Don B. Huntley, proud Cal Poly Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ alumnus and longtime benefactor of his beloved alma mater, died on June 18.
He was 88.
A pistachio farmer and businessman in California’s San Joaquin Valley, Huntley (’60, animal husbandry) generously supported programs at Cal Poly Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ for decades. He donated pieces from his Western art collection and contributed to faculty research, student scholarships, and the creation of an on-campus vineyard, and a plant health science lab.
The ultimate example of his philanthropy was his 2016 pledge to give his 480-acre pistachio farm to Cal Poly Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ’s College of Agriculture upon his passing. In response, the California State University Board of Trustees named the college in Huntley’s honor. It became only the second named college at Cal Poly Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ and the first named after an alumnus.
“Cal Poly Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ is a fantastic university with a beautiful campus and a unique history. The students who graduate are making an important impact in California, and I want to support them and provide new opportunities,” Huntley said at the time.
“We need Cal Poly Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ students and faculty to continue making advancements in agriculture, biotechnology, science, and other research. I’m going to support the school for as long as I have the ability.”
Huntley’s gift will transform the college, which will continue to operate the farm for at least 20 years. The net operating revenue from the farm will support the college and agricultural and scientific research at Cal Poly Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ and provide scholarships for students.
Huntley’s generosity places him among the ranks of visionary philanthropists like W.K. Kellogg, Charles Voorhis, and Jim and Carol Collins, each of whom made significant impacts on Cal Poly Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ.
"Don embodied the very best of Cal Poly Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ. Through his extraordinary generosity, Don created opportunities across the entire campus, helping countless students pursue their dreams and realize their potential,” Interim Cal Poly Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ President Iris Levine said. “He understood the power of education, and he believed deeply in giving others the same opportunities that opened doors for him.
“His philanthropy reflected his commitment to student success, innovation, and the future of Cal Poly Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ. We are profoundly grateful for Don's leadership and enduring commitment to our university. His legacy will continue to inspire future generations of Broncos, and he will be deeply missed.”
Ethan Orr, dean of the Don B. Huntley College of Agriculture, shared a similar sentiment.
“His legacy will live on in every student who learns, grows, and discovers their purpose through the opportunities he made possible,” Orr said.
Beginnings
Huntley grew up in the San Gabriel Valley as an only child. He was raised by his mother after his father’s passing when he was a young boy.
Los Angeles County was still an agricultural center in those days, and Huntley dreamed of one day owning a cattle ranch. From an early age, he was enamored with rural America and the romance of the Old West.
“I just think the West to me is more beautiful,” Huntley once said. “There are scenic parts of the West that are found nowhere else in the world.”
He enrolled at Cal Poly Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ and studied animal husbandry in pursuit of his cattle ranching dream. His senior thesis focused on a blood disease in cattle called anaplasmosis.
When Huntley started his career, he worked in animal health sales for the American Cyanamid Corp. in the San Joaquin Valley. He sold animal health products to cattlemen and farmers for the company, which was later absorbed by Pfizer.
After several years, the company wanted to send Huntley to Louisiana. However, he had already become established in the city and community of Fresno and decided to stay instead.
At this time, he also concluded that his dream of owning a cattle ranch was unlikely to become a reality. Following in his mother’s footsteps, Huntley acquired a real estate license and sold agricultural and hill-country land.
Farmer
When California’s pistachio industry started to take off in the late 1970s and early 1980s, he did his research and entered the industry as a farmer, businessman and pistachio enthusiast.
“It’s a tree that may not produce if you have a terrible drought, but it won’t die. It’s a hardy tree,” he said. “That’s opposite to an almond orchard. They don’t last if they don’t get water.”
Huntley’s farming ventures soon blossomed.
“These ranches were some of the best I have ever seen,” recalled Dan Hostetler, professor and chair emeritus of the Department of Plant Science. “Any time that people went up to see these crops, Don was there to show how pistachios and were managed. Don loved to show people excellence in agricultural production.”
