Raymond Prince was a major force in the printing industry, and in remembrance of him, Cal Poly set up the Raymond J. Prince Graphic Communication Future Leader Scholarship Endowment. The endowment has reached a milestone in its fundraising efforts by raising an initial $30,000, allowing it to vest the endowment before the end of 2020.
Prince passed away on May 1, 2020. Cal Poly Prof. Emeritus Harvey Levenson and Graphic Communication Department Advisory Board member Ray Hartman led the two-part endowment fund drive. The second part aims to raise $70,000 more by the end of 2021 to enhance the endowment’s annual earnings for student scholarships.
Prince was a long-time leader at Cal Poly. He helped develop teaching resources and funded the Raymond J. Prince Graphic Arts Center (RJPGAC) at Cal Poly, and was responsible for the donation of the entire Printing Industries of America Wadewitz Library. The collection includes rare books, some dating back hundreds of years.
The goal is to establish annual scholarships in Prince’s name and to further grow the Graphic Communication Department.
“These are areas that Ray Prince previously supported and deemed important in preparing students to become uniquely qualified to enter our industry,” Levenson said. “With over 50 years of printing industry involvement, Ray was committed to the growth of the industry through service, education and employee professional development.”
“Raymond Prince was an early mentor of mine as I was getting established in the industry after graduating from Cal Poly’s Graphic Communication Department,” Hartman added. “He was a tireless champion to guide printers in making progressive capital expenditures and innovations in technologies for their growing printing companies. Ray also widely promoted the importance for owners to allocate funding and management mentoring sessions to educate the growing diverse workforce in printing companies for sustainable long-term success.”
“We are eternally grateful to all endowment founders and for the support that Ray Prince provided for our students, faculty, staff and overall facilities,” said Colleen Twomey, chair of Cal Poly’s Graphic Communication Department. We will continue Ray Prince’s legacy in perpetuity through scholarships and program improvement initiatives in his name.”
Founders of The Raymond J. Prince Graphic Communication Future Leader Scholarship Endowment include Sid Chadwick, Twila Cummings, Francisco Diaz, Laura Gale, Ray Hartman, Heidelberg Corp., Jerry Hill, Nelson Ho, John Hyde, John St. John, the Harvey and Barbara Levenson family, Jim Mekis, Guy and Elizabeth Montgomery, Michael R. Murphy, Joe Polanco, John Pope, Paul Reilly, George and Susan Ryan, Bob Tapella, Janet Treer, Colleen Twomey, Larry Warter, and Jim Workman.
Anyone interested in participating in The Raymond J. Prince Graphic Communication Future Leader Scholarship Endowment can contact Twomey at ctwomey@calpoly.edu or (678) 469-9726.
