Richard A. Carvajal, who grew up in the area, was named Cal Poly Humboldt’s new president at today’s CSU Board of Trustees meeting. His term will begin on Jan. 20.
“Dr. Carvajal is a principled, innovative and student-centered leader whose professional experience and personal background make him perfectly suited to serve as Cal Poly Humboldt’s ninth president and the first Latino to lead the institution,” CSU Chancellor Mildred Garcia said.
Carvajal will finish his ninth year as the president of Valdosta State University in Georgia, which has a comprehensive doctoral program and serves 11,000 students. Both Garcia and CSU Chair Jack Clarke Jr. emphasized his work in enrollment growth, which has been successful through prioritizing recruitment, retention and offering experimental, community-centered learning opportunities.
“There , he led a campus-wide highly collaborative goal setting and strategic planning effort that has resulted in, among other things, a 7 percent increase in first-year retention year over year, increases in student head count for six conservative terms, the launch of a Center for Learning and Teaching that has improved classroom instruction and the formation of a center regional impact that has facilitated the completion of over 300 Community Enrichment projects,” Garcia said.
Carvajal previously worked as an interim president at Darton State College and president of Bainbridge State College, both located in Georgia. Carvajal received his Ph.D. in higher education administration from the University of South Carolina and his master’s degree in education from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale.
The board of trustees approved Carvajal to receive an annual salary of $435,765 for his position. He will also receive an annual housing allowance of $50,000 and a monthly automotive allowance of $1,000.
While most of his administrative experience is in Georgia, Carvajal also grew up in Humboldt County.
“He says he once dreamed of attending Cal Poly Humboldt, then Humboldt State,” Garcia said. “He has a unique connection to the university and its one-of-a-kind setting, and a deep understanding of the institution’s polytechnic mission and its transformative role across California’s North Coast region.”
Trustees expressed their gratitude for Interim President Michael E. Spagna’s work at Cal Poly Humboldt as he passes on his position to Carvajal.
“I would be remiss if I did not echo Chair Clark in expressing my deep gratitude and appreciation to Interim President Spagna for extending his outstanding leadership of the university so that we could recruit a leader with the professional and personal qualities of Dr. Carvajal,” Garcia said.
Griffin Mancuso (he/him) is a freelance journalist based in Eureka. He is passionate about uplifting the stories of local communities and wildlife education and preservation. More of his work can be found at griffinmancuso.wordpress.com.
He may have always wanted to attend HSU, but he earned his BS in Oklahoma, so kind of an interesting spin in his bio.
Hoping he’s as good for CPH has he has been for other universities.