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[L- R Top:] Jeff Cox, Executive Director of Development; Dr. Anthony Orlando, Tarkington Endowed Chair; Dean Sandeep Krishnamurthy; Stephanie Tarkington; Provost Terri Gomez; Yufan (Frank) Lin, Ph.D., MBA; Tarkington Fellow Dr. Lin Ong.
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Cal Poly Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ’s College of Business Administration and Singelyn Graduate School of Business have announced the Tarkington Business Futures Institute (TBFI), made possible by a transformative gift from Alan “Al” (Business Administration ’64) and Stephanie "Steve" Tarkington of Del Mar, California.
TBFI will serve as a multidisciplinary hub for applied research and thought leadership on the future of markets and technology—publishing research briefs, white papers, and leadership forums, and producing a public forecasting index that tracks product, labor, stock, and technology trends shaped by artificial intelligence, globalization, evolving business models, and policy disruption.
The gift deepens a partnership built over years of philanthropic investment, including the Tarkington Family Faculty Fellowships, and honors the legacy of Al Tarkington, a Cal Poly Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ alumnus, public servant, former mayor of Del Mar, and Ironman triathlete who passed away in March 2024 after a five-year battle with ALS. His belief in the power of business education to anticipate and shape the future is at the heart of the Institute’s mission.
The Institute was introduced on March 11, 2026, at a recognition ceremony where Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs S. Terri Gomez and Singelyn Family Dean Sandeep Krishnamurthy honored Stephanie Tarkington and the Tarkington family for their generosity and vision.
“Two words. ‘Really proud.’ Al would be really proud to have the Tarkington name used to represent all the reasons that Cal Poly Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ School of Business allowed him to grow in the direction that made basically the Institute possible,” said Tarkington, a CSU Los Angeles alumna who built a distinguished career in education with a focus on special education and school leadership.
The Institute’s leadership team was also announced: Anthony Orlando, associate professor and Tarkington Family Endowed Chair; Lin Ong, associate professor and Tarkington Fellow; and Yufan “Frank” Lin, assistant professor and Tarkington Fellow leading AI initiatives.
A formal launch event is planned for fall 2026 to introduce TBFI’s programming and share its initial research priorities.
