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Sonoma State Is Reeling After Huge Cuts. Where Does the School Go From Here?

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Scott Horstein, director of the theatre studies program and professor of 17 years, poses for a photo in front of Ives Hall, where he teaches, at Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park on Jan. 23, 2025. He is one of Sonoma State’s faculty members who got a layoff notice. (Gina Castro/KQED)

Charlene Tung, a women and gender studies professor at Sonoma State University for more than two decades, was devastated when she received an email on Wednesday informing her the university would eliminate several degree programs and academic departments — with hers among them.

Tung is one of the dozens of faculty members who will be dismissed after the spring semester because of the school’s significant budget shortfall. She told KQED that the university’s cost-cutting will negatively affect the entire campus community, not just students whose majors are being slashed.

According to Tung, students and faculty are reeling after the announcement, with many feeling unsure of the school’s future in the face of the budget deficit and declining enrollment.

“We will guide our students as we always do, but they are, with reason, anxious and worried and disappointed at the university,” she said.

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Professors in the women’s and gender studies department teach students about the intersections of gender, race, class and nation status. At a time when discriminatory policies are threatening marginalized communities, Tung said the education she and her colleagues provide is critical.

She added that universities need to support educators as they prepare students to intellectually and compassionately engage with complex social issues instead of making them feel “expendable.”

“It’s devastating for the morale of the students that are here and for the faculty that are here as well,” Tung said. “Aside from those of us who’ve been targeted to be cut, what it does to the morale of those remaining is pretty grim.”

Sonoma State is facing a projected budget shortfall of $23.9 million, while the California State University system may be dealing with a deficit of nearly $1 billion in the next school year. Enrollment rates have gone down by nearly 40% since 2015, and funding avenues have dwindled while costs continue to rise, interim President Emily Cutrer said in a statement.

The university will cut 46 faculty positions, four management positions and 12 staff positions over the course of the next few months. More than 20 majors, such as art history, environmental science and philosophy, were also cut or merged into other departments, and the school’s entire athletics department is also closing.

Scott Horstein, a theatre studies professor and a union leader in the California Faculty Association, said he’s been in a state of shock since he received his layoff notice.

Many of Horstein’s students in the theatre arts and dance department, which is scheduled to be cut at the end of the semester, are angry and scared. Horstein said they feel as if the university betrayed them, especially because the deadline for students to transfer to many schools has passed.

“We don’t just teach people how to look nice on stage. We’re deeply involved with our community,” Horstein said about his department. “I don’t understand why the university doesn’t think that’s worth supporting and doesn’t think that the North Bay and the state of California deserves that.”

University officials are advising students who are more than 60 units away from graduating to switch majors, Horstein said.

Sydnie Crumrine, left, and Estrella Gonzalez Poblano rehearse during a drama ensemble workshop at Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park on Jan. 23, 2025. Theatre arts is one of the majors that will no longer be offered at Sonoma State in response to a budget deficit. (Gina Castro/KQED)

Sarah Sherod, a first-year student studying technical theatre, said the feelings of shock, confusion and sadness still haven’t faded. Sherod, who is employed as a lighting technician, said she has no intention of staying at Sonoma State. She does not want to study anything else.

“I will stay in theatre, and I will not be changed because of someone else’s poor budgeting,” Sherod said. “I think that transfer and dropout rates will skyrocket after this.”

Tung is also committed to forging on. She said she is still dedicated to her students and to her role as a teacher and that she will continue to teach women’s and gender studies.

“You’re losing your job, and then your department that you’ve poured your heart and soul into for more than 20 years is also going to be eliminated,” Tung said. “But I feel like some of the deeper pain is that future students are not going to get what we have to offer and what we’ve been offering. That’s the part that’s such a painful recognition.”

Jan. 27: This article was updated to reflect that the transfer deadline has passed for many schools, but not all, and that students may change majors at any time, not just after the school year.

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