Sacramento State announces next university president, appointed by CSU. Who is he?

Sacramento State has named its next president, set to take the helm as the university’s top administrator this summer.

California State University trustees on Wednesday appointed J. Luke Wood, an alumnus of Sacramento State and a Northern California native, to become the university’s ninth president, campus officials announced in a news release.

Wood, 41, will assume the role July 16 following the retirement of the current president, Robert S. Nelsen, who has served in that position since 2015.

“It’s about investing back in the community that invested in me,” Wood said in a prepared statement.

“I know what Sac State is capable of doing. I was a Black male, former foster child, first-generation college student who struggled with food insecurity and housing insecurity, and was able to graduate because of the incredible people and systems of support that were in place.”

Wood currently serves as vice president for student affairs and campus diversity at San Diego State University, where he is also chief diversity officer.

Born in Oakland and raised in Siskiyou County, Wood earned a bachelor’s degree in Black history and politics as well as a master’s degree in higher education at Sacramento State, the university said.

Boatamo Mosupyoe is the associate dean of resource and program and resource management in social sciences at the college. She was previously the ethnic studies chair and director of Pan-African studies.

She remembers Wood from his time on campus and thinks his selection is very good news for the university.

“I want to thank Dr. Nelsen for his tenure here and what he did for the university,” Mosupyoe said. “I also have hope and strongly believe that Luke Wood will take us even to greater heights.”

She said she thinks Wood is equity-minded, which she said was important for the university and the community around it.

“We need to have fair representation ... not only for the university but for the country, for the state, for the world,” she said. “Otherwise, if we don’t have it, we are going to have attrition. We are going to have problems with enrollment.”

After completing his studies at Sacramento State, Wood moved to Arizona State University, where he received another master’s degree, in curriculum and instruction in early childhood education, as well as a doctorate in educational leadership and policy studies, Sacramento State officials said.

He met his wife, Idara Essien, now a San Diego State professor of child and family development, while both were students at Sacramento State, according to the news release.

In 2017, Wood became San Diego State’s first Black faculty member to be named a distinguished professor. He joined the university as a professor in 2011.

Wood has authored 16 books and published research focusing on “racial inequality issues in education, particularly community colleges,” Sacramento State officials wrote.

Wood in 2020 co-authored a report finding that Black students at Sacramento City Unified School District were suspended and expelled at disproportionate rates compared to other students.

Nelsen last November announced his intent to retire at the end of the current academic year.

“Luke Wood is a transformational leader,” Nelsen said. “He is ‘Made at Sac State,’ and he understands Sac State, especially our mission to ensure that all students have the opportunity to achieve their dreams.”

Nelsen over his final Sacramento State commencement ceremony over the weekend, at Golden 1 Center. A record-setting 9,574 students graduated in 2023.

CSU trustees also announced two more leadership positions within the 23-campus system Tuesday:

▪ Stephen Perez, interim provost of Chico State, has been named its next president. He will succeed Gayle Hutchinson, who is retiring June 30.

▪ Ming-Tung “Mike” Lee has been named as Sonoma State’s new president after serving in the role on an interim basis since August. Lee spent 28 years at Sacramento State before being tapped in retirement to replace Judy Sakaki, who resigned in the wake of a sexual harassment and retaliation scandal involving her and her husband.