President Ruben Armiñana at the University Convocation 8/17/07:

We have to operate from the reality of what Sonoma State is today, not what it might have been in a distant past, or what we wish we were. We are a public, medium size, comprehensive university in California. At more than 8,200 students we are no longer a “small” CSU campus. On the national stage we are no longer comparable to the small, liberal-arts colleges, mostly privates, from which we initially derived many ambitions, practices and expectations. Our freshman class alone is the size of the entire enrollment of many of those colleges. And we certainly are neither funded nor regulated like them. One of our challenges is to match who we are today with our expectations.

There are a number of features and characteristics that should continue defining who we are, including a commitment to high quality instruction, close relations between faculty and students, the teacher/scholar model, engaged and supportive staff and administration, opportunity for student leadership, community involvement, a residential campus, greater diversity, and the emphasis on the liberal arts and sciences with distinguished professional and graduate programs.