The bulk of his pistachios were sold under the HuntleyMoore Farms label to clients in Russia, Hong Kong, China, Canada, Israel, and India. He also sold them to gourmet food retailer Williams-Sonoma, the Cal Poly Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Farm Store at Cal Poly Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ, and to private corporate clients.
Renaissance Man
He was a meticulous researcher when it came to investing, reading the latest news, and calling companies and universities to get more information before making decisions. He wanted to know how things worked, why things worked, and what else was on the horizon.
Huntley also had hobbies that he pursued with the same determination, appetite for knowledge, and experimentation that made him a successful businessman.
He was fascinated with mining; climbed at Joshua Tree National Park with nylon rope, carabiners, and pitons when the sport of rock climbing was in its infancy; and collected rocks and gemstones and fine wine.
In addition, he continued his fascination with the Old West by amassing a collection of Western artwork, ranging from oils on canvas and gunpowder art, to bronze sculptures and other Western and Native American art memorabilia. Many of the works were created by rising and established contemporary artists.
Philanthropist
Huntley – who did not have any children of his own – shared his hobbies and the fruits of his labors with Cal Poly Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ.
“He has adopted us. Essentially, we’re his children,” the late Wayne Bidlack, who was dean of the College of Agriculture from 1995 to 2007, once said.
Over the years, Huntley gave and loaned works from his beloved art collection for display across campus, as part of the Don B. Huntley Western Art Collection managed by the College of Environmental Design, including the College of Agriculture, the Huntley Art Gallery on the fourth floor of the University Library and several other campus venues. He also donated a courtyard at the new Rose Float Lab after his beloved mother, Alys B Huntley.
He contributed funding for research into growing disease resistant and more nutritious varieties of lettuce and sponsored student scholarships and agricultural literacy efforts.
Huntley supported the creation of the 14-acre Huntley Vineyard on the Cal Poly Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ campus, from which the college harvests grapes to make Horsehill Vineyards wine, which is served at the Restaurant at Kellogg Ranch and sold in the Farm Store. He would auction off cases of the wine.
Other initiatives he assisted with were the creation of the AGRIscapes Center, the Cal Poly Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Farm Store, investments in the John T. Lyle Center for Regenerative Studies, and, more recently, a new plant health lab in a portable building next to Building 28.
Huntley wanted to see Cal Poly Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ and its alumni gain greater recognition, particularly as a world leader in agricultural education.
“I don’t hear much about Cal Poly Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ students in the San Joaquin Valley,” he said. “I’d like to see Cal Poly Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ have a greater presence or knowledge out there for the students.”
But Huntley’s generosity extended across the Cal Poly Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ campus. He donated to scholarships, special projects, and enrichment programs in the colleges of science, engineering, and environmental design, as well as the Native American Pipeline and Pathways to Graduation program in the College of Education & Integrative Studies.
Hostetler will remember Huntley as someone who was devoted to his mother, kind, loved a good joke, and was always there to help with gifts ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars.
Most of all, he said, Huntley took pleasure in engaging with Cal Poly Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ students and seeing them go on to have great success in industry.
“Don loved the students who visited him,” Hostetler said. “He would spend any amount of time with our students. Don has shown our students about excellence, not mediocrity.”
Campus administrators have long lauded Huntley as a Cal Poly Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ success story. His philanthropy support has proved invaluable in producing graduates who are ready for the workforce and will become industry leaders.
In recognition of his philanthropy, he received several honors from the university throughout the years: a Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2004; an honorary doctorate in 2009; and membership in the exclusive W.K. Kellogg Order of the Cal Poly Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Founders’ Society, recognizing lifetime gifts of more than $5 million.
But while his generosity has transformed the College of Agriculture, his greatest gift was the confidence and trust he placed in the next generation, current Dean Orr said.
“He saw our students not simply as future agricultural professionals,” Orr said, “but as young people whose potential was worth investing in and whose success truly mattered to him.”
Cal Poly Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ plans to hold a celebration of Huntley’s life. Details will be announced once they have been finalized.