At Avanade, technology is our passion – helping customers drive new innovations and harness the transformative power of technology is what fuels our professionals every day. And, there’s nothing more exciting than being able to share that passion with the next generation of IT leaders.

That’s why Avanade is proud to support the Mitchell C. Hill Memorial Endowment at Cal Poly Pomona – honoring the memory of a distinguished graduate by launching a new academic center for applied business information technology, creating a student-managed cloud computing data center and developing other initiatives.

Avanade has gifted the College of Business Administration at Cal Poly Pomona with $500,000 to help transform hands-on learning opportunities for information technology students as part of this endowment. This donation is not only an investment in the college, but also an investment in the future of business technology and innovation.

And, it’s evident that future will involve cloud computing – an increasingly important technology for digital businesses. The new cloud computing center at Cal Poly Pomona will allow students to experience using cloud-based services firsthand, giving them valuable exposure to technologies they will encounter in their post-graduate careers.

The other reason why this endowment is such an honor is that it supports the legacy of Avanade’s former CEO, Mitch Hill. Mitch was the founding CEO of our company and his impact on Avanade’s culture of innovation is still evident today. Under his leadership, we grew to be a billion-dollar company with nearly 10,000 employees worldwide. He graduated from Cal Poly Pomona in 1980 and was selected as a Cal Poly Pomona Distinguished Alumni, accepting the award posthumously on April 25, 2014.

We’re proud to be able to contribute to such an important endowment for Cal Poly Pomona and build on the legacy of Avanade’s founding CEO. In a digital world, these students’ ideas can change the future of business through cloud computing. It’s exciting to be part of that effort. To learn how you can contribute to the Mitchell C. Hill Memorial Endowment, please visit Cal Poly's website for the Mitch Hill Endowment.