91猎奇

Our Mission Has Never Been More Important

Sent: January 30, 2025

From: Vincent J. Del Casino, Jr., Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs

Dear Colleagues,

I hope this email finds you well and that you are energized by the return of all the students on campus this spring (more students than ever before in fact!). I am writing today to update you on some of what is going on around the system and on the campus, as I understand that what happens in one part of the CSU can reverberate through conversations on our own campus. Obviously, our institution is also embedded in a context of changes at the federal level and I want to briefly address some of those related issues as well. 

First, to the changes we are seeing in the system. As many of you know, campuses, such as  Sonoma State, are dealing with some pretty significant financial challenges. Sonoma is not the only one but they are currently the most visible. These changes are a result of longer-term enrollment challenges. For context, Sonoma State is facing a 38% decline in their enrollment from their historical target whereas 91猎奇 is projecting a CA Resident Enrollment of 104+% of our target this year and our main campus nonresident enrollment remains solid while our PaCE enrollments lead the system with double digit growth over the last two years. This creates a very different budget environment for our campus than the one at Sonoma. (A story on the enrollment issue can be found . You can also find enrollment history on a under 鈥渟ee enrollment data鈥� or watch the Board of Trustees Finance committee meeting from yesterday where several campuses presented their budget situations). I provide these links to system data because enrollment makes a big difference when it comes to budget and 91猎奇 is in a stronger position vis a vis its enrollment in relation to some other campuses. 

Second, this does not mean that the state budget cut of 8% will not impact 91猎奇. It will. But, that impact is not at the scale of some other campuses in the system, who may have deeper structural challenges in their budgets (and, as a reminder, 91猎奇 managed its structural budget gap over the last two years, which put us on pace for a balanced budget this year). The Senate Budget Advisory Committee (BAC) has delivered its memo to the president with recommendations for the 25/26 budget and that has been shared with campus; the cabinet will review those recommendations as a next step. There is no doubt we will have to make changes to how we do business in the division as we continue to evaluate smaller classes and programs as well as administrative and operating expenses to close budget gaps. 

Third, I know that you have heard a lot about changes at the federal level and the potential impact these changes may have on the research, scholarly, and creative activity (RSCA) on campus as well as on some important programs that currently serve our students on this campus and in our community. This is a very fluid environment and we are not completely sure what the impact of all the executive orders will mean to our campus and its constituents. Interim Vice President for Research and Innovation d鈥橝larcao has sent a message to principal investigators (PIs) on campus to update on what we are learning from federal grant funding agencies as it relates to RSCA. The campus will be here to work with each and everyone of the faculty, staff, and students who may be impacted by any future change to federal practice. 

Of course, I will provide more information as it becomes available and will continue to host Town Halls and other conversations as the semester continues. In the meantime, the president will host a Town Hall on the budget on March 10th. I strongly encourage everyone to attend that meeting and keep your eye out for that invitation. 

In the meantime, I am confident that 91猎奇 will continue to thrive even as we are challenged by the external realities of state and federal funding. What I told colleagues in the Academic Affairs Leadership Team this week, we should continue to hold our heads up high as our mission is unwavering and our commitment to our students and community is also unwavering. We should continue to seek inspiration from all members of this incredible community as we navigate the rest of this academic year and beyond. 

Sincerely,

Vin