James Dragna dies at 68. Sacramento State’s ‘graduation czar’ raised four-year rate 212%

James “Jim” Dragna, Sacramento State’s first “graduation czar,” or executive director of university initiatives and student success, has died at age 68.

Dragna died Tuesday morning after a three-month hospital stay following complications prior to a planned triple-bypass surgery, according to his wife, Janine Dragna, 62. They were married for 37 years and have three children together.

During his tenure, he raised Sacramento State’s four-year graduation rate by 212%, according to a university news release. Dragna was hired by the university in January 2016.

“He did get a lot of kick back from it,” Janine said. “Some people thought that that wasn’t fair. ‘Why should students have to be forced to finish in four?’”

His wife said the point of the program, which she assisted him in compiling, was to assist students in finishing their degree in four years so that they would not accumulate more student debt than needed.

“He believed in our students and was committed to removing barriers to their success,” the university statement read. “He had a deep and lasting impact on countless lives.”

The statement was signed by the university’s current president, Luke Wood, and the recently retired emeritus, Robert Nelsen.

Dragna came to Sacramento State from the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand, where he served as director of student success for over three years, The Bee previously reported.

He said in 2016 that he moved to New Zealand a few months after a 6.3-magnitude earthquake hit the region. The devastation caused many to move out of the area, and the popular engineering university lost a quarter of its students. The retention rate grew higher than it was before the earthquake, he said.

Dragna, who was previously a psychotherapist, said he would get excited when talking about the human brain and its development.

“Instructors are so hungry for this,” he said of other faculty members who taught professors about brain development as it relates to teaching and learning. “I’ve never met a faculty so motivated.”

He held a bachelor’s degree in theology from Notre Dame and a master’s and doctorate in counseling education from the University of Colorado, Boulder, the university said. After clinical training as a psychologist at the University of Colorado, Denver, he entered private practice as a psychotherapist.

He began working in higher education as the director of the Center for Student Counseling and Personal Growth at North Dakota State University, according to Sacramento State.

Janine Dragna said her husband will be buried in Miami, where he grew up.

Dragna’s family said in lieu of flowers, people can send donations to Stanford Sierra Youth and Families, a foster care center where Dragna served as a board member for several years.

This story was originally published August 20, 2023 at 11:34 AM.