Sacramento State cuts funding to university’s diversity, social justice center
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Sacramento State halts funding to its social justice center amid a $37M deficit.
- The center provided research, mentorship and events on race and immigration issues.
- University leaders cite fiscal strain; seek external grants to sustain the program.
Sacramento State has halted funding to its Center on Race, Immigration and Social Justice for the upcoming academic year as the university faces budgetary constraints, according to a university spokesperson.
The Center on Race, Immigration and Social Justice, which started its efforts in 2014, is one of the five campus community programs that offer social justice and diversity-related programming for students and faculty, said Manuel Barajas, the center’s interim director. Additionally, the center provides faculty mentorship, research and internship opportunities, and academic panels focused on social justice.
The center’s funding has been cut as the university works through a $37 million deficit. Sacramento State also reduced its class course sections in all of its colleges, as well as eliminated 28 management positions, which included 15 layoffs.
Barajas said the news is hurtful to the program and the future of diversity on campus. Barajas said that, now more than ever, when universities are pulling away from “freedom of expression” due to political pressures, the center matters.
In March, the University of California banned diversity statements within its hiring process as the Trump administration began to target diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives nationwide, according to previous Bee reporting.
“It was very saddening, but also troubling,” Barajas said.
Since May 5, Barajas has reached out the university’s provost, Erika Cameron, according to email exchanges sent to The Bee from Barajas. In advocating for the center, Barajas highlighted the program’s achievements, including multiple events faculty organized from 2023 to 2024.
In a Tuesday email, Cameron said the university’s Academic Affairs department has been acting on a “structural deficit” for years and funds are limited, according to the email exchange.
Due to the deficit, the university is unable to “financially support this faculty-led initiative at this time,” spokesperson Lanaya Lewis said this week.
Lewis added that Sacramento State is working with the center to find “external funding options.” This could include grants or outside contracts.
In May, the university said it would remain committed to “honoring” its diversity mission and designations as “a Hispanic-Serving Institution, an Asian American Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution, and a Black-Serving Institution” despite its financial challenges.
“We need the university to continue to prioritize the production of research based critical knowledge more right now than ever before,” Barajas said. “We need knowledge that is inclusive of the experiences and interests of those communities that have historically been marginalized.”
