CSUMB President Vanya Quiñones addresses three years of progress

By Mark Muckenfuss

It’s been three years since Vanya Quiñones became president of Cal State Monterey Bay. During that time, the university has dug itself out of a $23 million structural deficit, increased its enrollment and implemented new programs to address the workforce needs of the surrounding region. 

But Quiñones doesn’t see any of those as her greatest accomplishment. Instead, she thinks the most important thing she’s been able to do is to reinvigorate the character of the university, enhance its sense of identity and foster a stronger sense of community among its students, staff and faculty. 

“I think we have found who we are,” Quiñones said. “Cal State Monterey Bay has always been an amazing institution, especially because of the founding values. But I think the thing we’ve done in the last three years is to increase the Otter pride. We’ve found a unique story we can tell.”

From an operational standpoint, she said stabilizing the finances of the university is probably the most important thing her administration has done. The university made what she called a “bold decision” three years ago to pare down spending and get the campus ledger in order. 

At the same time, the administration invested in a plan to increase enrollment. A new vice president of Enrollment Management and Student Affairs, Ben Corpus, was hired while, at the same time, a heightened marketing push began. 

“We’ve been very successful,” Quiñones said. 

Enrollment was up 14 percent in Fall 2024. The increase has helped put CSUMB on a more solid footing financially, but it has also created a challenge in finding dorm rooms for all of the additional students. 

“We are the only residential university in the CSU system,” she said, noting that having more than 50 percent of students living on campus gives the school that distinction. “I want to be able to offer accommodations to every student who wants it.” 

Many dorm rooms have been remodeled to increase capacity. Plans are underway to repurpose Gavilan Hall into a 186-bed dormitory. And future dorms may be built on campus to provide even more space. 

But, she said, it’s important that CSUMB is careful in the way that it grows. She believes part of the university’s distinctive character is as a quality mid-size school and envisions an enrollment figure between 8,000 and 9,000, up from the current number of just over 7,000. 

What’s critical, she added, is that the university maintain its values. One of those, which she is pleased to see recognized, is creating upward mobility. Last year, U.S. News and World Report ranked CSUMB first in social mobility among all western regional universities. 

Part of providing that is knowing and addressing the needs of the local workforce. Quiñones has engaged with community leaders to discuss the kinds of skilled jobs they need to fill. Those efforts have led to new majors, such as mechatronics, sociology, accounting and agriculture supply chain management. 

She wants CSUMB to continue to focus on investing in career services, providing more practical internships and aligning academics with the needs of the local workforce. Those things, she said, will allow for even greater social mobility as students graduate and move on to successful careers. 

She pointed to implementing artificial intelligence into the curriculum as another example of meeting workforce needs. The most important skill companies are looking for these days is knowledge of AI, she said.  

Building on what she calls “community wellness” is another area of focus for the future.
 
“It’s where everyone is respectful and sees themselves as part of the Otter Raft,” she said.

A big part of that is building community. During her tenure, she has added a number of social events to bring the campus together, including weekly Otter Thursday spirit rallies, Monte’s 5K, a focal point of Reunion and Family Traditions (RAFT) Weekend, and the popular Otter Plunge, an event she inaugurated only two months after she officially came on board. That first year, 50 people gathered on the sand and raced into chilly Monterey Bay as part of RAFT Weekend. Last year, 1,200 people showed up. 

“I think the most important thing I’ve done is making people jump in the ocean,” she said with a laugh. 

In truth, it is no small element in the palette of events that has helped bring the campus together. That, combined with Quiñones' commitment to student support programs, her regular presence at events where she mingles and has become famous for taking selfies with fellow Otters, and her determination to make sure everyone feels accepted, has impacted the campus community in a clearly positive way.

“I hope everyone has the same Otter pride I have every day,” she said. “I hope that spirit goes across the university and even outside our borders into the community.”