Sonoma State University gets new leader after turbulent year of cuts

Dive Brief:

Sonoma State University will have a new president in January as the public institution weathers continued enrollment declines and tries to pull off a financial turnaround after announcing massive budget cuts this year. 
The California State University system’s governing board on Wednesday named Michael Spagna as the new permanent leader of Sonoma State. Spagna currently serves as interim president of California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt. 
When he takes office on Jan. 20, Spagna will have to grapple with the institution’s financial challenges and continued enrollment declines — with its fall headcount down over 13% from last year.

Dive Insight:

Sonoma State has been without a permanent leader since former President Mike Lee resigned last spring after Cal State officials said he forged an agreement with pro-Palestinian protesters without proper approvals and put him on leave. 

In Spagna, Sonoma State will get a veteran leader of the Cal State system, with years of experience as a provost at CSU Dominguez Hills and as a dean at CSU Northridge, among other positions. 

“Sonoma State’s success is critically important to the CSU, and the committee was confident that Dr. Spagna possesses the experiences and qualities to lead the university at this consequential moment in its history,” Mark Ghilarducci, a Cal State trustee and chair of the presidential search committee, said in a statement Wednesday. 

The enrollment declines of recent years have taken their toll on the institution. Early this year, Sonoma State’s current interim leader, Emily Cutrer, described “sobering news” as she confronted the depth of the university’s budget hole, with what was then a larger-than-expected deficit of nearly $24 million. 

In January, Cutrer announced broad-based cuts to staff jobs and faculty contracts, and further planned to axe around two dozen academic programs and Sonoma State’s NCAA Division II athletic department.

The cuts drew angry protests on campus, a rebuke from the university’s academic senate and a lawsuit over the elimination of sports.

A turnaround plan the university released in the spring called for boosting enrollment, shaving costs, and creating new programs and career pathways for students. Specifically, Sonoma State is looking to increase enrollment 20% in five to seven years, to the equivalent of 6,800 full-time students. 

In June, the state gave a one-time infusion of $45 million to the university to stabilize its finances, launch new programs in high-demand areas such as data science, and undo some of the cuts to jobs and programs. A portion of the funds will also support the continuation of NCAA athletics over three years. 

For now, enrollment is still falling at Sonoma State. The university’s fall headcount fell to 5,000 students, down 13.2% from last year and down 30.2% from 2021, according to an October presentation from the university. But in the presentation officials also pointed to “silver linings” in the university’s targeted enrollment efforts. 

Bright spots included increased enrollment from community college students and from smaller high school districts the university focused on. The university also saw the highest application levels in five years from larger cities, including Oakland and Sacramento.

The university’s total fall head count also beat its budgeted headcount by 125 students.