Oct. 14, 2024
Happy Fall! Despite the recent heatwave, the season really has arrived.
Sept. 24, 2024
The first weeks of the new academic year offer an opportunity to reflect on the core values that define the Sonoma State community and affirm our unwavering commitment to seeking common ground and the benefits of pluralistic dialogue in every aspect of our lives — academic, professional, and personal.
Aug. 27, 2024
What a pleasure it is to see campus become fully re-energized with the arrival of new and returning students and faculty and the start of the academic year!
Aug. 16, 2024
Welcome to the start of a new academic year. As the leadership of the California State University (CSU), we would like to take a moment to reaffirm our commitment to fostering an inclusive CSU community.
Aug. 6, 2024
I am extremely honored to serve as the Interim President of Sonoma State University and to be part of a community committed to educational access and excellence. Sonoma State is a mainstay of the North Bay’s educational, economic, and cultural life, and I could not be more excited to be with you on campus.
July 24, 2024
I write today with both a community and a personal update. This morning, the CSU Board of Trustees and Chancellor Garcia announced the appointment of president emerita of Texas A&M Texarkana Emily F. Cutrer to serve as interim president of Sonoma State University.
May 31, 2024
Over the past two weeks, I have taken time to meet with several key groups and individuals.
May 20, 2024
I reach out to all of you today in a spirit of hope and promise for the entire Sonoma State community, but also with a degree of sadness about the impact recent events have made on campus leadership.
April 16, 2024
There is so much happening at SSU right now. The air is warming while spring hovers, the campus is gearing up for Commencement, and so much of our work is gaining visibility.
Mar. 6, 2024
Please join me in celebrating Women’s History Month and all that women have created, accomplished, and contributed to all of our lives.
Feb. 7, 2024
Happy February! A point of pride for Sonoma State is the role our University plays not only in educating a diverse population of students, but also in being a community partner engaged in meeting the needs of the many stakeholders the University serves regionally, nationally, and around the world.
Jan. 11, 2024
As we enter the final days of 2023 and prepare for the holiday festivities shortly ahead, I want to express my sincerest thanks to all of you for making Sonoma State such a success during the past year.
Dec. 7, 2023
As we enter the final days of 2023 and prepare for the holiday festivities shortly ahead, I want to express my sincerest thanks to all of you for making Sonoma State such a success during the past year.
Nov. 2, 2023
I hope everyone is enjoying the beauty of our region as the fall season reaches the halfway point, and is seizing the opportunity to be out in nature and exploring its natural wonders, many of which can be found simply by walking around our campus.
Oct. 5, 2023
Happy Fall! I hope everyone on our campus has settled into comfortable, productive routines as we get deeper into the academic year, cooler (and darker) mornings prevail, and we see annual holiday traditions peeking around the corner just ahead.
Aug. 31, 2023
What welcome sights and sounds late summer brings to Sonoma State University. Warm days yield to increasingly cooler nights, and as we watch new generations of ducks and geese take flight from and return to the Lakes, hints abound of the fall season just around the corner.
Apr. 18, 2023
With the sun daring to shine outside our windows, it is finally starting to feel like spring. This is the season where students everywhere begin to feel the first whispers of summer and the end of the school year.
Mar. 17, 2023
While the latest atmospheric river keeps our weather volatile and expectations edgy, campus work moves along at a steady pace, with both the weather and the work anticipating the renewal that spring should ultimately bring.
Feb. 15, 2023
As I watched the tragedy at Michigan State unfold, I got to thinking about the way life on campus can disguise the disruption and uncertainty that characterize our contemporary day-to-day lives.
Jan. 23, 2023
Millions are celebrating Lunar New Year - the Year of the Rabbit (China) and the Cat (Vietnam) - a ritual crucial to the resilience of the myriad diverse cultural traditions across Asia.
Dec. 8, 2022
It is that time of year again, where we stand on the precipice between old and new, completed and imagined, past and future. Where we stand in the presence of so much anticipation that even our fears for what is to come are temporarily eclipsed by the bright, popping energy of hope for the new year.
Nov. 9, 2022
And so, we meet again, presumably out of the proverbial woods with fire season officially at an end, but with winter already moving in with rain and wind and colder weather.
Oct. 11, 2022
What a difference a month makes! When I prepared my greetings last month, the campus was settling into its fall swing, while I began to settle into my new role in the SSU community.
Sept. 8, 2022
Despite the intense heat in Rohnert Park right now, it is, indeed, fall semester at SSU, with all of the fanfare and activity I associate with a robust and vibrant campus life.
Aug. 1, 2022
I am truly honored to begin my journey today as interim president of Sonoma State University. As a first-generation college graduate, I know firsthand how the value of a college degree can transform the life trajectory of a student, their family, and the extended community – oftentimes for generations.
