being built, quite literally, into Cal Poly’s campus.
When completed, the three-story Student Success Center will bring together career services, advising, counseling, and student programs into a cohesive, welcoming space.
The design includes flexible multipurpose rooms, open lounges, outdoor areas, and an approachable environment that fosters collaboration, mentorship, and personal growth. It will also house programming linked to the Resnicks’ scholarship efforts—a symbolic and practical continuation of their mission to help students not only reach college but thrive once they arrive.
For Andy Anzaldo—a Cal Poly alumnus, Wonderful executive, and proud product of the same “Learn by Doing” philosophy the center will support—the project represents a full-circle moment.
He spoke of how the Resnicks’ vision aligns naturally with Cal Poly’s commitment to hands-on learning and leadership development. Their gift, he noted, will shape not only the student experience today but the leaders they will become tomorrow.
Terrance Harris, Cal Poly’s vice president for strategic enrollment and student affairs, underscored the center’s role in expanding access to the kinds of resources that help students flourish academically, personally, and professionally. It will be a place where students discover pathways, receive guidance, find community, and build confidence.
Though the groundbreaking was filled with celebration, its significance lies in what is yet to come. Every brick, every study room, every advising office will carry the imprint of Lynda and Stewart Resnick’s extraordinary philanthropic vision—one grounded in the belief that education has the power to transform an individual’s life and, through that life, a community.
Their impact is far beyond Cal Poly.
Across the Central Valley and throughout California, the Resnicks have invested in health programs, community initiatives, youth development, and agricultural education.
They have created pipelines to opportunities for thousands of families, often focusing on regions overlooked by traditional philanthropic models.
The scale of their generosity is immense, but what stands out most is humanity: their gifts are designed to remove obstacles, uplift entire communities, and ensure that students like Anthony Barboza not only dream big but step boldly into those dreams.
As the crowd dispersed and the ceremonial shovels were set aside, it was clear that this groundbreaking was only the beginning.
When the doors of the Lynda and Stewart Resnick Student Success Center open, they usher in a new era of student support at Cal Poly—one built on compassion, foresight, and a belief in potential that has become the hallmark of the Resnicks’ extraordinary philanthropy.
And for generations of Mustangs to come, that belief will make all the difference.