The windfall, announced Monday by state Sen. Mike McGuire, is the second $45 million infusion announced for Sonoma State in the last 50 days.
Fall semester classes don’t start for another eight days at Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park. That didn’t keep a spirited group of students, faculty and university employees from showing up Monday for a third legislative forum about the college’s future.
Many in the standing-room-only crowd of around 300 were there to advocate for SSU sports teams, academic programs and other departments no longer in existence after being eliminated in January in a round of deep, sweeping cuts ordered by Interim President Emily Cutrer to curb a $24 million budget deficit in 2025-26.
Monday’s forum had been organized to discuss “implementation” of the “Sonoma State Commitment,” an infusion of $45 million from California state government’s 2025-26 budget earmarked specifically to “grow and stabilize SSU’s key programs,” according to outgoing state Senate President Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg, who spearheaded the rescue package.
But McGuire brought another eight-figure bundle of good news to Monday’s meeting, announcing that “on top of the $45 million investment secured in this year’s” state budget, the California State University system has pledged an additional $45 million, thereby “doubling the Sonoma State commitment.”
Here’s how the lion’s share of that new money is to be disbursed, according to McGuire:
- $10 million will go to SSU’s “Bridge to the Future” plan, which predated the Sonoma State Commitment.
- $5.8 million will focus on student services, “including additional dollars to bolster recruitment” and “teach-out plans” to help students who lost their majors because of the January cuts find paths to finish their educations at Sonoma State.
- $4.6 million will come from the CSU’s enrollment reallocation fund – money from campuses with higher enrollments to their siblings who are struggling – and “we firmly believe that those dollars should end up in the larger $9 million discretionary fund” – in the “Sonoma State Commitment” – “for re-establishing positions, and looking at additional enrollment growth,” McGuire said.
- $25 million for a onetime line of credit for infrastructure needs, becuse as SSU looks at new majors, new programs, or modernizing current majors, there will be infrastructure needs for those programs.
McGuire profusely thanked CSU Chancellor Mildred Garcia for the investment. “We need to acknowledge the chancellor, she is stepping up and stepping out with these matching dollars that double the commitment to Sonoma State University,” he told the crowd. “I know that this university’s best days are still ahead of it.”
Elected officials at the dais along with McGuire, an SSU alumnus, were Assembly Majority Leader Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, D-Winters, State Sen. Christopher Cabaldon, D-Yolo, Assemblymember Damon Connolly, D-San Rafael, and Assemblymember Chris Rogers, D-Santa Rosa.
Considering the “very difficult” budget year the state was doing through, Cabaldon reminded the audience, “this was one of the most significant budget wins you could possibly imagine.”
When it came to her time to speak, Cutrer thanked the legislators. “You know that Sonoma State HAS to be here because of what it does in transforming the lives of students,“ she said. ”It is absolutely indispensable.”
But seated to her left was Ajay Gehlawat, a professor of Interdisciplinary Studies, Theater & Film. Gehlawat, who is Sonoma State’s Academic Senate Chair, brought an abrupt end to the chummy tone of the proceedings, sharply criticizing the Sonoma State administration for its “complete lack of transparency,” “bad faith” and “seeming obliviousness” to “the realities that face SSU students and staff.”
In view of the cash streaming in Sonoma State’s direction, Gehlawat urged the administration to restore eliminated jobs, and athletics programs, “immediately.”
His sharp remarks were almost certainly a prelude to many of the public comments which were to follow McGuire’s announcement, but took place later into Monday night.
The cuts announced in January resulted in the elimination of over 100 faculty and staff jobs, along with two dozen degree programs, six academic departments and university entire intercollegiate athletics program.
The first infusion of $45 million came with very specific instructions about how those onetime funds are to be spent. The legislation earmarks $16 million to expand the university’s popular nursing program, $5 million to develop data science and AI-related programs, $5 million to build out the University Career Center, and $8 million to revive canceled Seawolves sports programs.
The remaining $9 million is described as “discretionary,” but still comes with instructions that it be spent on “increased enrollment, restoring some funding reductions, and investing in new academic degrees.”
Monday’s announcement of the second $45 million will raise more questions about exactly what programs can be restored.
You can reach Staff Writer Austin Murphy at [email protected] or on X (Twitter) @ausmurph88.
