Cal Poly Pomona was founded in 1938 when an entrepreneur named W.K. Kellogg gave his Arabian horse Ranch as a gift to the California State University . The campus ' office of public affairs recognizes two official names for the university : `` California State Polytechnic University , Pomona '' and `` Cal Poly Pomona '' . However , `` Cal Poly '' has also been used to refer to Cal Poly Pomona , as both itself and California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo , California were one institution spanning two locations from 1938 to 1966 .