‘Producing what the community needs,’ a conversation with CSUMB’s president

Since Vanya Quiñones joined Cal State Monterey Bay as president three years ago, the university has come out of a seven-year enrollment slump, navigated a system-wide budget crisis and landed atop some of the most prestigious nationwide rankings.

Yet, the university still faces some challenges, such as a housing shortage, fueled by its rising enrollment.

Quiñones, the university’s fourth president, is confident the school will overcome that obstacle and is well on its way to meeting its overall mission goals. She recently sat down with The Herald to reflect on her three years as the school’s president.

CSUMB’s mission

“CSUMB is aimed to be a residential, midsized institution that cares about upward mobility and student success through community work and workforce experience,” Quiñones said. “The services that we have right now are for a mid-sized institution. If we decide to grow more than that, then we have to start getting more dorms, more services, more student support.”

Quiñones, who is also a neurobiologist, biopsychologist and noted researcher, said that for now, the plan is to stay relatively the same size while investing in more housing now to curb any future issues. The university has added about 700 beds in two years and plans to renovate Gabilan Hall, a building that currently houses KAZU 90.3 and the Title IX office, into a dorm which would add about 186 beds.

One of the reasons housing has become such a hot-topic issue is the fact that the university recently saw one of its biggest enrollment spikes in about seven years. When CSUMB leadership was resizing the university during its budget cuts two years ago, there was a strategic investment in enrollment management amidst the rest of the cuts.

“First, we worked on the structure of the university to have enrollment management in a more dynamic and more focused way,” said Quiñones, who previously served as provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs at Pace University in New York. “Second, we worked really hard to tell this story. We are in Monterey Bay, we’re a beautiful campus, we have a strong community. When you come here, you belong.”

The new strategy seems to be working, as the university recently experienced a 25% increase in first-year applications and an over 40% increase in transfer applications from fall 2023 to fall 2024.

High rankings

Also among CSUMB’s achievements in the past three years is the university’s continued top rankings among colleges nationwide. The 2025 U.S. News and World Report Best Colleges rankings rated CSUMB as No. 1 in the west for social mobility, which is how well a school helps low-income students succeed.

“What it means is that people that come to Cal State Monterey Bay, we will help you to move forward,” said Quiñones. “Not only you but your family, your community, after you graduate. That’s what upward mobility means. It means that you move socially and financially forward within your life.”

CSUMB also ranked in the top 50 in the country for graduating the most Hispanic and minority students in Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, a news magazine focusing on issues concerning diversity in higher education. This ranking is one Quiñones, who hails from Puerto Rico, is most proud of, she said.

“It shows that the promise is here, doesn’t it? The promise of moving forward with your family and your future,” Quiñones said. “My Hispanic people, we really believe that the only thing you can give your kids is education. People don’t realize how embedded education is for our ethnicity.

“And so here we are, we’re promising you that if you come here, that’s what we will give you. The only freedom you have in your life is your education.”

Hispanic Serving Institution

In order to classify as a Hispanic Serving Institution, a university needs to have at least 25% of its students identify as Latino as well as having at least half of their student population qualify as low income. CSUMB has been a Hispanic Serving Institution since 1998 and as of spring 2025, around 48% of the university’s students are Hispanic.

Having this designation means CSUMB receives federal funding for staff, faculty and student support services. A lawsuit filed in June in the U.S. District Court by the state of Tennessee and Students for Fair Admissions claims the criteria to become an HSI is unconstitutional and discriminatory against other ethnic groups. The lawsuit also claims that all colleges who serve low-income students should be able to qualify for the extra funding grants.

“When you go and look at what the mission is, we don’t say ‘Hispanic Serving Institution,’ we say we will move the community forward … we are a Hispanic serving institution, this is who we are. The majority of our students are Hispanic,” said Quiñones. “There are pressures that everybody is facing, not only CSUMB, but the whole U.S. There is a reallocation of policies, but we will adapt.”

The budget

On top of uncertainty revolving around federal funding, there has also been uncertainty revolving around the CSU budget, which has been in a deficit for years. Recent projections show a $2.3 billion gap.

During Quiñones’ first year, CSUMB cut $23 million from its budget through reductions  to operational overhead, restructuring departments and a voluntary separation incentive program. The university had a balanced budget in 2024-25, and is “cautiously optimistic” that it will continue to have a balanced budget the upcoming school year.

“I hope that people now three years down the road realize we are not in the same state as other universities that are closing or struggling, we’re in a more stable position,” said Quiñones. “I think the key thing is never to be static and always think that you’re swimming against the rip current because it’s almost like every single day there’s something happening.”

Strategic partnerships

Part of adapting and swimming against the current is continuing to update program offerings to match what the region needs. A major part of Quiñones’ mission these past three years has been to create strategic partnerships with private institutions including the Pebble Beach Company and Taylor Farms, to create opportunities for students to graduate with practical skills that can be applied directly to their career upon graduation.

One of the newest degrees, agribusiness supply chain management, is a direct result of hearing from local industry leaders about what kind of skills they need in the workforce. The soil science major is another one that came from the needs of the region.

Also on the university’s mind is the need for health care workers on the Monterey Peninsula. Health care has emerged as one of CSUMB’s priorities, said Quiñones, and the university is planning on heavily investing in that growth.

The two-year nursing program is set to be expanded into a four-year program, a new curriculum is being created for nurse practitioners, there are moves being made to reaccredit the master’s physician assistant program and the university is also looking into a new building for nursing.

“I think that when you see a university that adapts their degrees to produce what the community needs, it means that our university is bettering the community,” she said, “that there’s not a closed door … the plasticity that we’re showing in producing degrees that are needed shows that commitment to serve Monterey County.”

Also on CSUMB’s mind is the fast-changing landscape of artificial intelligence. Three professors working on AI projects were recently recognized by the CSU for their work and CSUMB has one of the highest adoption rates of the Chat GPT EDU platform that was rolled out in April.

“You have these students that are here for four years, but you have to educate them for a job in the future … what we know is that AI is actually accelerating the development of the workforce, what is needed for the workforce, more rapidly than before,” she said. “So by providing AI tools to all the students, which in the CSU is free, we have removed the barrier and we can make AI be more equitable.”

As the university is celebrating its 30th anniversary of the first semester, Quiñones thinks the values and mission have remained intact over time. While there are still accomplishments on the way, according to Quiñones, CSUMB has done what the founders set out to do 30 years ago.

“We haven’t deviated from what the university was meant to be, which was developing the economic region, ensuring that we serve the community, ensuring that there is a relationship that is back and forth with the community,” she said. “We still do those things.

“I’m very proud to be the president here,” said Quiñones. “I always say that I am proud of how everybody works together, how we really are a community, how we care about each Otter and how things are really turning around.”