Earlier this year in January, Sonoma State University announced it was in a significant financial dilemma—and critical budget reductions would be necessary to address a projected deficit of $21 million. Seemingly Draconian cuts to staple degree programs, longtime faculty and the university’s Division II athletics program were coming, university officials said to a stunned North Bay community, which had long held the presence of a respected state university as a source of regional pride.
But it seems the money problems didn’t come as a complete surprise to university leadership. SSU interim president Emily Cutrer said in an Oct. 24, 2024 prepared statement that the university had been coping with a budget deficit for several years.
“It’s attributable to a variety of factors––the cost of personnel, annual price increases for supplies and utilities and inflation,” she said at that time. But a primary factor in the state university’s budget woes, she said, was enrollment…