Editor's Note
SSU, remain in light
Jason Walsh, editor in chief
S onoma State a smattering of leased buildings for classes and a mission to bring higher education and increased opportunity to the post-GI Bill North Bay. SSU has grown many times over throughout the years—both in students College opened in Rohnert Park in 1961 with 274 students,
highly welcome but, despite what some had hoped, such funds are doubtful to resuscitate loss-leading programs or support faculty numbers reflective of enrollment from a decade ago. In our special report, “Sonoma State—After the Dust Settles,” writer Jean Saylor Doppenberg looks at the university’s plan moving forward, and speaks to former stakeholders still holding a sour taste in their mouths over what many viewed as a lack of transparency in the years and months leading up to the cuts. Sonoma State’s school motto is "lux mentis, lux orbis"—Latin for “light of the mind, light of the world.” Where the light leads SSU in the coming semesters and
and area; its East Cotati Avenue footprint is now 269 acres—thanks to gaining university status in 1978 and fostering a local reputation for
quality education, while becoming an indelible part of the fabric of life in the North Bay—both socially and economically. If you, yourself never attended Sonoma State—or its similarly source-of-local-pride Santa Rosa Junior College—you doubtlessly have friends, relatives or work colleagues who did. The degrees of separation between people in the North Bay and SSU is typically a 1 or 2, tops. Following its first half-century in operation, the university continued to roll—hitting a peak enrollment of 9,408 students in 2015. But a decade hence of wildfires and pandemic have taken their toll— enrollment has plummeted 38% in the past 10 years— and SSU leadership hasn’t effectively mitigated the loss that has led to a nearly $24 million budget deficit. Since announcing austere (and highly unpopular) program cuts last January—eliminating various departments, majors, faculty and Division II athletics—SSU is taking its first steps toward rebranding and rebuilding. A pair of one-time revenue infusions from the state were
years remains to be seen. But it goes without saying North Bay residents are looking for it to navigate a path toward financial stability—for the benefit of its students and workforce who look to SSU for education and opportunity in these increasingly challenging times. Speaking of challenging times, the opioid crisis continues to cast its shadow in the North Bay, with crippling addiction and fentanyl overdoses ruining lives. Our sponsored special section focused on Santa Rosa’s Center Point DAAC and its innovative recovery models homes in on how medication-assisted methods, mobile-treatment units and broader networking can play key roles in saving and restoring lives. Lastly, our lead feature, “Is DEI DOA?” by Jane Hodges Young, casts a spotlight on how North Bay businesses that embrace diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives are holding true to their principles in the midst of political pushback from Washington D.C. Are people really against the values of DEI, or just the acronym? g
November 2025
NorthBaybiz 11
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