Jan 27, 2022
As our new semester begins, I am looking forward to being back together on campus, catching up after winter break and launching into a busy and active spring. The health and safety of our campus community remains the highest priority...
Dec. 20, 2021
As we finish the fall semester and many of you prepare to head home for the holidays, I am filled with appreciation for the perseverance, flexibility, and spirit of community you have shown during a time that still feels far from normal...
Nov. 23, 2021
As I walk around campus this month, I notice many signs of resilience — the welcome scenes of students greeting friends, faculty, and staff with colleagues, the resumption of concerts and athletic events, and other everyday pleasures of being back in shared spaces on campus...
Oct. 28, 2021
The days have become cooler and shorter, indicating that fall is upon us. And even though the fire season is still with us, this past weekend northern California received some much needed rain...
Aug. 26, 2021
Welcome back to campus and the start of a new academic year! After a long and challenging time apart, it is wonderful to see our beautiful campus come to life again...
June 29, 2021
I cannot believe it has been almost a month since we celebrated commencements for the Classes of 2020 and 2021. I’m still glowing from how wonderful both commencement weekends were...
May 19, 2021
So many wonderful celebrations are happening this month. Last weekend we celebrated the Commencement ceremony of the Class of 2020, and this coming weekend we expect to celebrate more than 1,500 graduates from the Class of 2021...
May 4, 2021
Spring is the season of new beginnings, transformation and growth. We are seeing it in the blossoms that have been plentiful on campus and the wildflowers and greenery that are blanketing the surrounding hills...
March 30, 2021
This month marked one year since I sent out a message to our campus community stating that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sonoma State University would conduct almost all campus operations remotely for the Spring 2020 semester...
Feb. 19, 2021
In the few weeks since I wrote my last message to you, the evenings have stayed lighter later, much-needed rain has fallen throughout the North Bay, and we have completed nearly one month of the spring semester here at Sonoma State...
Jan. 28, 2021
Our return to SSU for the spring semester has coincided with many recent encouraging developments for our broader regional community, including the ongoing vaccination effort against COVID-19...
Dec. 17, 2020
As we complete this last week of finals, with the end of fall term just a couple of days away, I want to share how proud I am of you for keeping yourselves and those around you safe throughout such a uniquely challenging semester...
Nov. 6, 2020
I write to you at the start of another month that already feels tumultuous, with COVID cases rising around the country and our attention riveted on the election results of so many national, state, and local races...
Oct. 7, 2020
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...
Sept. 2, 2020
This is a year that feels truly new. It’s one that will be marked by new academic experiences, new blueprints for building campus community, and even new life lessons for us all – whether we’re students, faculty, or staff...
Aug. 26, 2020
Our return to Sonoma State for the 2020 – 2021 academic year has coincided with two unprecedented events: the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the devastation of several, simultaneous wildfires of incredible magnitude...
Aug. 14, 2020
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...
July 2, 2020
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...
June 18, 2020
I am extremely heartened by the Supreme Court’s ruling today that rejects the presidential administration’s effort to deport hundreds of thousands of young undocumented people by terminating the program called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)...
June 1, 2020
What happens to a dream deferred? As I write this statement at the end of a tumultuous weekend in our country, my heart, like yours, weighs heavy with anger and sadness. Once again the dreams of so many black families are deferred due to blatant racism...
May 12, 2020
Chancellor Timothy White, in reporting to the Board of Trustees about COVID-19 implications for the CSU today, stated that the planning framework for course delivery across the system will be primarily virtual for fall 2020...
I arrived at Sonoma State four years ago this summer, not long before the freshmen of the Class of 2020 first moved onto campus. My memories of those first days as a member of the Sonoma state community are filled with joy and exuberance...
April 2, 2020
I’m writing to you at the beginning of a new month – one that is new to all of us in ways that may have seemed unimaginable at the start of March. You are likely reading this message as you study, work, live and shelter in place in your residence hall or home....
March 19, 2020
Sonoma State is committed to continuing to educate our students through this semester even as we navigate the shelter-in-place and other public health orders emerging during the COVID-19 pandemic. Given this rapidly changing environment, we have made two major decisions today to protect the health and safety of our students, faculty, and staff....
March 17, 2020
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.....
March 4, 2020
Although 2020 is only two months old, I know this year may already seem a little too busy, a little too stressful and a little too overwhelming....
Feb. 5, 2020
Spring semester is well underway, and it’s been exciting to see and feel all the energy that each of you brings to our campus classrooms...
Jan. 22, 2020
Welcome back! I hope you had a wonderful winter break. An exciting new semester has just begun...
Dec. 4, 2019
December on campus marks the end of the fall semester and the culmination of much of the hard work...
Nov. 13, 2019
As we near Thanksgiving, I’m especially thankful for the tenacity and the empathy our students, faculty and staff have shown throughout the fall. ...
