Sonoma State University

February 5, 2026 Minutes

Minutes

UNIVERSITY BUDGET ADVISORY COMMITTEE

February 5th, 2026

MEMBERS PRESENT:

Stacey Bosick - Interim Provost, Vice President of Academic Affairs; Chair

Jeff Wilson - Interim CFO, Vice President of Administration and Finance; Vice-Chair

Troi Carleton - Dean, College of Humanities, Social Sciences, and the Arts

Chingling Wo - Proxy for Ajay Gehlawat, Chair of the Faculty, Hutchins

Anastasia Tosouni - Vice-Chair of the Faculty, Criminal Justice

Emily Vieira Asencio - CFA Representative; Criminal Justice

Laura Lupei - Associate Vice President for University Budget and Resource Planning

Aidan Humrich - Staff Representative, Office of the Dean, College of ECES

Madelyn Boyd - President, Associated Students

Micah Reyes - Vice President of Finance, Associated Students

Paul Edwards - Ex-officio, Interim Vice President of Strategic Enrollment Management

Mike Ogg - Ex-officio, AVP for Academic Resources

STAFF PRESENT:

Hayley Avery - Budget Manager, Administration and Finance 

GUESTS PRESENT:

Michael Spagna - President, Sonoma State University

David Crozier - SFBRN Chief Financial Services Officer and Deputy CFO

Anna Reynolds-Smith - Assistant Vice President for Admin and Financial Planning & Business Ops

Ian Hannah - Assistant Vice President for Advancement Operations

MEMBERS ABSENT:

Diana Grant - Chair of APARC, Criminal Justice

AGENDA

  1. Call to Order and Welcome
  2. Approval of the Minutes: December 11th, 2026
  3. President’s Updates
  4. UBAC SSU Commitment Funding Recommendations Discussion
  5. January Governor’s Budget
  6. Campus Partners Presentation
  7. Announcements for the Good of the Order

 

 

  1. Call to Order and Welcome
    Interim Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs, Stacey Bosick, welcomed the committee and began the meeting at 9:00 a.m.
     
  2. Approval of the Minutes: December 11th, 2026
    Bosick called the meeting to order and asked for any agenda additions. Hearing none, she requested a motion to approve the December minutes. Aidan Humrich proposed adding a brief discussion of the faculty final report to the December 11th minutes under the UBAC SSU Commitment Funding Recommendations Final Report. The minutes were approved unanimously with this addition.
     
  3. President’s Updates
    President Spagna attended the first meeting of the Spring semester to welcome the committee, express his gratitude, and emphasize the importance of the committee’s work and discussions. He updated the committee that the campus recently met with the Chancellor’s Office regarding the campus Fiscal Action Plan, which all under-enrolled CSU campuses are required to submit, and reported that the meeting went very well. President Spagna thanked the committee for its work, noting that it is key to the University’s continued progress. He also spoke briefly about the recent January Governor’s Budget, highlighting the significant investments proposed for the CSU. He shared that he views this as a sign that California is investing in higher education to better position the state’s economy in the years to come.
     
  4. UBAC SSU Commitment Funding Recommendations Discussion
    Bosick briefly discussed the next steps for the funding recommendations the committee worked on in the Fall. President Spagna had previously sent the committee a response memo outlining additional information he requested. To begin the follow-up steps for each funding recommendation, an email will be sent to the committee inviting members to sign up to participate in the follow-up work and to identify additional campus community members who may be interested in contributing to specific funding recommendations.
     
  5. January Governor’s Budget
    Laura Lupei presented the 2026–2027 January Governor’s Budget. The proposal includes a $509.5M base funding increase to the CSU for 2026–2027. The January Governor’s Budget restores the $143.8M reduction the state imposed on the system in 2024–2025, provides $100.9M in partial Year 4 Compact funding, and includes the full $264.8M Year 5 Compact funding. When compared to the Board of Trustees (BOT) request discussed at the November meeting, the new funding in the January Governor’s Budget outpaces the BOT request, funding all baseline commitments and essential priorities and leaving a remaining balance of $113.4M. Lupei noted that a structural deficit is building within the CSU, and the remaining $113.4M would help make progress toward lowering that deficit. The next step in the budget timeline will occur in May, when the Governor releases the 2026–2027 May Revision budget plan.

