President Hutchinson's Remarks for SSU Legislative Hearing

Elected state leaders held a second public legislative forum on April 14 at Sonoma State University to scrutinize the campus administration's plan for SSU's future. 

Senator Cabaldon (D-Davis) and Assemblymember Damon Connolly (D-San Rafael) co-chaired the hearing, joined by Senate President pro Tempore Mike McGuire (D-North Coast), Assembly Majority Leader Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters), and Assemblymember Chris Rogers (D-Santa Rosa).

CSUEU President Catherine Hutchinson was invited to speak on a panel, sharing CSUEU's response to the Administration's “Bridge to the Future Action Plan.” 

Below are the full remarks from President Hutchinson:

As the union representing 35,000 career staff and student workers across the CSU, we care deeply about the University and its future.

What happened at Sonoma State was not just a mistake, it was a failure of leadership. It is a case study in how not to run a public university. And may it be a lesson for the leadership at all the other campuses. Management decisions that affect thousands of students and workers’ lives must not be made in isolation without robust input from those on the front lines.

Thank you to our North Bay legislators who heard the outrage from the campus community - and took quick action to hold SSU leadership to account. 

The “Bridge to the Future Action Plan” from the SSU Administration is a start but it clearly needs more work and more input from the represented employees at the CSU. Let us be clear: the CSU is not a corporation, and our campuses are not businesses. They are engines of hope, upward mobility, and transformation for Californians.

Page 1 of the SSU action plan cites the most significant challenge facing the University over the past decade: a loss of 38% in enrollment since 2015, among the steepest enrollment losses within the CSU system. This major problem was documented for 10 years. And yet campus leadership stood by while student support programs were cut, staff were stretched thin, and the campus community was left in the dark. Where was the plan then?

These hard questions need to be asked and answered so that they are not repeated in the future. The public and legislators need to know. 

We wholeheartedly agree with this line from the report: “Our recent budget decisions now need to become investment decisions. Those investments are going to help recruit students, retain them, prepare them for careers … and keep them in the North Bay to reduce the region’s ‘brain drain’ and create a ‘brain gain.’

Our core message is this: A strong CSU starts with a strong investment in its people.

Successful execution for the goals outlined and the tactics proposed in the Action Plan rests squarely on human resources. Increasing enrollment by 20%; expanding high-demand academic programs; building campus community by enhancing campus spaces - these steps are smart and strategic - and require human and financial capital.
We serve immigrant families, working-class students, and our Dreamers. Our mission is to lift people up, to prepare Californians not only for jobs, but for full lives of civic engagement and community contribution.

California’s future runs through the CSU. We need the state to fund Sonoma State, protect it, and strengthen it. Not just in one-time funding. But as a long-term commitment to Californians’ future.

And that funding must come with a plan, strong oversight, and key benchmarks. Thank you.