Oct. 3, 2019
The colors of the trees, cool mornings and brisk winds can only mean one thing – fall has officially arrived at Sonoma State. And our campus has never looked more beautiful. SSU also has never looked more alive with all the activities and projects we have happening. ...
Aug. 21, 2019
It is so good to have us all together again, and to welcome our new students, faculty and staff to campus. The semester is just a few days old, and we already have a host of memories to share and things to celebrate...
May 1, 2019
In just two and a half weeks, we will celebrate the newest class of Sonoma State graduates at commencement. Commencement season always fills me with hope and joy. ...
April 3, 2019
Happy April! Spring is the season of new beginnings, transformation and growth. Despite this week’s rain, we know that spring is out there. ...
March 6, 2019
This has been a month of record-setting rain in Sonoma County, and our hearts go out to all of those who have been affected by the recent floods. ...
Feb. 6, 2019
Winter has arrived in the North Bay, and while we are grateful for the rain, I encourage you to stay safe on the roads...
Jan. 16, 2019
As we approach the start of the spring semester, I want to wish you all a happy new year. ...
Dec. 18, 2019
I am pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Jerlena Griffin-Desta as Chief of Staff/Associate Vice President for Strategic Initiatives and Diversity. ...
Dec. 5, 2018
As the fall semester draws to a close, and the holiday season begins, I’d like to congratulate you on your hard work, your dedication to achieving your goals...
Nov. 6, 2018
The violent events of recent weeks have been painful and sad for our country. Racism and anti-Semitism whether in Kentucky, Pennsylvania or closer to home are distressing and disturbing. ...
Oct. 5, 2018
Greetings! October finds Sonoma State University once again in full swing - as well as a little damp from recent rains. But this time also comes with some painful memories of what happened in our corner of the world just 12 months ago. ...
Aug. 28, 2018
Greetings! Welcome back to campus for the start of the 2018-19 academic year at Sonoma State. The fall semester has barely gotten underway, and it is already full of memories. ...
July 12, 2018
Greetings. I hope you are enjoying these warm days and balmy nights as much as I am. Although campus is calmer these days, the peace and quiet belies the hard work that continues in many areas of University life. ...
May 25, 2018
Dr. Judy K. Sakaki, president of Sonoma State University, released the following statement today concerning a traffic fatality today on Bennett Valley Road involving Hollie N. Pruden, a member of the University community. ...
May 22, 2018
This past weekend we celebrated our largest graduating class in Sonoma State history—2,076 graduates—with six commencement ceremonies. ...
May 16, 2018
As we approach our final days of the Spring 2018 semester, it is hard to believe that another academic year is coming to a close. ...
March 27, 2018
I hope you had an enjoyable spring break. It is hard to believe that the spring semester is already half over and that commencement is right around the corner. ...
Feb. 22, 2018
Just a week ago, our nation was saddened once again by a school shooting that claimed 17 lives in Florida. ...
Feb. 1, 2018
I am excited that Greg Sawyer accepted our invitation to join the leadership team at Sonoma State as Vice President for Student Affairs. ...
Jan. 26, 2018
Welcome back and Happy New Year! I hope that you had a restful and joyful break, and are ready for an exciting spring semester. ...
Dec. 14, 2017
I want to sincerely thank each of you for making Sonoma State University a great place to study and work. ...
Oct. 17, 2017
Since the early morning hours of Oct. 9, our community has been tested by the unprecedented challenges of the fires that have struck our communities. ...
Oct. 2, 2017
We are saddened by the tragic incident that occurred at the Route 91 Music Festival in Las Vegas last night. ...
June 21, 2017
We have so many talented students, faculty and staff doing excellent work at Sonoma State and I wanted to write and share some wonderful recognition a few of them have received recently. ...
May 2, 2017
Thank you all for your participation and support of our Investiture Day. I loved the Mini-Conference, ceremony and concert. ...
March 24, 2017
Happy Spring! There is so much happening on campus that I want to take this opportunity to provide an update on a few things. ...
March 15, 2017
After a lengthy trial, I want you to know that the jury verdict issued today in a lawsuit regarding asbestos in Stevenson Hall found that the building has in fact been “safe and healthful” for Sonoma State employees. ...
Dec. 16, 2016
My first semester at Sonoma State is drawing to a close, and this week has been an exciting time of the year as our students worked tirelessly on their final exams and papers. ...
Nov. 4, 2016
I write today with a heavy heart. On Nov. 2, two of our staff members discovered a body in a heavily wooded area near parking lot M on the edge of campus. ...
Oct. 25, 2016
Happy October! It’s amazing and a bit scary to me that it’s already almost time for Halloween. I have recently passed the milestone mark of completing my first 100 days. ...