Panda Restaurant Group founders Andrew and Peggy Cherng announced Monday a $2.5 million pledge to Cal Poly Pomona's Collins College of Hospitality Management.
The pledge, matched by the college's benefactors and namesakes, Carol and Jim Collins, paves the way for construction of a $10 million educational complex that will include classrooms and study spaces specifically for the college's new masters program.
"Both Peggy and I are proud to give these young men and women a greater opportunity than was available to us," said Cherng, who with his wife founded the group that includes the Panda Express Chinese fast-food chain and the Hibachi-San Japanese grill.
Cherng and his wife immigrated to the United States from the Yangzhou region of China nearly 40 years ago. In 1973, the first restaurant, Panda Inn, opened in Pasadena, launching a billion-dollar empire with restaurants all over the United States.
According to Cherng, he and his wife's shared history is what inspires their longtime support for the school.
"The students at Cal Poly Pomona are very close to our heart," he said. "In many ways, they are like us - first-generation and focused on making a difference."
Cherng is chairman of the steering committee for the university's comprehensive campaign, which publicly launched last fall and is on target to raise $150 million.
In 2008, he received an honorary doctorate from the university and has served as a guest lecturer.
His wife also has deep ties to the school, also serving as a guest lecturer. In 2009, she was honored at the school as community leader of the year.
"Andrew and Peggy have demonstrated their commitment to the university many times throughout the years," said Andy Feinstein, dean of the Collins College. "They were instrumental in refurbishing our student-operated restaurant kitchen, and their gifts built the Panda Express Classroom. This pledge will add to their legacy."
The legacy goes back to Master Chef Ming Tsai Cherng, Andrew Cherng's father, who helped launch the Panda Inn chain. The first Panda Express opened in 1983 at the Glendale Galleria. Hibachi-San launched in 1992 at the Mall of America in Minnesota.
The Panda group has grown to become the largest Chinese food chain in the nation with more than 18,000 employees in 1,300 restaurants.
"The Cherngs are the quintessential American success story," Cal Poly Pomona President J. Michael Ortiz said. "Their pledge will help ensure that Collins College students will be able to pursue their own dreams. They are true difference makers."
