Campus Updates

Dear Faculty and Staff,

I want to offer my heartfelt thanks and appreciation for the countless hours and herculean effort so many of you put into Commencement Week 2026.

With five ceremonies over two days – and nearly 2,000 graduates, their families, and their friends – last weekend’s Commencement ceremonies were a fun, festive, and moving tribute to our graduates, and a spectacular way to start them on the next leg of their life journey.

TO: Campus Community
FR: Chandra Holte, AVP for Human Resources and Tramaine Austin-Dillon, Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives and Senior Diversity Officer 

Sonoma State University (SSU) is proud to once again sponsor Sonoma County Pride and celebrate the vibrant diversity that enriches our community. Building on the energy of prior years, we look forward to participating in this year’s parade, festival, and related events on June 6, 2026.

TO: Campus Community
FR: Jeff Wilson, Interim Vice President and CFO
 
The university's current flag protocol requires the Vice President for Administration & Finance to notify the campus when the flag is lowered to half-staff.

The flag will be lowered to half-staff on May 25 in honor of Memorial Day.
 

TO: Sonoma State Employees 
FR: Michael E. Spagna, President

Since arriving at Sonoma State, I have heard a range of perspectives about telecommuting and employee travel, including frustration and uncertainty about what may be operationally available and how decisions are made.

TO: Sonoma State Employees
FR: Employee Wellness Program, Payroll and Benefits

As part of Sonoma State’s Employee Wellness Program, we want to highlight a few resources available through Empathia LifeMatters, our Employee Assistance Program (EAP). These offerings are available to all employees and their eligible family members and can be accessed confidentially and at no cost.

May Webinar

TO:  Sonoma State Employees and Student Assistants
FR: Trisha Ramos, Managing Director, Payroll/Benefits & Workers' Compensation

Now that CHRS is live at Sonoma State, this message provides additional guidance regarding time and absence reporting for the May pay period.

Important Reminders

TO: Campus Community
FR: Jeff Wilson, Interim Vice President and CFO
 
The university's current flag protocol requires the Vice President for Administration & Finance to notify the campus when the flag is lowered to half-staff.

The flag will be lowered to half-staff on May 15 in Honor of Peace Officers Memorial Day.

TO: Sonoma State Employees
FR: Sonoma CHRS Project Team

We are excited to announce that the Common Human Resources System (CHRS) is now live! The new system provides enhanced functionality and improved self-service capabilities and is now accessible to campus users through Online Services.

Campus users are encouraged to visit the CHRS training page for resources including recorded trainings, job aids and video tutorials related to:

TO: All Employees
FR: Jeff Wilson, Project Lead, San Francisco Bay Region Network, Vice President, Administration and Finance and CFO, San Francisco State University and Sonoma State University; Karen R. Moranski, Vice President of Regional Network Transformation, San Francisco Bay Region Network
 

Dear Colleagues,

The May Monthly Update for the San Francisco Bay Region Network is now available.

TO: Campus Community

FR: Stacey J. Bosick, Interim Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs and Chair of the University Budget Advisory Committee; Jeff Wilson, Interim Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Administration and Finance and Vice Chair of the University Budget Advisory Committee