Eddy W. Hartenstein

Honorary Degrees
 
 

Eddy W. HartensteinEddy W. Hartenstein
Businessman/Publisher

California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

Read virtually any biography of Eddy W. Hartenstein and you will see the word pioneer. It is a fitting description of the man who revolutionized consumer electronics in the 1990s with the development of satellite TV, which forever changed home entertainment. He remains a pioneer in his current role as publisher and chief executive officer of the Los Angeles Times, where he has shown unwavering determination to navigate a demanding and ever-changing media landscape.

Mr. Hartenstein has left an indelible mark in the engineering and business worlds—from his work on the Pioneer Venus probe for Hughes Aircraft in the 1970s to his leadership of the company's commercial satellite division to his visionary role at DirecTV to his steady hand and keen foresight at the Times. Along the way, he received his master's degree from Caltech, earned induction into four halls of fame as well as membership in the National Academy of Engineering, and was presented a lifetime achievement award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

Those impressive accomplishments are rooted in his time as a student at Cal Poly Pomona, where he arrived in the late 1960s in the midst of the race to the moon between the United States and the Soviet Union. The university, with its learn-by-doing ethos and well-respected aerospace engineering program, proved to be a natural fit, and it was in the engineering labs and classrooms where he honed the critical thinking skills that would be the hallmark of his distinguished career.

"We say that our graduates enter the workforce ready to make a difference on Day One," Cal Poly Pomona President J. Michael Ortiz says. "Eddy Hartenstein is the quintessential difference-maker." In recognition of his accomplishments as a leader and innovator, the Board of Trustees of the California State University and California State Polytechnic University, Pomona are proud to confer upon Eddy W. Hartenstein the honorary degree of Doctor of Science.