Updates
Latest Update
Dear Campus Community,
As I have mentioned before, it’s an exciting time to be at Sonoma State University. Thanks to the concerted efforts of faculty and staff, over the past few months we’ve preserved academic programs once slated for closure, grown our dual enrollment and guaranteed admissions programs, kicked off a campus vibrancy project that will add student-centered amenities and resources this fall, and announced a major upgrade to Nichols Hall that will yield a state-of-the-art facility for nursing students, faculty, and staff. We graduated nearly 2,000 successful students during May’s Commencement ceremonies, new programs are in the offing, and our communities and alumni are freshly energized and optimistic about the future of a reimagined Sonoma State University.
Today I am pleased to announce the latest exciting step in this reimagining of our campus: the launch of NCAA Division II athletics, beginning in the 2027-28 academic year. After five months of research and discussion, a diverse group of community stakeholders, former coaches, campus staff, and faculty members called the Athletics Fiscal Feasibility Team presented three scenarios for the future of Seawolf athletics on June 15. Of the three scenarios, the university is opting for what is described as the “Base Case,” which includes 10 sports:
- Women’s basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, and volleyball
- Men’s basketball, cross country, golf, and soccer
Membership in NCAA and CCAA Division II athletics requires a minimum of 10 sports. The committee used the Athletics Task Force Report from January 2026 as a guiding document to determine this mix of programs.
These programs are anticipated to generate broad community interest and philanthropic and spectator engagement, and will be sustainable through a combination of student fees; tuition revenue from new student athletes; significant fundraising and sponsorships; sports camp and use fees for SSU facilities; and direct institutional support, including SSU Commitment funding provided by the state of California in 2025.
More information about this latest step forward for SSU is available in the Athletics Fiscal Feasibility Team’s executive summary, these FAQs, and Sonoma State’s news release. I also welcome your ideas and suggestions — please send them to ssuathletics@sonoma.edu.
My thanks to the Fiscal Feasibility Team and its co chairs, Drs. Gerald Jones and Rob Eyler, and to the entire Sonoma State community for its ongoing work reimagining the university to best serve current students, prospective students, alumni, and everyone who considers SSU part of their lives.
Archive
Dear Campus Community,
These last few weeks have felt especially turbulent – both locally within our beautiful North Bay, and more broadly across the country – and I realize that this turbulence comes in the wake of several months of relative instability. 2020 is certainly a year that will stand out in our collective memory at Sonoma State.
Dear Campus Community,
As summer winds down and Sonoma State gears up for a new fall semester, we look forward to welcoming students back to classes and reconvening the Sonoma State community—even though we will be largely engaging remotely. We may not be together in person, but we will be together in spirit and in our dedication to learning and education.
Dear Sonoma State Campus Community,
I am writing with an update about fall 2020 now that our plan for academics, housing, and dining has been approved by Chancellor Timothy White and the CSU Chancellor’s Office. As you know, classes, academic support, and student, faculty, and employee services will largely be virtual, but below is a summary of the main elements of the plan:
Campus community,
Sonoma County has announced that, effective at midnight tonight, it will be joining seven other Bay Area counties in issuing a “shelter-in-place” order effective through April 7, 2020.
This shelter-in-place order directs county residents to stay in their homes and only go out for essential purposes. The intent of this order is to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).