    The committee engaged in an extended discussion reflecting both optimism and skepticism regarding the January Governor’s Budget. While the budget represents a historic investment in higher education not seen in several years, there remains significant uncertainty about whether it will become the final allocation in July. President Spagna commented that it is very rare to receive more funding than requested. He shared his optimistic outlook that California is positioning itself as a change agent globally, and that investing in higher education is part of a broader strategy to prepare the state for a national recovery effort. He also noted that the May Revision will provide a clearer picture. The committee inquired whether the Chancellor’s Office plans to further reduce under-enrolled campuses through the enrollment reallocation. Lupei stated that the Chancellor’s Office has notified the campus of a 5% enrollment reallocation reduction for 2026–2027. President Spagna added that fairness across campuses should be defined by need, and that this is something he will continue to advocate for. He emphasized that the state cannot afford to lose a skilled workforce in the North Bay, and that CSU campuses serving the region are critical to sustaining that workforce. He noted that it will be important for the system to advocate collectively for all campuses. The CSU Forward plan outlines a more strategic, systemwide enrollment approach, and the Chancellor’s Office will continue working with campuses on enrollment planning.
     
  6. Campus Partners Presentation
    Laura Lupei presented the 2025–2026 Campus Partner Review, which includes self-support programs and auxiliary entities. The presentation covered the policies governing these programs and provided a detailed five-year budget review for each. The review highlighted the impact of enrollment declines and demonstrated how campus partners are managing these challenges. For 2025–2026, approximately half of the campus partner funds are budgeted to use reserves to balance their budgets, while the other half have achieved balanced budgets.

    Residential Education and Campus Housing (REACH) has made significant progress in recovering from pandemic-related revenue losses, rebuilding reserves and reaching 70% of its reserve goal in 2024–2025. The committee briefly discussed that, in response to lower enrollment and occupancy rates, initiatives are being explored to develop additional community partnerships to help fill beds. The Campus Union is budgeted to utilize reserves in 2025–2026 due to enrollment declines. Transportation and Parking Services (TAPS) expects to contribute to reserves in 2025–2026. The Department of Extended Education is also expected to contribute to reserves in 2025–2026, having streamlined course offerings to focus on programs that consistently demonstrate strong demand among students and community members. The Green Music Center (GMC) has operated with a budgeted deficit for five years but is expected to contribute to reserves in 2025–2026 due to a large donation received in the current fiscal year. The Instructionally Related Activities (IRA) program has experienced lower revenues but is utilizing its substantial reserves to minimize impacts, with a reserve spend-down plan in place to allocate additional funding to above-the-line programs.

    Both the Student Health Center (SHC) and Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) are affected by declining enrollment and will use reserves in 2025–2026. Lupei noted that SHC and CAPS will merge into a single fee, Student Health and Wellness, effective Spring 2026. This merger will allow the programs to better serve students’ health and wellness needs by providing greater flexibility to use fee revenue interchangeably between SHC and CAPS.

    The auxiliary entities—Sonoma State Enterprises (SSE), Associated Students (AS), and the Sonoma State University Foundation (SSUF)—are also adjusting to reduced revenues. SSE continues to experience enrollment-related revenue declines and will use reserves this year to balance its budget. It was noted that there have been discussions about SSE opening more venues, extending hours, and increasing its presence on campus; however, due to continued enrollment declines and budget constraints, it would present a financial challenge for SSE to expand operations at this time. AS, facing lower enrollment, is also utilizing reserves to balance its budget. SSUF maintains a balanced operating budget due to stable revenue streams and minimal expenses, with recent reserve increases resulting from a large board-designated endowment.

    Overall, campus partners are aligning expenses with reduced revenues and are strategically using reserves to manage the transition. Most programs have multi-year plans in place that project shrinking budget gaps as enrollment is projected to stabilize in the coming years.
     
  7. Announcements for the Good of the Order
    None.

 

Bosick adjourned the meeting at 10:30 a.m. 

Minutes prepared by Hayley Avery.