Soraya M. Coley

Dr. Soraya M. Coley is the sixth president of the California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona). An accomplished educator and administrator with nearly three decades experience in higher education, Dr. Coley is the first woman to be named president of Cal Poly Pomona. She has ushered in a new era of strategic leadership for the campus, establishing a vision for Cal Poly Pomona as a model for an inclusive polytechnic university that inspires creativity, discovery and innovation, embraces local and global challenges, and transforms lives.

As president, Dr. Coley leads an institution with more than 25,000 students and nearly 2,500 faculty and staff. Under her leadership, Cal Poly Pomona has continued to grow its legacy as the most diverse polytechnic university in the country and as a national leader in promoting social and economic mobility. She formally took office in January 2015, and during her tenure enrollment has grown by 2,000 students and graduation rates have reached historic levels.

A student-centered, faculty- and staff-focused, and community-minded administrator, Dr. Coley has led a campus-wide effort charting a new course for Cal Poly Pomona that will define the university for decades to come. To guide this effort, Dr. Coley led the creation of a new strategic plan and launched planning processes to re-envision both the academic enterprise and the campus’ physical presence.