Editors Note: The original version of this article said Wood and his wife earned their Ph.Ds’ at Sac State. This has been corrected to say they earned their masters degrees’.
Sacramento State’s new President Luke Wood delivered his first fall address in front of over 200 members of the campus community at the University Union Ballroom on Thursday.
Wood, who was appointed as the new president of Sac State over the summer, spoke to various members of the campus community. Wood introduced himself to those in attendance and went over some of the plans he and his administration have for the school going forward.
RELATED: Board of Trustees appoints Jonathan Luke Wood as new Sac State President
Chief among these plans is tackling the concerns of campus safety, student success and equity. Part of this includes the implementation of the Presidential Task Force on Campus Safety, which will be reaching out to the Sac State community to help find solutions to the potential dangers students face.
On top of that, Wood also said they will be doubling the number of community safety specialists, adding 30 digital monitors to campus to help awareness and hiring seven therapists to better accommodate the community needs. Wood was also adamant on his desire to follow through with any plans his administration makes.
“I will never release a statement unless there’s action to go with it,” Wood said. “A statement without action is just a false promise.”
Wood said in a press conference following the address that the task force will also be holding town halls to discuss some of the issues of campus safety.
RELATED: ‘This campus is safe’: ASI holds town hall on multiple sexual assaults
On the topic of student success, the president said the school would focus on improving student well-being. As part of this, Wood has said the school will be releasing $1 million for research assigned time programs, with a focus on engaging the student body.
Also taking the stage was Idara Essien-Wood, a professor at San Diego State University and the president’s wife. Wood met his wife while the two were students at Sac State, having both earned their masters degrees’ from the school in 2007.
Wood said that during his time at Sac State, he faced housing and food insecurity, and wanted to help mitigate those issues for current students.
Essien-Wood asked questions submitted by the campus community to Wood, which covered topics like his time at Sac State and elaborated on some of his plans going forward.
The potential California Faculty Association strike later this year was mentioned. Wood said he understood the need for proper compensation and workplace dignity for faculty. In the press conference afterwards, Wood said the school would try to address these issues on a local level while also following the guidance of the Chancellor’s Office.
The proposed tuition increase that the California State University Board of Directors will vote on in September was also mentioned. Wood said that like the issue with the CFA, much of the decision making is on a systemwide level, but he hopes to address the issue on a local level through increasing usage of scholarship money from 60% to 95%.
Eric Gravenberg, former associate vice president for enrollment and student affairs at Sac State, remembered Wood from his time as a student. Gravenberg said he had met Wood and his brother Joshua Wood through the Equal Opportunity Program.
“You could see early on that he was destined for greatness and I wanted to support him in any way I could,” Gravenberg said.
Also in attendance was Associated Students, Inc. President Nataly Andrade-Dominguez, who opened the event. Afterwards, she said she had full confidence in Wood’s ability to follow through on his initiatives.
“Just with the month he has been here, I’ve seen more change than the past three years,” Andrade-Dominguez said.
