by Nick Escalada
After a half-year delay, a successor to Cal Poly Humboldt’s Interim President Michael Spagna has been selected. Dr. Richard A. Carvajal from Valdosta State University in Georgia will be transferring to Arcata for the spring 2026 semester.
Hailing from California State University, Dominguez Hills as provost and vice president of Academic Affairs, Spagna assumed Humboldt’s presidential office in 2024 upon Tom Jackson’s controversy-backed resignation. Since then, he has overseen the university’s continuing transformation into a polytechnic, welcoming in new campus infrastructure and academic programs.
“[Carvajal] starts on January 20, so the beginning of the spring semester,” Spagna said. “I’m looking forward to that, because it allows me to have some closure with the campus of what my work has been about.”
Administration postponed their selection from March to this semester after no favorable candidates were found. According to Spagna, Dr. Carvajal caught their attention for the nine years he served at a university that went through seven presidents in the previous eight years.
“That’s not a way to build a university,” Spagna said. “I am completely confident he will bring a level of stability and longevity to this university that will really guide it through the next several years.”
With much of the state’s $458 million grant yet to manifest on campus, Carvajal has a lot of growth to facilitate in the near future. Several construction projects remain incomplete, and officials maintain their ambitious goal to double the current student population to 12,000 by 2035. Despite this, Spagna holds faith that his successor will realize the full potential of this historic investment.
“He is not, from my discussion with him, coming in with an agenda of, ‘I want to start this, this and this,’” Spagna said. “Instead, he wants to make sure that there really is self-actualization of this university, getting to understand student needs, the faculty and staff needs. And I will tell you, he’s very committed to shared governance and co-creation of things that the community really needs going forward.”
Valdosta State has produced several leading teams in NCAA division II athletics. As a member of the Cal State system that is currently gutting programs across its schools, Cal Poly Humboldt’s attraction to Carvajal was partially owed to the success propagated under his leadership.
“Athletics is the front porch to the university,” Spagna said. “I couldn’t be prouder of our student athletes, because they have the best retention graduation numbers, and they’re also what I call ‘glue students.’ They know teamwork and they work with peers who are non-athletes.”
In the wake of President Jackson’s stepping down following his response to the pro-Palestine occupation of campus, concerns linger about a new president’s capacity to regulate student activism in an appropriate manner.
“I think that he embraces that activism should be a part of the education process, and I think that it’s been under attack nationwide,” Spagna said. “But I’ve been really impressed with what this university has done over the last year or two to maintain its activism roots, but at the same time, be force for good where we can respect one another.”
At such a high administrative role, the president’s duties are fairly divorced from the on-the-ground student activities they influence so heavily. Spagna has advised Carvajal to take caution toward opportunities that will pull him away from campus, and instead focus on connecting with his constituents.
“You need to physically walk on campus,” Spagna said. “You need to be in student clubs, you need to be at activities. I went to a student honors recital in the fall, and students were so overjoyed that the president was in their presence. This is something that should be normalized. This should be something that always happens.”
With three academic months left in office, Spagna’s presidency seems to be leaving as quickly as it came. As Carvajal bids his own farewells in the deep South, Humboldt’s latest leader promises the institution remains in good hands.
“I’ll say this for the hundredth time: you’re going to love this person,” Spagna said. “He’s really committed. I could tell within a minute he’s a kindred spirit. He really cares about the things that matter, and he’s going to be phenomenal here.”
Nick is the news editor at The Lumberjack, and studies wildlife and journalism with the goal of spreading his love of nature through media. A famous recluse, he is rarely seen at social functions, but you might dig him up in a SAC lounge beanbag chair. Chat with him at ne53@humboldt.edu!
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