Hundreds of members of the Cal Poly Humboldt community, including students, staff, faculty and alumni, have signed a letter to California State University Chancellor Mildred Garcia nominating Interim President Michael Spagna to become the university’s next president.
“We believe Dr. Spagna is the right leader to guide Cal Poly Humboldt forward,” reads the letter, which was submitted to the chancellor and the Cal Poly Humboldt President Search Committee Jan. 31. “He has made an outstanding start on many different fronts: community relations, supporting repair following the events of spring 2024, leading us through difficult budgetary times, and making employees feel valued and heard. Successful operation of the university requires that these actions and initiatives continue for many years, and retaining the person who began this work is the most certain way to ensure that it continues.”
The letter represents a marked shift in the campus’ view of administration, coming less than a year after the university’s Academic Senate passed a no-confidence vote in the leadership of Spagna’s predecessor, Tom Jackson Jr., in April, just days before hundreds of faculty and staff members signed a letter calling for his resignation.
The letter also comes at a pivotal juncture for Cal Poly Humboldt, with the CSU Board of Trustees expected to appoint the university’s next president in March and the campus bracing for deep budget cuts. Meanwhile, Spagna has not said publicly whether he is interested in leading the university beyond this school year or whether he’d accept the presidency if it were offered to him. (Spagna’s interim contract prohibits him from personally applying for the presidency but does not preclude him from being nominated or appointed.)
Jackson resigned his post in June, announcing that he would exercise a clause in his contract to retreat to a tenured faculty position, capping a tumultuous five years heading the university.
While widely credited for his efforts to help secure Cal Poly Humboldt’s designation as the state’s third polytechnic institution, Jackson’s tenure has also been the source of repeated controversy, as he pursued off-campus developments over community objections, made comments widely seen as impugning the motivations of sexual assault survivors and moved to force houseless students sleeping in cars off campus. Perhaps the most pervasive source of criticism was Jackson’s invisibility, as students, staff and faculty said he was rarely seen on campus, didn’t attend events and meetings, and was difficult to reach.
Things came to a very visible head in April, when Jackson’s administration’s handling of pro-Palestinian demonstrators’ occupation of the university’s administrative building drew widespread criticism on campus and off. Faculty, staff and students were roiled by the administration’s decision to first try to have police clear the building by force, then subsequent decisions to close campus, shifting courses online and threatening anyone who set foot on university property with arrest, and then bring in hundreds of officers from throughout the state to arrest 32 remaining protesters.
Spagna, who had been serving as Cal State University at Dominguez Hills’ provost and vice president for academic affairs, arrived on campus in August, having been appointed to be the university’s interim president for a year as the CSU’s search committee looked to tap Jackson’s replacement.
Very quickly, Spagna, who has a background in special education and filled a variety of administrative and teaching roles at California State University at Northridge before moving to Dominguez Hills, started getting rave reviews. He attended Academic Senate meetings and met with the faculty union, quickly developing a reputation as someone who seemed knowledgeable, engaged and committed to shared governance.
That sentiment is captured in the letter supporting his becoming the university’s next president.
“Our nomination is based on Dr. Spagna’s demonstrated leadership qualities, his deep understanding of the university’s and broader community’s needs, and his ability to engage with both the campus community and the larger Humboldt region,” the letter says. “We believe he possesses the experience necessary to guide our institution through a crucial period of growth and renewal.”
The Journal reached out to Spagna via email (through a campus spokesperson he declined an in-person interview) to ask whether he was interested in holding the university presidency beyond this year. He did not answer directly.
“Since the beginning of my tenure, the campus and local community have welcomed me into the Lumberjack family, and I’m truly honored and humbled by their support,” he said in reference to a mention of the letter supporting his nomination. “In terms of the future, my focus isn’t on my career — it’s advancing the incredible educational experience for students, being in community with students, faculty and staff, and building a strong foundation for success for the future president, whoever that may be.”
Spagna said his priorities in leading CPH to date have been building trust “through regular communication and listening with empathy” in an effort to understand the campus community’s experiences and ensure everyone feels heard, while also empowering people to “help shape the decisions that impact the university.”
When the Journal thanked Spagna for his response but pointed out that he did not answer the Journal‘s direct question as to whether he would take the president position if it were offered to him, an assistant responded.
“President Spagna asked that I let you know the process prohibits him from applying for the position,” she wrote.
(The president’s office did not respond to a follow-up email indicating that while that was true, Spagna is not prohibited from being nominated, considered or appointed and repeating the question of whether he would accept the position if it were offered.)
As the presidential search process enters its home stretch, the Cal Poly Humboldt campus continues to grapple with looming budget cuts.
At a recent meeting of the University Resources and Planning Committee, CPH Budget Manager Bridget Wall walked an overflow crowd through what the university is facing, which is likely bad news on multiple fronts. First and foremost, as the state grapples with a projected multi-billion-dollar deficit, Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed cutting CSU spending by $397 million next year, which CPH is projecting will pencil out to an $8.4 million reduction to its revenue.
Wall said the university is preparing for three tiers of cuts, but believes a 7-percent overall reduction — or $13.3 million in cuts — is the most likely scenario for the 2025-2026 academic year. That includes the CSU-systemwide cut, as well as a $3.5 budget reduction due to CPH having failed to meet enrollment targets. Wall said the university is projecting overall reductions of $7.1 million and $6.7 million in 2026-2027 and 2027-2028, respectively, as well.
What that means for the coming academic year remains to be seen, both as funding numbers are finalized and Spagna’s administration decides where cuts will come from.
Wall said administration has asked various divisions to propose cuts of 7 percent across the board, which would result in cuts of $98,000 to the president’s office, $272,000 to university advancement, $5.9 million to academic affairs, $1.4 million to administrative affairs, $242,000 to athletics and $920,000 to enrollment services.
The goal, she said, would be to cut $9.5 million in spending and use $3.8 million in one-time money (funds that were allocated but not spent last year and rolled over) to make up the difference, giving the university “a little bit of a runway to make some strategic decisions about our budget” heading into the subsequent years of projected reductions.
Provost Jenn Capps said at the meeting that leadership from each division will present their proposed cuts during campus forums on Feb. 21 and Feb. 28. It appears that will occur as the presidential search enters its final phase, as the CSU Board of Trustees is expected to appoint CPH’s next president at its meeting in March.
While he declined to say whether he’s hoping to get that appointment, Spagna shared some thoughts with the Journal about what qualities he thinks CPH’s next president needs.
“The next president — any university president — needs to nurture relationships with students, faculty and staff by communicating, listening to concerns and supporting shared governance,” he wrote. “They must embody the Cal Poly Humboldt ethos of fostering future leaders who can make our world more just and environmentally sustainable and advocating continued access to a Cal Poly Humboldt education for all.
“It is also crucial to understand where we are,” Spagna continued. “We often say that our surroundings inform Cal Poly Humboldt’s educational experience, and I’ve experienced that firsthand. The university’s connection with a unique region and its people is helping us evolve into a premier polytechnic university that continues transforming lives.”
Editor’s note: In the interest of full disclosure, Thadeus Greenson is a lecturer in Cal Poly Humboldt’s Department of Journalism and Mass Communications, paid a pre-tax salary of $1,104 to co-teach a one-unit investigative reporting class this semester. For more information, see “In the Interest of Full Disclosure,” Jan. 30.
Thadeus Greenson (he/him) is the Journal’s news editor. Reach him at (707) 442-1400, extension 321, or thad@northcoastjournal.com.
This article appears in Step Aside Prop. 47, Proposition 36 Has Arrived.
