Near the end of the fall 2022 semester former Sac State President Robert Nelsen announced he would be retiring from the position he held since 2015. While the campus said their goodbyes over the spring, there was always the underlying question of who would be stepping up to take his place.

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We got the answer to that question on May 24, when the CSU Office of the Chancellor announced Sac State alumnus Luke Wood would become the ninth person to hold the title of president. Wood earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Sac State, having attended with his twin brother and also met his future wife while a student.

The second Black president officially took up the position on July 16. One of his first actions was to establish a Presidential Task Force on Campus Safety to provide solutions for student’s safety concerns.

The new president’s efforts have caught the attention of Associated Students Inc. President Nataly Andrade-Dominguez, who said she’s seen more change in the month since Wood took office than over the past three years.