SAN LUIS OBISPO -- Michael Cunningham, founder and former CEO and president of Cunningham Graphic International (CGII) has joined Cal Poly's Graphic Communication Department as a "Research Professor From Industry." The Research Professorship is an honorary title given to industry professionals who volunteer their time to teach, said Harvey Levenson, head of Cal Poly's Graphic Communication. Cunningham, also an adjunct faculty member at San Diego State University, is completing his Ph.D. in culture and communications at New York University. He will be lecturing at Cal Poly at least once a quarter, beginning winter 2005, on subjects of management and entrepreneurship related to the graphic arts industry. Cunningham's areas of specialization are sales and marketing, organizational theory, leadership, mergers and acquisitions, private and public financings, and entrepreneurial studies. His career in the graphic arts began in the early 1980s when he was with Gibson Graphics and then Scott Printing, both in New Jersey. Cunningham formed CGII in 1989 and took the company public in 1998 after it grew to 1,700 employees and revenues of approximately $185 million. He sold CGII to Automatic Data Processing Corp. in 2000. Cunningham and the company he founded received numerous awards and recognition from organizations such as the Small Business Administration, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the British American Chamber of Commerce, Forbes Magazine, Business Week, New York University and the Association of Graphic Communications. Cunningham earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Massachusetts, a master's degree in graphic communications management and technology from New York University, and expects to earn a Ph. D. early in 2005. "I am honored to join the outstanding faculty at Cal Poly's Graphic Communication program," Cunningham said. "I am looking forward to presenting to Cal Poly's exceptional students a modern management theoretical framework in concert with a 'real-world' perspective." Levenson said, "We are fortunate to have Michael Cunningham join us as a Research Professor From Industry. His vast knowledge and experience in management issues related to the graphic communication profession will greatly enhance the education of our students and prepare them to enter a modern and technologically changing field. Mr. Cunningham's willingness to contribute this service to our students is testimony of his dedication to education and industry, and to helpingensure that Cal Poly Graphic Communication students are among the best prepared upon graduation."