Michael E. Spagna Appointed President of Sonoma State University

The California State University (CSU) Board of Trustees has appointed Michael E. Spagna as president of Sonoma State University (SSU). Spagna currently serves as interim president of California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt.   

“I am deeply honored to be entrusted to lead Sonoma State University,” Spagna said. “This university has a long history of educational excellence and a deep connection to the community that must continue to be strengthened. I welcome the opportunity to collaborate with SSU’s dedicated faculty, staff, students, alumni and stakeholders in launching a new and exciting era for the university. Together we will ensure that SSU thrives and continues to serve as a vital anchor institution for the North Bay.”   

“Sonoma State’s success is critically important to the CSU, and the committee was confident that Dr. Spagna possesses the experiences and qualities to lead the university at this consequential moment in its history,” said CSU Trustee Mark Ghilarducci, who chaired the presidential search committee. “Dr. Spagna is an engaging and respected leader who has a strong record of building trust and fostering collaboration and partnerships that benefit the universities and communities he’s served.”  

Spagna’s distinguished career in the CSU and in the field of education preparation and special education spans more than four decades. Prior to being named interim president of Cal Poly Humboldt in August 2024, he served as provost and vice president for Academic Affairs at CSU Dominguez Hills for seven years and nine years as dean of the Michael D. Eisner College of Education at California State University, Northridge (CSUN). Before becoming dean, he held several positions at CSUN over a 17-year period, including faculty president of the college, Eisner chair and executive director, and professor.  

He has also served at the system level as provost representative on the CSU Admission Advisory Council and as commissioner for the CSU Commission of Professional and Continuing Education.  

Outside the CSU, he has served as a consultant to the California State Department of Education; chair of the Institutions of Higher Education Collaborative for the L.A. Compact, and coordinator of the Services to Students with Learning Disabilities program at University of California, Berkeley. In the early years of his career, he was learning disabilities specialist and lecturer at Chabot College in Livermore, California, and special education teacher at Landmark West School in Culver City and at the Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital at UCLA. 

Spagna earned a Ph.D. in special education from the UC Berkeley and San Francisco State University joint doctoral program. He also holds a master’s in special education from UCLA and a bachelor’s in communicative disorders from Northwestern University. 

Spagna will assume the university’s presidency on January 20, 2026.