By Dan McMenamin
Bay City News
Sonoma State University announced Wednesday that its intercollegiate athletics programs are being discontinued, several academic departments and majors are being eliminated and dozens of faculty members are being laid off to address a budget deficit of nearly $24 million.
The university in Rohnert Park will not renew contracts for 46 faculty members for the 2025-26 school year and several other lecturers and management and staff positions are also being eliminated, interim university president Emily Cutrer said in a statement to the campus community.
Some of the degree programs identified for elimination include art history, dance, economics, earth and environmental sciences, French, philosophy, theater arts, and women and gender studies, according to Sonoma State, which said a $23.9 million budget deficit for the 2025-26 school year is due in part to enrollment numbers that have dropped 38% in the past decade.
Division II athletics programs are all being cut but university officials said student-athletes who choose to remain at Sonoma State will remain eligible to receive scholarships as long as they meet the current terms of their scholarship.
“I know this is difficult news for our campus community. I am keenly aware of its human impact, and how individuals, families, relationships, and communities are affected by such news,” Cutrer said in the statement. “I understand that no amount of explanation or necessity makes any of us feel better.”
She said the cuts “will help us ensure long-term fiscal stability; meet the changing needs of future generations of students; align with the CSU’s career-focused mission of producing graduates ready to contribute to California’s economy, culture, and schools; and continue to be a major force for economic, environmental, and social progress in the North Bay and beyond.”
A town hall meeting to discuss the budget cuts is planned for 1:30 p.m. on Jan. 30 in the Student Center ballrooms on the Sonoma State campus. More information about the cuts and the full statement from Cutrer can be found at https://budget.sonoma.edu/budget-deficit-resources.
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